270 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



If it is not a powerful colony, and an 

 extra year, you will not need more than 

 3 stories, and some years 2 will do. 



Now listen : When the top story is 

 full, or when the frames are about half 

 capped, extract all the frames in it, and 

 then by this time the bees are well 

 started in the middle story, raise it up 

 and put the newly extracted one in the 

 middle, and so on as long as the flow lasts. 



Do d^t be afaid of a little brood in the 

 upper stories, as I allow my queens to 

 lay where they please in running for ex- 

 tracted honey. Then if the brood is not 

 where we want it, I put it so. 



It will surprise you to see the amount 

 of honey you can take from a single 

 colony when run for extracted honey, 

 when a good season comes. I have 

 harvested over 500 pounds from a sin- 

 gle colony in a single season, by the 

 above method, but we must not expect 

 that amount often. 



Now you have a fine start, and you 

 can Italianize as before, if you choose, 

 and you can quit extracting a little be- 

 fore the harvest closes. And what a 

 nice chance to make some fall colonies 

 with the partly-filled combs, or what a 

 nice start you have for next year ! 



Now we know how to produce honey, 

 and I will next tell how to sell the crop, 

 and it is a trade to produce it, and a 

 separate trade to know how to sell it. 

 (Continued next week.) 



Bees Stealing Honey. 



Some years ago I undertook to put 

 some of my bees on pasture, my own 

 locality, where I lived then, being rather 

 poor for bee-pasture. Consequently, I 

 moved 6 colonies into a yard of one of 

 my old friends, who lived In a country 

 town which was located in a rich bot- 

 tom. I worked 4 colonies for extracted 

 honey, and 2 for comb honey in sections. 

 I manipulated the bees according to the 

 principles of the improved system of 

 keeping bees for profit. 



In the adjoining lot neighbor Jackson 

 had a lot of black bees in box-hives. He 

 put on his honey-boxes where he ex- 

 pected his bees to store the surplus 

 honey, but never controlled swarming or 

 anything else. During that honey sea- 

 son I hauled away from those 6 colonies 

 at least 600 pounds of nice honey, when 

 neighbor Jackson did not get any honey; 

 but he exclaimed "that it is now plain 

 to him, that Z.'s bees have been stealing 

 the honey from the neighboring bees, or 

 it would have been impossible for them 

 to store so much honey." 



The spring following I received a let- 

 ter without a signature, telling me this : 

 " If you want to save your bees, don't 

 bring them down here again ; we will 

 not be imposed upon — pasture your own 

 country," etc. I suppose many bee- 

 keepers of the old school would look at 

 the matter in the same way, at this 

 date. Maximilian. 



Shawnee, Kans. 



Eggs in Queen-Cells. 



I notice on page 916 of Gleanings for 

 Dec. 15, 1892, an article written by 

 Wilder Graham, who seems to convey 

 the idea that the bees move eggs into 

 queen-cells. My experience is different, 

 as I know the queen lays the eggs in the 

 queen-cells just the same as she does in 

 other cells. You may take a queen 

 from a colony that has a dozen queen- 

 cells started, and you will never find a 

 queen reared in one of them, unless it 

 contained an egg before the queen was 

 removed. Then if bees move eggs into 

 queen-cells, why do they not put eggs 

 into the queen-cells already started, 

 rather than to start a queen-cell over an 

 egg or larva ? 



An egg that is taken from any cell by 

 a bee, is destroyed, and never is again 

 deposited by the bee. Now, my obser- 

 vations may meet with opposition, but, 

 notwithstanding, I am settled on this 

 point. , J. A. 



Hybrids vs. Italians for Oomb Honey. 



Mr. Grover, on page 667 (1892) says: 

 " Hybrids are better for storing honey 

 in sections than the blacks ; but for this 

 locality I prefer Italians." 



During 1892 I had a strong colony of 

 Italians at an out-apiary, that abso- 

 lutely refused to work in the sections. 

 They cast a swarm, and partly filled two 

 sections, but did not draw out another 

 piece of foundation in the super. The 

 hive rested upon eight inch blocks, and 

 the bees left it and built combs criss- 

 cross to the under side of the bottom- 

 board. When I found them they had 

 brood enough to fill two frames. As fast 

 as brood hatched in the body, the cells 

 were filled with honey. I put them into 

 another hive on the same stand, and 

 built up another colony with their brood, 

 giving it another queen. Both are now 

 good, strong colonies. 



George Mott, M. D. 



Spurger, Tex., Jan. 12, 1893. 



