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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



loss of honey. Every bee-keeper should 

 read my new book on this subject. A 

 colony may swarm, but not be allowed 

 to divide up. A queen-trap may prevent 

 it, or, in seven days after, the colony 

 may be reunited. The claim is now 

 freely made that the colony thatswarms 

 produces the most surplus comb honey, 

 and also the finest. 2. That which is 

 true in working for comb honey is also 

 true in running for extracted. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



1 and 2. This query needs a long an- 

 swer, as so much depends upon a great 

 many things. But I will just say that 

 in a long, moderate flow, the two would 

 give the most. But in a short heavy 

 flow, the one would do the best, either 

 of comb or extracted. — E. France. 



1. That's a hard question, because I 

 never could tell what they " think." In 

 my experience, I don't find very much 

 difference between one that swarms once 

 and one that doesn't swarm at all, un- 

 less it be where the swarm is cast very 

 early — then I believe the two will beat 

 one. — Eugene Secor. 



1 and 2. If all the surplus was to come 

 from clover that had to be gathered in 

 ten days or two weeks, as is frequently 

 the case, I would take the chances on 

 the non-swarmer ; but with a good 

 chance for clover, basswood, and a fall 

 crop, I should say let them swarm, unless 

 ■I was overstocked. — S. I. Freeborn. 



This question has been asked a great 

 many times. It depends altogether upon 

 the length of the honey season. In a 

 short honey-flow, the colony that does 

 not swarm will store considerable honey, 

 while a colony that swarms in the midst 

 of a short flow, may make a complete 

 failure, both as to the swarm and parent 

 colony. Taking one year with another, 

 in my locality, I do not want swarms, 

 because they are not profitable, except 

 for increase. — G. W. Demaree. 



A I^ov Edition of " The Bee-Keepers' 

 Guide; or Manual of the Apiary," by Prof. 

 A. J. Cook, has just been issued by the 

 publishers of the Bee Journal. Sixteen 

 thousand copies of this excellent and com- 

 plete bee- work have already been sold, and 

 it is to-day as standard as ever — Plain — 

 Practical — Scientific. It contains over 450 

 pages, is beautifully printed, neatly and 

 substantially bound in cloth, and is sent 

 postpaid for $1.25 per copy; or clubbed 

 with the Bee Journal for one year — both 

 for $1.65. 



0iAt^4 



Spriiis fork in tlie Apiary. 



Writteyi for the American Bee Journal 



BY J. A. GREEN. 



With the opening of spring the labors 

 of the apiarist begin in earnest. The 

 first warm days that come, allowing the 

 bees to fly freely, bring with them the 

 demand for attention. If the bees have 

 been confined some time, care must be 

 taken that the entrances are clear, so 

 that the bees may fly freely. 



A piece of wire, bent at right angles 

 an inch or so from the end, makes a 

 good tool for cleaning out the entrances. 



I use under nearly all of my hives a 

 rim two inches deep, so arranged that 

 the entrance to the hive is at the top of 

 the rim. This allows all dead bees to 

 drop out from between the combs, and 

 makes it impossible for the entrance to 

 become choked up by dead bees. During 

 the winter it is best to allow a large en- 

 trance. Mine are llxps inch, and are 

 left open full width all winter. About 

 the middle of March the entrance should 

 be contracted to from J^^-inch to 3 inches 

 wide, according to the size of the colony. 



It porous coverings have been used 

 over the brood-chamber, they should be 

 removed, unless the bees have had a 

 chance to propolize them thoroughly, 

 and replaced with sheets of enameled 

 cloth or plain boards, well protected by 

 packing, so that the warmth of the col- 

 ony may not be wasted at the time it is 

 most needed. 



Now if you are sure that your colony 

 has a good queen and plenty of honey, 

 you may very profitably let it alone un- 

 til the middle of May, or even later. 

 Usually more harm than good is done by 

 overhauling the brood-chamber early in 

 .the spring. 



It is to be hoped th^,t all your colonies 

 lived through the winter. Probably 

 some will be found dead. If the loss 

 does not amount to more than 10 per 

 cent., you may consider yourself fortu- 

 nate. 



