864 



Oct. 11, 1906 



American Ttee Journal 





therefore, not the most economical 

 method, but it is the speediest. Take 

 away the queen of a colony, one or two 

 combs of brood and all the bees that 

 cover those two combs, and place 

 them in a new hive with sheets of 

 foundation in the frames. This hive 

 must be placed on the old stand, and 

 the old hive is removed to the stand of 

 another colony of rather under medium 

 strength ; this latter colony being 

 placed in a new spot. The two combs 

 of brood that have been removed must 

 be replaced with sheets of foundation ; 

 this is important, for otherwise the 

 bees would build drone-combs in the 

 place of these combs. 



The queenless swarm thus made on 

 the 9th day is supplied with a queen- 

 cell on the 10th day, or the day follow- 

 ing the dividing of the colonies. This 

 length of time is necessary for the bees 

 to make sure of the loss of their queen ; 

 otherwise, they would destroy the 

 queen cell given them. The queen-cell 

 may be introduced in a queen-cell pro- 

 tector. But if it is inserted in the cen- 

 ter of a comb of brood, there is very 

 little danger of its being destroyed by 

 the bees. The queen will hatch, us- 

 ually within 2 days, and in about 10 

 days of the making of the division, 

 they will have a laying queen. When 

 swarms are thus made of considerable 

 strength at the outset, it is necessary 

 to examine them to make sure they are 

 not rearing queen cells of their own 

 brood with the expectation of swarm- 

 ing with the first queen. Such cells 

 must be destroyed. 



Swarms of this kind should be made 

 with colonies of only fair strength — 

 such colonies as are not likely to pro- 

 duce much if any surplus. They be- 

 come strong at once, and in a good sea- 

 son the divided colonies, and especially 

 the colonies that have furnished only 

 field-bees by their removal to a new 

 location, will often be able to furnish 

 additional bees or brood later. 



The above method is not so econo- 

 mical as the nucleus method, however, 

 for there are a few days lost before the 

 queens lay. By the nucleus method 

 we rear our queens first, and strengthen 

 the nuclei afterwards, or as many of 

 them as we choose to make into full 

 colonies. 



All the text-books give instructions 

 on how to make nuclei. Take 1, 2 or 3 

 combs with brood from some colony 

 and place these in an empty hive, or in 

 a nucleus hive, with a goodly number 

 of young bees. You must bear in 

 mind that some of the bees may return 

 to the mother colony ; the old bees 

 surely will, and for this reason, more 

 bees than needed should be taken. We 

 usually place these nuclei in a shaded 

 spot, and close them over night so the 

 bees will become used to them. If the 

 nuclei are made late in the afternoon 

 there will be no danger from suffoca- 

 tion. The empty space at the side of 

 the combs given must be filled with a 

 dummy to reduce the amount of room 

 that needs to be kept warm. Nuclei 

 made with divisible frames, such as I 

 mentioned on page 232, or such as rec- 

 ommended by F Greiner.on page 343, 

 will make a much more compact dimin- 

 utive colony with a less number of 

 bees and a less amount of combs and 



brood than those made with full 

 frames. 



These nuclei are made on the 9th 

 day of the queen-cell rearing, and on 

 the 10th day the queen-cells are in- 

 serted in them, one to each. If the 

 work is done carefully there will be no 

 failure. It is well, however, for the 

 bee-keeper to have another colony 

 rearing queen-cells 2 days after the 

 first, so that in case of failure other 

 queen-cells may be at hand to replace 

 those that are destroyed. If the cells 

 are in good shape, after a few hours of 

 introduction they will come to ma- 

 turity. I have often inserted queen- 

 cells on the morning of the 10th day, 

 and found them hatching the same 

 evening. 



By the nucleus method we prepare 

 our queens at the lowest possible cost. 

 When the queens are fertilized and 

 laying, we may, at our option, increase 

 our little colonies to full strength by 

 the insertion of a comb of brood from 

 time to time, or, if we wish, by moving 

 the nucleus to the stand of a full col- 

 ony, which is, in its turn, brought to 

 the stand of the nucleus, thus causing 

 the weak colony to gain all the field- 

 bees of the other in exchange for its 

 own field-bees. This may be done 

 without trouble during a honey har- 

 vest, for the bees are then peaceable, 

 and although they know the new 

 comers are strangers, they welcome 

 them as we would welcome a friend 

 who brings us a gift. The nucleus 

 must at once be enlarged, of course, to 

 a capacity sufficient for the accommo- 

 dation of its increased field-force. 



