The American Apicultiirist. 



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EXTERED AT THE POST-OFFICK, WKNirAM, AS SECOND-CLASS JIATTEU. 



Published Momhlv. 



Henry Alley, Manager. 



VOL. V. 



WENHAM, MASS., JULY i, 1887. 



No. 7. 



We deol in (irst-class npi.iri- I Establislie.l in 1SS3. Terms : I Anv yearly Mibscriber is en- 

 .insupphes of Mil k,„,ls.lo^vest $1.00 per year, 50 cents persix titlcf to o i o our sele -tJ 

 prices Prompt -ie ivery. months, 25 cents per' three queens anytime between June I 



Send tor price list. | months. Cash in a<l yance. :lnd Oct. 1 by remitting 50 cs 



Address all communications, AMEKICAW APICULTURIST, -Wenham, Mass 



For the American ApiculUirist. 



COMB HONEY. 



METHOD NUMBER SIX. 

 R. L. Taylor. 



PLENTY OF STORES, VIGOROUS QUEENS, 

 SPREADING BROOD, ETC., ETC. 



It is to be presumed that every 

 one who enters upon beekeeping 

 in any of its branches is possessed 

 of bees and of a range that will 

 supply proper pasturage. 



Tlie next thing and tlie most im- 

 portant of all, in order to success 

 in tiie production of comb honey, 

 is to secure a crowded population 

 in each colony at the opening of 

 the surplus honey season, with 

 colonies populous enough at the 

 right time. Only the grossest neg- 

 lect can ordinarily prevent the 

 securing of an abundant crop. To 

 attain this condition, attention must 

 be carefully given to the following 

 particulars. First: the bees must 

 have been wintered well. In win- 

 tering, let every one pursue the 

 course in which he has had the 

 greatest success ; but let him be sure 

 that each colony has not only suf- 

 ficient good stores, but enough and 

 more tlian enough. I believe more 

 colonies are destroyed or rendered 

 worthless by starvation or senii- 

 13 



starvation during winter and sprino- 

 than Irom anj' other cause. Sec- 

 ond : each colony must have a vio-- 

 orous queen. A queen is at her 

 best in her second year and there 

 are oidy exceptional ones that can 

 be profitably Icept beyond that age ; 

 and I have no doubt it would jiay 

 well to remove a large pi'oportion 

 of them at the age of one and a 

 half years. I find in my own ex- 

 perience that the bees themselves 

 supersede queens declining in vigor 

 promptly in exceptional cases only ; 

 the apiarist must do the work, or 

 else be content with having a con- 

 siderable percentage of his colo- 

 nies worthless, so far as sui'plus 

 comb hone}' is concerned. 



Third : we must consider spring 

 management. Spring protection is 

 valuable and I have no doubt that 

 " spreading the brood" may some- 

 times beindulged in profitably ; but 

 I do not wish to emphasize these 

 points here, for I would put all the 

 stress possible untler this head 

 upon the absolute necessity of hav- 

 ing continually an abundance of 

 stores convenient to the brood 

 nest. To secure this is better than 

 to furnish protection : it is pi'otec- 

 tion and much more. It is prefer- 

 able to the " spreading of brood :" 

 it is a substitute for that and bet- 

 ter. President Wilder, when asked 

 to state the three most important 

 things necessary to be done to se- 

 (165) 



