American Bee Jouilnal, 



DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEE CULTURE. 



Vol. XI. 



CEDAR RAPIDS, MAY, 1875. 



No. 5. 



^ncricaif J)H '^mn^\l 



W. F. CLARKE, I Editors 



Mrs. E. S. T UPPER, P^^^^^"^- 



Seasonable Hints. 



luthis month, it is often best, if rapid 

 increase is desired, to divide colonies. 

 If the bees liave been encouraged in 

 brood rearing by feeding, and the heat of 

 the hive economized, the bees are strong 

 now — "whether the season be late or early. 

 We do not find bees, managed as we ad- 

 vise, dependent on early seasons. 



We would advise all whose colonies are 

 strong, and who desire to increase num" 

 bers as fast as possible, to commence in 

 this month making new colonies. We 

 would not do it in such a way as to 

 Weaken any hive materially. A comb of 

 brood may be taken from one, a comb 

 containing stores from another, and bees 

 from a third. If a queen can be provided 

 for everj' newly made colony, or a queen 

 cell nearly ready to hatch and empty comb 

 is at hand, the increase may be very rap- 

 id and with no danger of failure. 



Those who wish to start nucleus hives, 

 can do it best in this month, in this lati- 

 tude. 



There are various ways of doing this. 

 The best one is this : Take a good Italian 

 queen from the hive to which she belong^ 

 and put her in some other hive, from 

 which the queen has been removed ; 

 with the usual precautious. 



The hive left queenless will at once 

 build queen cells, and at this season of the 

 year, a number may be expected. Leave 

 the hive undisturbed until about the eighth 



day, then have in readiness several 

 small hives each made to contain three or 

 four frames, the same size as your large 

 hives. Oi)en your hive, ascertain how 

 queen cells they are, and divide its con- 

 tents among these^small hives — putting in 

 each a comb, containing at least one cell 

 — more if you choose. Divide the brood 

 combs and store combs among the small 

 liives and if necessary supply one or more 

 from other hives. Then take the old 

 hive entirely away and set the small hives 

 containing the frames of it close together 

 where the old one stood, the entrance fac- 

 ing the opposite icay. The bees disturbed 

 by the unfamiliar appearance of things, 

 will find the small hives, and as each has 

 a cell and brood, they will soon settle to 

 work. Care must be taken before night 

 to see that each s^nall hive has enough. 

 If one has more than its share, change its 

 place with that of a weaker one. Tou 

 will then have two, three or four small 

 hives in the place of one, and can keep 

 them all the season rearing queens, or 

 ilnite them again into one colony after 

 they have served their purpose. There 

 are other ways of starting a nucleus, 

 which we will give hereafter. 



Those who use surplus boxes will do 

 well to put them on all strong colonies 

 in this month ; though in most localities, 

 bees do better in them before June. 



A strong colony of bees has been known 

 to build one hundred square inches of 

 comb in twenty-four hours ; at that rate 

 over sixty sheets of comb a foot square 

 could be costructed in three months. 

 The editor of the Annals of Bee Culture 

 has had a report of a swarm that built 

 nine sheets of comb ten by thirteen inches 

 in ten days. 