In all these manipulations we aim to 

 take nothing from our best colonies, 

 aside from the brood taken from our 

 best queen, and even that is only an 

 exchange — a loan. The principle upon 

 which we work is that the best colonies 

 are the only ones from which we may 

 expect a bountiful harvest. In all sea- 

 sons but extraordinary ones, we have 

 colonies that are of fair, average 

 strength and yet yield but little. You 

 daily expect to see them at work in the 

 supers, but day after day passes with- 

 out change. The reason is that they 

 have become strong a little too late for 

 good results. These are the colonies 

 from which we may take our increase 

 by the above-named method without 

 any perceptible decrease in the amount 

 of crop expected, for what we want in 

 making swarms is plenty of young 

 bees and good queens. 



By the natural method of allowing 

 bees to swarm we get our increase, of 

 course, from the best colonies, but we 

 do away with our best chances for a 

 honey crop. This method gives us 

 both honey and swarms. 

 Hamilton, 111. 



the sun's rays, help warm and dry the 

 hives, thereby enabling the bees to 

 feed and clean house, and by its poor 

 conductivity by contact, and by its not 

 fitting tight to the hive, would be so 

 slow in permitting the escape of the 

 heat that it would give the bees ample 

 time to re-cluster. The results have 

 been all and more than I expected. 



Other bee-keepers have tried the 

 plan, some exactly as I gave it, others 

 modifying it to meet their own the- 

 ories. Some have, through fortunate 

 combinations, made important ad- 

 vance, while some others, governed by 

 prejudice, have dismissed the notion 

 without trial. Among the latter was 

 one who, in commenting on the scheme, 

 said he had tried " virtually the same 

 thing," having " wrapped hives in 

 paper and slipped over all an outside 

 winter-case." The " results were un- 

 satisfactory." 



Among those who have tried it, and 

 developed it, is Mr. Allen Latham, of 

 Connecticut, who runs many small 

 apiaries scattered from the tip of Cape 

 Ccd to the Connecticut River. Some 

 of his yards he sees but twice a year, 

 and his Cape bees he does not see from 

 Sept. 1 of one year until July 10 of the 

 next. Obviously he must have a sys- 

 tem and appliances which need very 

 little care. In his out-apiaries he uses 

 a hive which outdoes Mr. Dadant's for 

 size, having 20 frames 16x11 inches, 

 inside measure. They are arranged all 

 on one level, the queen being restricted 

 to 8 frames at the front of the hive. 



The hives are built on the well- 

 known, air-spaced, paper-lined-walls 

 principle, and covered with black 

 waterproof paper. Even on bleak Cape 

 Cod, where the winter winds have an 

 unchecked sweep of thousands of miles, 

 his bees winter perfectly, and his crops 

 on that seemingly barren sand-pit 

 average about 100 pounds of honey per 

 colony. Neither there nor inland does 

 he have to putter with spring feeding 

 or " stimulation," no " contracting of 

 brood-nest " and similar nonsense. 



What would the advocates of the 8- 

 frame shallow hive think of letting 

 their tiny colonies winter in a box 

 approximately 3 feet long, 1 foot deep, 

 and I, 1 ': feet wide? Look at their ex- 

 pense in labor, in appliances, in feed- 

 ing, and in winter loss. Mr. Latham's 

 labor item is so small per colony that 

 it is not worth computing; and his 

 winter losses are so few and far be- 

 tween that he almost forgets that such 

 a thing ever occurs. His is a profit- 

 able, common-sense sort of apiculture. 

 The air-spaced, black-paper-covered 

 hive has come to stay with him and 

 many others ; and its use is spreading. 

 Providence Co., R. I. 



Black Building Paper for 



Winter Protection of 



Hives 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER 



For several years I have been using 

 and advocating black building paper 

 as a winter protection to hives. The 

 theory I had was that while being wind 

 and water proof, it would, by absorbing 



Our Wood Kinder (or Holder) is 

 made to take all the copies of the imerican 

 Bee Journal for a year. It is sent by mail 

 for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. 

 The Bee Journals can be inserted as soon as 

 they are received, and thus preserved for 

 future reference. Or we will send it with the 

 American Bee Journal a year — both for $1.10. 

 Address the office of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. 



National Bee-Keepers' Association 



will hold its 37th annual convention in San 

 Antonio, Tex., Nov. 8, 9, and 10 Will yoc 

 be there '. 



