502 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



BEES IN THE HOUSE-APIARY. 



But the house-apiary — how are the 

 bees wintering In that ? Well, in the 

 house, early in the fall, on the first ap- 

 proach of cold nights, we can and do in 

 the house, easily and quickly, pack the 

 hives in a warm bed of sawdust, where 

 cool nights and day? have no effect on 

 them ; and it goes without saying, that 

 breeding will be kept up later here than 

 in the out-yard where the hives are un- 

 protected from changes of weather ; and 

 if a little feeding is judiciously done, we 

 can control late breeding at pleasure; 

 and with my new feeder, that gives the 

 syrup directly to the bees in the brood- 

 nest, the feeding can be done so easily 

 and quickly that all burden is removed, 

 for I can feed 24 colonies in five min- 

 utes at any time, without any possible 

 danger from robber-bees. 



Of course I cannot see into the hive in 

 the packing, in the house, to report their 

 actual condition, but they have had one 

 good flight since winter began, and are 

 tucked away undisturbed in their warm 

 bed; with opportunity for exercise when- 

 ever the weather is warm enough to in- 

 vite them to do so, they must of neces- 

 sity winter well, and come out in a 

 healthy condition. 



And then in the spring, when the bees 

 begin to bring in pollen, I shall feed a 

 little each evening, and brood-rearing 

 once commenced, will never be allowed 

 to lag. And when the white honey sea- 

 son comes, there will be giant colonies 

 ready to collect it, and then, with plenty 

 of supers filled with sections of worked- 

 out combs, on which the " comb leveler" 

 has been used — I did get last year, and 

 will this year, a great crop of the finest 

 gilt-edged honey, if the flowers yield 

 nectar. 



The house-apiary is here to stay, and 

 I am going to end my long apiarian ex- 

 perience in introducing it, and mak- 

 ing it a success. 



Forestville, Minn., Feb. 20. 



Directions for Transferrin! Bees. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY M. W. LAIRD. 



I will try and give my latest method 

 of transferring, for the beginner, as I 

 recently promised to do. 



We will assume that the hive or hives 

 have been prepared, containing frames 

 of drawn combs or of comb-foundation. 

 A few drawn or natural combs are best. 



when transferring by the drumming 

 process, as bees are not as well pre- 

 pared for comb-building as when swarm- 

 ing. 



Get a piece of soft wood 2 inches 

 square by 3}^ or 4 inches long ; trim it 

 down in the shape of a cone, and nail a 

 board 4 inches square on the bottom ; 

 take common screen wire, making as 

 many wire cones over the cone block, as 

 you have colonies in box-hives to trans- 

 fer. 



Prepare a small hiving-box about 8 

 inches deep, the same width as the box- 

 hives — I prefer it about 20 inches long, 

 so that I may better see the bees when 

 drumming them up. 



Now you are ready for business, but I 

 prefer to let the bees cast their first 

 swarm, moving the box-hive back 4 or 5 

 feet, and placing the swarm just hived 

 in its stead. 



Light the smoker, put on a bee-veil 

 and gloves, if you use them. Give the 

 old colony a few puffs of smoke, having 

 a bottom-board ready, providing the old 

 hive is bottomless. Turn it upside down 

 carefully, give a little more smoke, if 

 necessary, bore a !>< or 2 inch auger-hole 

 in front clo^e to the bottom, tack the 

 bottom-board on, and also one of the 

 wire screen cones over the auger-hole ; 

 make the old hive bee-tight, except the 

 exit through the cone, which should be 

 % or }4 inch in diameter, placing it on 

 top of other hive, or close by the side, 

 both entrances the same. 



Your work is done without any drum- 

 ming or fussing with the bees. 



In about 28 days take the old hive to 

 some close room, pry it apart, remove 

 all comb and honey, unmolested by bees, 

 rendering up the combs, and doing as 

 you see fit with the honey. 



Should you prefer two colonies, place 

 the first swarm on the new location, let- 

 ting the old colony remain for about 18 

 days. Probably it will swarm again in 

 10 or 12 days. If it should, treat as 

 above described, and you will have two 

 good colonies ; or by placing the second 

 swarm in a new location, and in 18 days 

 from the first swarm, you may transfer 

 by drumming % of the bees and the 

 queen up into the hiving-box, and plac- 

 ing a new hive on the box-hive stand, 

 shaking the bees on a sheet spread in 

 front, and watching closely to be sure 

 the queen is present and enters the hive. 

 If you do not discover her, look inside 

 the new hive. If you still do not find 

 her, drum out a few more bees from the 

 old hive, and again shaking the bees a 

 little ways from the entrance will give 



