THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



143 



through. I Iiave made the boards 

 with strips of zinc having only one 

 row of perforations or eight rows 

 in all for an eight-fi'ainehive. These 

 have done very well but I feel sure 

 that eight rows of the perforations 

 are not enough on very strong col- 

 onies. The boards as here advised 

 are no hindrance to the passage of 

 the bees in storing honey in supers, 

 nor of bees with pollen for that 

 matter. Fully as much honey will 

 be stored through them as without 

 them. They also prevent brace 

 combs from being attached to the 

 cases of sections so that the opera- 

 tion of tiering up the cases is al- 

 ways quickl}-^ and easily done. I 

 believe their use to be indispensable 

 to tlie most successful producer of 

 comb honey. 



New Philadelphia., 0. 



For the American ApicuUurist. 



METHOD NUMBER THREE. 



Bt a. E. Manum. 



HOW TO MANAGE NEW SWARMS AND 

 INTRODUCING QUEENS. 



A large crop of honey is much 

 desired by every beekeeper, and as 

 each beekeeper has his own pecu- 

 liar method it is desirable that each 

 should give his method that we may 

 all learn as much as possible from 

 the experience of others. In a 

 good season a fair ciop of comb 

 honey ma}^ be secured hy most any 

 method. But, to obtain the bes't 

 results possible, one season with 

 another, the apiarist must take ad- 

 vantage of conditions. While a 

 large crop is desirable the quality 

 of our honey should be looked after 

 as well as tiie quantity. The pres- 

 ent depressed condition of our mar- 

 kets makes it quite necessary that 

 we turn our attention to cleanliness 

 and style of package in order to 

 gain favor with the consumer. 



Hence the beekeeper who sends his 

 honey to market in the finest and 

 most attractive style is the one who 

 will make the quickest sales and 

 get the highest price. 



Having been aware of this fact 

 for a number of years, 1 not only 

 aim to secure a large average 

 number of pounds per colony, but 

 I try so to manage while securing 

 it and afterwards preparing it for 

 market, that my honey when in the 

 market may appear as attractive as 

 possible. 



I will now as briefly as possible 

 give my method of securing comb 

 honey. 



In the first place I use the 4iX 

 4| X 1| — or 1-pound sections — 

 and secure my sui-plus wholly from 

 the top of the brood-chamber. 

 Years ago I practised side-storing, 

 but that plan did not work satis- 

 factorily with me, as our nights are 

 usually so cold as to cause the 

 bees to desert the sections dur- 

 ing the night, so I was obliged to 

 discontinue this practice and de- 

 pend upon top boxing altogether. 



1 use full sheets of foundation in 

 the sections and have always used 

 — and still use — wood separators 

 between the sections. I know that 

 some beekeepers say that they can 

 secure as perfect combs without 

 their use, but I am not far enough 

 advanced in the science of bee 

 culture to dispense with separators 

 and at the same time obtain satis- 

 factory results, hence I continue to 

 use them. 



I manage my bees in the spring 

 to the best of my ability to get 

 them up as strong as possible by 

 the lime raspberries and white 

 clover come into bloom, and as I 

 allow natural swarming, preferrino- 

 it to any non-swarming plan, I 

 aim to have swarming commence 

 as soon as clover begins to bloom. 

 Although I do not desire much in- 

 crease yet I find that I can get 

 more comb honey by allowing the 



