58 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



size as the brood-chamber of our 

 hives. In tliis box I place five 

 empty frames eacii having' a starter 

 of Ibiiiidation tliree-quarters of an 

 ineli wide on the under side of the 

 top bar, and two dummies which 

 took the place of two coml)s each. 

 When a prime svvarm issues, take 

 the box to the hive from which the 

 swarm came, setting the frame and 

 dummies out of the box near the 

 hive. Novv catch the queen which 

 will be found running around in 

 front of the hive and put her in a 

 wire-cloth cage, laying the same 

 near the entrance of the hive, whei) 

 the cover is lifted and the surplus 

 arrangement is taken off. After 

 this, take out the frames of ])rood, 

 putting them in the box. If the 

 combs of brood still seem to be 

 well covered with bees, and the 

 weather is warm, shake a part of 

 them off in front of the hive before 

 putting the combs in the box. If 

 few bees or cool weather, put all 

 in the box, setting the box in the 

 shade a rod or so from the hive. 

 Next, put in one dummy at the side 

 of the hive, then the frames and the 

 other dummy ; after which, the sur- 

 plus arrangement is to be re-ad- 

 justed and the cover put on, by 

 which time the swarm will return if 

 the queen has a clipped wing. If 

 not they are to be put back in this 

 hive. Now take the box, with the 

 combs of bees and brood, to an 

 empty hive, placed where you wish 

 a colony to stand and cover all up 

 snugly with a quilt. About four 

 o'clock the next day, take a virgin 

 queen and keep her fiom food for 

 five or ten minutes when you are 

 to take her to this hive, having all 

 there 's left of the parent stock, and 

 carefully lift a frame from it. As 

 there are but few bees here, some 

 young ones, they will not be re- 

 vengeful, but at once go to filling 

 themselves with honey, when you 

 are to let the virgin queen on the 

 comb by holding the mouth of the 



cage to some unsealed honey. She 

 will at once go to eating, the same 

 as all the other bees are doing, 

 when the frame is lowered into the 

 hive and the hive closed. The next 

 day all queen cells will be destroyed 

 and in a week this queen be lay- 

 ing, when the surplus arrangement 

 is to be put on this hive. All after- 

 swarming is in this way prevented, 

 and in short I have never used any- 

 thing about the swarming of bees 

 and the getting of comb honey 

 which worked so perfectly and 

 pleased me so well as this. 

 Borodino, JSf. Y. 



For the American ApicuUurist. 



A SATISFYING ANSWER. 

 A. P. Fletcher. 



In the " Api" for January, the 

 question ''Why do bees swarm?" is 

 more fully answered than I have 

 ever seen it before ; but I was 

 comparativeh'' satisfied before, so 

 3'ou see ignorance is sometimes 

 satisfying, in one sense. So, also, 

 with the question, " Who invented 

 the movai)le-frame hive?" I have 

 been satislied with the answer — 

 L. L. Langstroth — am now. But 

 the King Brothers, Kidder, etc., 

 say he was not, but have, as yet, 

 failed to inform me who was, i. e., 

 of the movable-frame in its present 

 state of perfection and practica- 

 bility. If Mr. L. was not the in- 

 ventor, will some of the readers of 

 the " Api" answer, for my satis- 

 faction, who was? A. J. King 

 says Mr. L. claims only the space 

 around the fi-ame, etc., but the cn- 

 riosit}^ to my dull mind is — how 

 could he invent the space without 

 first making the box and the fnoue? 

 The Irishman said '■'■they took a 

 big hole and run brass all around 

 it to make a cannon ;" but where 

 did they get the hole ? Query. 



Windsor, Vt. 



