136 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



tracting the size of the hive is that the 

 bees will not have so much space to keep 

 warm, and can better protect themselves 

 and brood, and rear brood faster. 



To induce the queen to deposit eggs, 

 and the workers to rear them, it is neces- 

 sary to keep a portion of the honey un- 

 sealed. 



I have no occasion to feed any artificial 

 pollen, as there is a bounteous natural 

 supply in my range as early as the 

 weather is warm enough to permit the 

 workers to gather it. 



As for honey resources, I think, I have 

 as good as the country affords. Yet there 

 are times during the season when there is 

 no yield of honey in the flowers, and yet 

 my bees never cease breeding until cold 

 weather in October, if there is unsealed 

 honey in the hives. 



To get the best results in breeding, the 

 brood combs must be interchanged by 

 moving the central ones apart that have 

 the most brood in, and inserting between 

 them the outer ones that have the least 

 brood in, until all are equally filled with 

 brood, and as the colony increases, and 

 the weather becomes warmer, the combs 

 should be moved apart, and empty worker 

 combs inserted between them in the brood 

 nest; also empty frames should be in- 

 serted in the brood nest as fast as they can 

 fill them with new combs, or better still, 

 to insert frames with combs that were 

 partly finished last fall. The above man- 

 agement will secure the best results in 

 breeding, but when empty combs are in- 

 serted fur increasing the brood nest, care 

 must be taken not to increase it beyond the 

 strength of the colony; or in case of a 

 cold spell they cannot protect all the 

 brood, and some of it will be chilled and 

 lost, and the object sought will be defeated. 



Ionia Co., Mich. S. K. Marsh. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 

 Extracting from and Exchanging Brood 

 Frames. 



Page 310, American Bee Journal for 

 1875, commences an article from W. C. P. 

 I do not know who he is, we always like 

 to see the full name of the person writing 

 any piece. If he does not like to give 

 us his post ofiice, leave that out, but give the 

 name, county and state. He says the 

 bees move nearly all the eggs, etc., from 

 strange combs, or combs from other hives 

 put in with different bees. Now, my 

 experience is entirely difterent. With 

 my bees it makes no difl'erence whatever. 

 My friend, W. C. P. may have bees of a 

 dilfereut disposition from mine. 



Some one, in one of tiie back numbers 

 of the Journal, speaks of putting all the 

 combs back in the hive just as they come 

 out, every one in its own place. We 

 should make our combs every one straight 

 and nice, (and the good apiarist will do it), 



so that they will fit any place, and in all 

 places. If some of them at first have 

 bumps or raised places on them, spring 

 them back and pare them off until they 

 are even. How can the keeper of many 

 colonies dispatch business and get through 

 in extracting, artificial swarming, etc., 

 where he has to put every comb back in 

 the same position it occupied before? 

 Such practice may do for some persons, 

 but it will not do for me. Some say, do 

 not extract from the brood chamber. I 

 know, under certain circumstances, it is 

 very important to extract from the brood 

 chamber. This is often necessary when 

 we are only using one story hives. If we 

 want honey we must have plenty of bees 

 to gather it. In order to have plenty of 

 bees, we must have ample room for the 

 queen to lay. We know that without the 

 free use of the extractor her room is often 

 encroached upon, and that their instinct 

 is for storing as close to the brood as possi- 

 ble, and that they are miserly and will 

 not eat it out until compelled to do so. 

 I often extract the outside combs of the 

 brood chamber, widen out the middle 

 sheets of brood, and set empty combs in 

 the middle. This gives the queen room 

 to spread herself again. E. Liston. 



Virgil City, Mo., March 29, 1876. 



For the Americaa Bee Journal. 



Melilot Clover as a Honey Plant. 



After a fair trial with the Melilot clover 

 I find it is the best honey plant in Amer- 

 ica. Sow the seed in April or Ma}^ with 

 anything, or any kind of grain, or 

 or on any kind of soil, and it will 

 grow. The earlier it is sown the bet- 

 ter. It does not bloom until the sec- 

 ond season, generally from the 1st to the 

 10th of July. It remains in bloom 

 from 60 to 90 days. If j^ou should want 

 to have it come in late, say about the first 

 of August, when j^ou see it showing 

 signs of blooming, cut it back to about 

 six inches high, and you will get a late 

 run of honey, which the bees will store in 

 boxes. Fall frosts will not injure it. I have 

 seen bees at work on it on October 5th. 

 Webster describes it as a great honey 

 plant. It makes a good quality of hone3^ 

 My bees have wintered on Melilot honey 

 this winter, and thej' have never wintered 

 as well since I have been in the business. 

 I have lost only two stands out of one 

 hundred and ninety. They show no signs 

 of dysentery, (except tlie two). They 

 were put in the cellar on November 16th, 

 and taken out about March lOtli. 



I don't think this clover would be good 

 for cattle or horse pasture, although I 

 have sowed it in my cattle pasture, and 

 they keep it well fed off. On good 

 ground ' 1 have had it grow seven feet 

 high. Every other honey plant, last year, 

 failed to give any honey. 



