1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



187 



you must have very populous stocks to gather it. 

 Then comes the question, vrhat do we consider 

 strong stocks ? Well, we consider a hive that 

 did not swarm, a good stock, generally giving 

 us a good surplus ; and yet even such sometimes 

 fail to come up to our standard. But we will 

 now try and give you our plan for making work- 

 ing swarms. Let me here remark that my ex- 

 perience has been with black bees and natural 

 swarming. The past season I introduced about 

 twenty Italian and hybrid queens. 



And now, Mr. Editor, for example, I have on 

 hand lifty-four stocks, provided all come out 

 right in the spring. Suppose these all send out 

 a swarm each, fifty-four in number — what shall 

 I do with so many swarms ? I have only twenty 

 empty hives, and am determined not to make 

 any more, because it is Jioney that I am after, 

 and if I should double my stock, I should not 

 get honey enough to grease a pan-cake. 



I will now try to explain how I manage. A few 

 days before swarming commences, I locate all 

 my emi^ty hives in my yard, just where I want 

 them to stand through the season. I have all 

 swarms in a basket hive as they issue, and carry 

 them to the hives designed for them. Do not 

 forget to mark day and date on every hive both 

 old and young. We will now take it for granted 

 that you have already hived eight new swarms. 

 Well, if any of them have been hived three, 

 four or five days, it makes no particular diflier- 

 ence, though we prefer four days. Now intro- 

 duce another big swai'm in each. But a neighbor 

 tells us we could not put two of his swarms in 

 one of our hives. Moonshine ! We never had 

 two swarms in our life, but we could make room 

 for them, and keep them at work too, when any- 

 thing sweet was to be found abroad. But we 

 are off the track again. Well, we said put in 

 another big swarm. But we want a fair fixing — 

 half a dozen platforms, four feet long and three 

 feet wide, made of inch boai-ds. Nail two strips 

 on the top, one at each side to project two 

 inches, to clamp on the bottom board of the hive 

 to be doubled up. A board, of course, is nailed 

 at the other end, which makes it level with the 

 hive that is to receive the swarm. Now, when 

 you have nailed a lath on each side of your 

 platform, to keep the bees from falling on the 

 gi'ound when they begin to scatter ; one thing 

 more, and we are ready for action. Raise the 

 front of the hive that is to receive the swarm 

 one inch. Of course, you have during the day 

 taken off the honey board and covered the top 

 with neat and handsome glass boxes. Our hive 

 accommodates forty-five pounds in six boxes ; or 

 if the extractor is to be used, put on the upper 

 story. All being in readiness, bring along 

 your swarm in an old box hive, for as a matter 

 of course you did not have them in a frame hive, 

 because it would be quite a job to shake them 

 out of the frames. Now, with one jerk drop the 

 bees on your platform, one foot in front of the 

 hive to run them in. They will scatter all 

 around for a minute or two, but do not disturb 

 them till they begin to travel for the hive ; then 

 keep them moving till all are in. The next 

 morning set the hive level, but still raised on all 



sides, three-eighths of an inch from the bottom 

 board. 



The reason why you want several boards or 

 platforms, is, that you can be doubling up six or 

 eight swarms at the same time, and you will do 

 it in half an hour. One thing must not be for- 

 gotten—this operation must be done after sun- 

 down, and when it is nearlj'- dark. The swarms 

 will then unite without the loss of a single bee. 

 Now double up all your new swarms as fast as 

 possible, for every day counts. At the same 

 time keep making new ones, till you have used 

 up all your hives. We take it for granted that 

 you have now made fifteen new swarms all 

 doubled up thn-ty single ones ; and providing all 

 your stocks send out a swarm, you have twenty- 

 four to come yet. Well, we will try to find a 

 place for them, where they can be made useful. 

 We will now return a swarm back to every one 

 that has swarmed. And here the question is 

 often a>ked — what do you do with the extra 

 queen? Well, if I had any use for a queen, I 

 should jircserve her ; or if I had a choice of the 

 two, I should keep the best. But in this case I 

 have no use for queens, so she may pass in with 

 the swarm, and next morning you can have 

 a funeral. But we are going astray again. We 

 said we should send back a swarm to every old 

 stock that had sent one out. But, if it can be 

 avoided, do not return a swarm to the hive it 

 came out from. We have returned hundreds of 

 second swarms back to their own hive ; but in 

 "^this case, an old queen still under the swarming 

 impulse, will sometimes lead the swarm out 

 again. Now for further operations. You have 

 to-day four swarms, of course in box hives, and 

 let them stand just where you hived them till 

 nearly dark ; but during the afternoon you pre- 

 pared four old stocks to receive them. I mean 

 by this, that you have desti'oyed all queen cells 

 to be found in said hives. If so, put on your 

 surplus boxes or upjier stories ; bring on your 

 platforms and douce the bees thereon. Shake 

 all four swarms out on their platforms, and by 

 the time you get back to the first one, the bees 

 are making for the hive. With a little brush of 

 some kind keep them moving till all are gone in. 

 If, when you have returned a swarm to each old 

 stock, the swarming still continues, make one 

 or two more new swarms, till all are dis- 

 posed of. 



Now you have what we term a lot of strong 

 swarms, not here and there one in the yard 

 storing, as in most cases where swarming is 

 allowed and every swarm hived separately ; but 

 every one storing surplus. How is that for 

 high ? 



It may be, if the season is a good one, that 

 some of your first hived double swarms may 

 send out a swarm in about four weeks. If they 

 do, our plan is to catch the queen, return 

 the bees and let them raise a young queen. 

 This has never failed with us. Give them plenty 

 of room to store surplus honey, and you Avill not 

 be troubled much with swarms. 



A brother beekeeper suggested to us last 

 season that Italians and hybrids will not bear 

 handling and doubling like the black bees. We 



