THE AMEBICAN BEE JOUBNAL. 



133 



[For tlie American Bee Journal.] 



Multiplication of Stocks. 



Iu the Bee Journal, vol. 3, No. 9, page 180, 

 you will find the following questions: — To "what 

 extent can one stock of bees he increased artifi- 

 cial]}', in sis months, with care and feed suffi- 

 cient ? And what quantity of sugar will he re- 

 quired for the same ? The figures are wanted 

 to see that it will pay." See also the same 

 question, vol. 2, page IG.j. 



Now, gentlemen, I have heen waiting with 

 all the patience imaginable for some of the 

 knowing ones to answer this question. But, as 

 they do not, suppose you stand hack and let 

 Gallup try his hand. In the first place, Ave will 

 see what stories are told about natural swarm- 

 ing. See vol. 2, No. 10, page 190, for an 

 instance of an increase of thirty in one sea- 

 son, and another of twenty-two, besides several 

 lost for want of hives to put them in. Sec also 

 same volume, page 195, a notice by J. L. Davis 

 of ten swarms from one in one season. Mr. 

 "Wellhuysen (see July number, 1868, for de- 

 scription of hives used) informed me, (and I 

 have no reason to doubt it,) that he had in- 

 creased one colony up to thirteen; and the fol- 

 lowing season he had increased those up to one 

 hundred and twenty-five by artificial swarming; 

 and, as I informed the readers of the Journal, 

 I learned some things from him. There arc but 

 few hives that are calculated for such great in- 

 crease. The Wellhuysen hive was one. The 

 form of hive which I use, and Mr. J. M. 

 Price's hive, are admirably adapted to the pur- 

 pose. In the American form, and the broad, 

 shallow form of the Langstroth, and several 

 others, it would be useless to attempt such an 

 increase. The form I use, and the division 

 board, &c, have already been explained. 



Wc will say that we have one good swarm to 

 start with in the spring, with the comb all 

 right, and a prolific queen raised the season pre- 

 vious, with not too much honey, and not too 

 much old pollen. We will in this climate com- 

 mence stimulating about the first of March. 

 We want a small quantity of drone comb in the 

 centre of the hive. (Four inches square is suffi- 

 cient). In three weeks we will have every 

 particle of comb filled with brood, and the old | 

 honey all used up. Now, if you please, we will 

 take out one comb filled with mature brood, 

 about three quarts of bees, with the old queen, 

 and start a new swarm. The evening before 

 taking out these, we will give them all the 

 sweet they can contain. Now, when we take 

 them out they will stay where we put them, by 

 doing as I told you in the article "How to make 

 natural swarms artificially," in the July num- 

 ber of the Bee Journal. Give the bees one 

 empty frame and adjust the division board. 

 The young bees hatching out of the full comb, 

 give the queen a chance to deposit her eggs. 

 Now feed the old and the new swarm. The new 

 one must have all they can consume, for they 

 have comb to build. The old swarm wants just 

 as much as they can consume without storing. 

 After the new swarm has filled the empty frame 

 with comb, slacken your feeding until the queen 



has all or nearly all the cells filled with brood. 

 Then insert another empty frame between the 

 two full ones, and increase the feed again. 



Now wc have got. to look after our queen 

 cells, and wc want about eight. Take out 

 seven, and seven frames with bees are enough 

 to occupy said frames Insert these frames in 

 seven hives, adjust your division boards in 

 each, and make your division of bees. The 

 evening before this division, give the bees a 

 good strong feeding, and adjust the division 

 board in the old swarm. (We use twelve 

 frames in one hive.) Now, we have four frames 

 left in the old hive, and may want two of these 

 by and by to give to the old queen, to prevent the 

 bees from building drone comb, or the old queen 

 may not breed fast enough to suit us. In that 

 case we will want another comb and queen cell 

 to supersede her. 



As soon as your young queens commence lay- 

 ing, you have to build their stocks up in the 

 same manner you did the first one. With one 

 full frame and bees enough to occupy that frame, 

 there is no danger of the bees deserting, if the 

 supply of honey is Kept up regularly; and with 

 Mrs. Tupper's process of fertilization there is 

 no danger of losing the queen. In all cases we 

 must have the comb well crowded with bees, 

 whether there is one comb or ten; and all up- 

 ward escape of animal heat must be prevented. 

 Now we have nine swarms of bees, and muse 

 keep them equalised and build them up as fast 

 as possible. Recollect that one frame filled 

 with comb, having a prolific queen and bees to 

 occupy the frame, in the right kind of hive, is 

 just as capable of protecting itself from moths 

 and robbers as any full sized swarm. For, so 

 far as it goes, it is a strong swarm to all intents 

 and purposes. And four frames filled with bees, 

 comb, and honey, will winter just as well as the 

 best of swarms, in a cellar or proper repository, 

 if properly ventilated. In this manner I have 

 wintered spare queens, and if I did not need 

 them for queenless stocks, I built them up to a 

 full sized swarm in the following season. Now 

 after all those nine swarms are built up, w r e will 

 have that with the old queen in filled first, and 

 Ave want that frame with the drone comb in, in 

 the hive with the old queen, because if we want 

 more swarms we must have more drones and 

 queens. 



We can now go through the same process we 

 did at the start with the old queen, only it is 

 later in the season, and we want more bees with 

 her this time. Nor must we start over four new 

 SAvarms at a time, as we have nine swarms to 

 strengthen up and equalise. This we can work 

 very safely; and if we are sure of a supply of 

 honey in September, we can keep on making 

 swarms until into that month. But to move 

 perfectly safe, we must make only one or two 

 at a time towards the last. 



Now comes the question about the quantity 

 of sugar. I have seen seasons that to make 

 thirteen swarms from one avouUI not require 

 over three dollars' worth of sugar; but from one 

 to two dollars per swarm is enough in almost 

 any season — for should the honey crop be cut 

 off, as it Avas this season, your increase must be 

 stopped at once, unless you want to feed for 



