EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



AT TWO DOLLARS PER ANNUM, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. 



Vol. IV. 



APRIL, 1869. 



No. 10. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Management and Mismanagement. 



Let us see whether we cannot explain two 

 methods of bee management, and ascertain 

 which we like the best : 



Mr. A. belongs to the second class of bee- 

 keepers. He counts the number of swarms he 

 has in the spring, without any regard to their 

 condition. He meets Gallup, or some other 

 putty-head, about the last of April, and the first 

 salutation is — 



"Good morning! I am glad to see you. 

 How are your bees doing ?" 



" Oh, they are doing first rate. How are 

 yours getting along ?" 



" Well, you see, I wintered over twenty-five 

 swarms ; all came throuah in excellent condi- 

 tion ; but they do not appear to be doing any- 

 thing now. I am afraid several of them have 

 lost their queens. I do wish that you would 

 come down and see them, and tell me what is 

 the matter." 



We go, of course. 



"Here is one of the swarms that I think 

 have lost their queens." 



We step up to the hive and take off the cap, 

 and the condition of the hive is this: The honey- 

 board is left off, and there is a piece of dry comb 

 laid on the frames ; no signs of any honey in the 

 comb or in the hive. We take out the frames, 

 one by one. There is a small stock of bees and 

 a good-looking queen, but no brood of any de- 

 scription. 



" Well, Mr. A., you see here is a good queen." 



" Yes, I see her, but what is the reason she 

 don't breed?" 



" Can your hens breed without something to 

 eat?" 



" Why, man alive, I have been feeding them 

 all the spring. It cannot be that they are starv- 

 ing. Once or twice a week I have given them 

 a little honey or some dissolved sugar." 



"Yes, I see you have fed them enough to 

 keep them from actually starving to death, and 

 that is all." 



We examine several other swarms, and find 



more than one half of the number in nearly the 

 same condition. 



"Well, Mr. A., as I was named after a 

 prophet, allow me to prophesy a little. If this 

 is your method of managing bees, you cannevex 

 expect any success in beekeeping." 



"Allow me to explain; when the honey harvest 

 commences, these bees have to expend all their 

 force and energy in increasing their numbers ; 

 and by the time they are prepared to gather 

 honey, the harvest is past, (especially in such a 

 season as the last,) and they will starve by the 

 first of December; or, if wintered through, tbey 

 are in the same condition next spring. " 



This Mr. A. is no imaginary person. We have 

 seen hundreds of such beekeepers. 



Now for Mr. B.'s management. He has, we 

 will say, twenty -five swarms, and they are in 

 what he calls an excellent condition on the last 

 of April. Now let us examine them. Here is 

 the first swarm we come to. We take off the 

 cap, and behold the honey-board is on and fits 

 close ; all upward escape of animal heat is care- 

 fully guarded against, (you perceive this is pre- 

 cisely the opposite of Mr. A.'s.) We take off the 

 honey-board, and behold the first thing we dis- 

 cover is bees in any quantity. We take out the 

 frames and examine. Here is an abundance of 

 brood in all stages, from the egg to the perfect 

 bee, and a considerable amount of honey yet. 

 Every day that they can fly out, they are carry- 

 ing water and pollen ; and when the honey har- 

 vest comes, they are ready to take advantage of 

 it; and they will store enough at least to winter 

 on and last until the honey harvest comes again, 

 in any season that I ever saw. 



"Now, Mr. B., tell us how you manage to 

 have such good luck ?" (This Mr. B.' belongs 

 to the third class of beekeepers, and consequent- 

 ly has no secrets in beekeeping.) 



"Well, sir, when 1 set out my bees in the 

 spring, I overhauled every swarm, and examined 

 every comb ; hence I knew their exact condi- 

 tion. One swarm, which I thought was rather- 

 weak, I stimulated in the cellar, and set them to 

 breeding very rapidly, two or three weeks before 

 setting them out. I found three swarms out of 

 the twenty-five that were not very well supplied 

 with honey ; and I equalized their stores by ex- 



