THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



123 



ones taken from the nine liives: you can 

 repeat this operation every otlier day as 

 long as you liave empty combs to give, but 

 if you luive no combs and are compelled to 

 put an empty frame in place of the full one, 

 so that the bees have to build comb, we 

 would not advise repeating the operation 

 oftener than once a week. 



In this way you can increase your colo- 

 nies very fast, if you have provided queens 

 for the new ones in nucleus hives as di- 

 rected last month— being careful to feed 

 sugar syrup liberally in all rainy weather or 

 when honey is not secreted in flowers. 



If this way is considered too troublesome, 

 you can divide each of your ten colonies at 

 once in a way we have often described as 

 nearly copying natural swarming. It is 

 this : "Take from a hive a frame of brood 

 and the queen. Put tiiem into an empty 

 hive, filling the space in the new hive with 

 combs, if you have them ; if not, with 

 frames. Set this just where the old hive 

 stood— moving the other three or four yards 

 away from it. You then have in the new 

 hive the queen with the main force of bees 

 able to work and they will fill up so rapidly 

 that in three weeks you can take combs 

 from it to form new colonies. The old hive, 

 even if compelled to rear a queen for itself 

 will do well, as it retains most of the brood, 

 and if a queen be given it, you will find it 

 soon in condition to spare combs for new 

 colonies. 



To the second class, those who wish for the 

 greatest amount of honey, we can only say: 

 Use the extractor and in this way keep the 

 hive supplied always with empty comb. 

 You will then have no trouble about swarm- 

 ing. If you wish for box honey, still empty 

 combs below with the extractor often, keep- 

 ing the boxes on and the full force of work- 

 ers in the hive- There is no surer road to 

 profit than this, if your colonies are strong. 

 These rules apply to the swarming season 

 whether that comes in April or May, as in 

 the South, or in the month of June, as in 

 this latitude, or in July as it does in sections 

 farther north. In July number, our "hints" 

 we hope will guide to successful manage- 

 ment later in the season. 



•<»- -»—■ ^^— «- ♦- 



The A B C of Bee Keeping. 



We often receive letters from those 

 beginning to keep bees, complaining that 

 we are not plain enough in our directions 

 and asking that we give the "A B C " of 

 bee keeping. To all these we answer 

 that we try to make ourselves understood, 



and to give, each month, hints adapted 

 to all who have not more knowledge on 

 the subject than ourselves, but if we 

 were to adapt ourselves to the compre- 

 hension of those who are just beginning 

 to keep bees, we should find room for 

 little else. For these there are text books 

 and works on bee keeping that make 

 matters simple and easy, and these are 

 sold so cheaply that no one should own a 

 colony of bees, without buying one of 

 them. This journal, while it seeks to 

 give information on all points connected 

 with bee keeping, cannot in any sense 

 take the place of a book for beginners. 



Which is the best knife for uncapping, 

 without heating the knife? 



Winder & Murphy both have knives that 

 uncap nicely in warm weather without 

 heating. 



I want to know how I can secure frames 

 filled with straight comb? 



That is my great desire, for this season I 

 have ten good colonies, but no spare comb. 



E. B. 



There is no way so sure as to put an 

 empty frame into a strong colony between 

 two straight combs in this month. Move 

 the combs apart the right space and put 

 your frame in, and keep on removing combs 

 and putting in frames. You can iise this 

 comb in building up other colonies as 

 directed in this number. Bees are natural 

 enough to "abhor a vacuum," and space 

 thus made will be filled as speedily as pos- 

 sible. 



1st. Does the bee make honey that is pois- 

 onous? If so, what season of the year, and 

 what flower or flowers is it made of? 



2d. What is your opinion of the orange 

 flower for honey? also yellow jasamine? 

 We consider the yellow jasamine a very 

 poisonous flower. 



M. Is the swamp magnolia a good honey 

 flower? Also the queen bay. 



What is your opinion of the swamps and 

 glades of Florida for an apiarian? Are 

 summers too hot? Are they too long? giv- 

 ing the moth a longer time to do its des- 

 tructive work? 



4th. Is it necessary to give bees salt? If 

 so when, how often, how much, and for 

 what is to be given? 



By the way, we have in this region a new 



(to us) eneiiiy to the worker bee. It is a 



i large fly or bee. It resembles a hornet in 



I some respects, and bumble bee in others. 



