430 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 17, 1906 



supers, and tne cover. On top of this cover set the old hive with its 

 contents, and put a cover on. Ten days later put the old hive down in 

 its place, taking away the other hive. 



You will see that the queen has not been searched for, and that 

 the hive has not been opened at all, only lifted back and forth at the 

 two times of operating. 



Tou may want to know whether the bees will not build crooked 

 comb in the place left vacant during the 10 days. No, these queenless 

 bees are little given to comb- building. In hundreds of cases I have 

 had no trouble, but I have always put a dummy next to the combs. 

 You may also want to know what to do with the 3 or 4 frames taken 

 away at the end of the 10 days. They can be given to any colony that 

 needs building up, or they may be used to start new colonies, although 

 only one frame will contain brood. If the frame of brood was taken 

 from a choice queen, you will have some queen-cells of the best sort. 

 If you set the hive and its contents on a new stand, in about two 

 weeks you will have a nice nucleus with a laying queen. No need to 

 fasten the bees in the hive when you put it on a new stand. These 

 queenless bees will stick to their frame of brood with its queen-cells. 



Not having tried it, I can not guarantee that there will be no 

 swarming. Certainly not for some time. Possibly not at all, and 

 possibly in a few case6. It would be a pleasure to have you report the 

 outcome if you should try the plan. The later the operation, the 

 greater the assurance of success. 



Dividing Colonies for Increase 



I started last year with 3 colonies of bees and increased to 8, but I 

 find most of them starved to death during the winter. 



1. If I place a hive-body with empty combs on top of a strong 

 colony, is it likely they will put brood in the upper story? If so, 

 couldn't I make increase simply by taking the two stories apart and 

 placing them side by side? 



2. What is the best way to make increase when more is desired 

 than can be had by natural swarming? Iowa. 



Answers.— 1. Nothing certain about it. The queen might go up 

 into the upper story and she might not. You know that the instinct 

 of the bee is to store honey above the brood-nest, keeping the brood 

 below. So you can make a more sure thing of it by putting the empty 

 hive under instead of over. Then as the bees fill in honey above, it 

 will crowd the brood-nest down into the lower story. Then you can 

 set the upper story on a new stand, and sometimes it would work all 

 right and sometimes it wouldn't. 



2. More ways than one can be used, and if you are well informed! 

 as to the contents of a good bee-book, you can tell better than any one 

 else what will be best for you. Here's one way by which you can in- 

 crease more rapidly than by natural swarming: 



Take away the queen with one frame of brood and the adhering 

 bees and put it in a new hive on a new stand. Ten days later there 

 will be queen-cells well matured, and you can then put each frame of 

 brood with its bees and a queen-cell in a new hive. You will see that 

 in that way you will have from each colony 6, if there are 6 frames in 

 the hive. But if you do that way nearly all will be pretty sure to die 

 the next winter, and you will be no farther ahead than you are now. 

 You would probably be farther ahead now if last year there had not 

 been so much increase. So instead of starting a nucleus with only 

 one frame of brood and bees, take 2 or 3, make sure that a good cell is 

 located in the center of the cluster where there is no danger of its 

 being chilled, and fasten the bees in the hive for a day or two. If the 

 season is good, you may possibly repeat the process, after all have 

 built up good and strong; only this time start your nucleus with 3 or 

 4 frames of brood, drawing some of them from colonies that are strong 



enough to spare them. 



« ■ » 



The Dempsey Super 



Have you ever tried the Dempsey super, described on page 382? 

 and i6 it all that it is there represented to be? Iowa. 



Answer. — I have never seen it, but on the face of it I should not 

 expect such extravagant claims to prove true. 



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Reports cmb 

 (fxpertences 



Mention Bee Journal when writing. 



Keeping Mice and Ants Out of Hive*. 



Since I began keeping bees 13 years 

 ago it has been to me the most fasci- 

 nating of all pursuits. It seems to me 

 that some of us become magnetized or 

 fascinated to a very remarkable degree 

 in the work of the apiary — bee-fever. 

 I became inoculated with this at the 

 putset. I could hardly see any plank 

 or box of wood but what I wondered 

 to what use it could be turned in the 

 bee-yard. Really, it was so enchant- 

 ing, and appealed to the ideality to 

 watch the bees coming and going at 

 the hive. I imagined, thought, planned 

 and dreamed bees. I procured many 

 books like "A B C of Bee Culture," 

 "Langstroth's on the Honey-Bee," etc.; 

 also bee-papers, which I read with 

 great interest. 



I find that a few simple but neces- 

 sary principles enter into all success 

 in "bee-keeping. First is preparing 

 bees for winter and spring. This un- 

 derlies the golden rule: "Keep your 

 colonies strong." The best time to feed 

 is in the fall. I tried different kinds 

 of feeders, but after all I found as 

 simple and successful as any was to 

 feed in tin pans that hold about % 

 gallon. I experienced some trouble at 

 first to get the bees to come into the 

 pans, but using pieces of comb bent 

 across the edges of the pans, they 

 would readily come over such ladders 

 and rapidlv carry the food to the 

 brood-chambers. The supers not hav- 

 ing been removed in the fall, were 

 helpful in feeding, for they are then 

 fastened on by the bees and prevent 

 trouble with robbers. Of course, the 

 feeding must be done near nightfall. 



Another point: Put plenty of straw in 

 the pans, and no bees will be drowned. 

 Bees now fed, arrange strips inside the 



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