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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



number, and seek besides to provide them with 

 shade during the heat of the day. When pas- 

 turage is very abundant, we enlarge the en- 

 trances of our hives, or open additional ones 

 higher ui). thus giving free passage to an in- 

 creased number of worlvcrs. 



jfndiring — that is, introducing ekes or sec- 

 tions at the bottom of a hive, does not promote, 

 ■!Ut rather prevents, the accaninhition of si ores, 

 I'f'.eause tlie bees are tliereby tempted to build 

 combs therein, and the ([ueen to supply tliem 

 v/ith eggs. We therefore avoid this mode of 

 enlarging, unless avo desire to provide combs 

 and brood for a nucleus or a queenless stock. 



Another mode of aiding store stocks in the 

 accumulation of honey is by transporting them 

 from one district to another, according to season 

 or the abundance or scarcity of pasturage. This, 

 though a common practice in some countries, 

 such as Lunenburg, is not gen-rally avinlablc, 

 and may not,' therefore, ho looked upon as 

 among the ordinary resources of bee-keepers. 

 But when it happens that by a removal of a t'aw 

 miles bees can be placed within reach of fields 

 of buckv.'heat, esparcctte, mustard, or white 

 clover in blossom, or extensive ranges of bass- 

 wood or locust trees in bloom, the cost and 

 trouble of tlic transfer will bo richly rijpaid, if 

 the weather be favorable to honey-gathering. 



It is the practic3 in some sections, and has 

 been recommended by such expert apiarians as 

 Strausz, Knauff, and Yitzthum, to drive out tiie 

 bees of strong stocks at the beginiung of full 

 pasturage in the spring into an empty hive, 

 placing them on their accustomed stand, uu'l 

 appropriating the contents of the full hive. 

 Tliis is to be done, indeed, only where further 

 enlargement of an apiary, or multi[)lication of 

 stocks, is no longer desired, and a mere renewal 

 of the combs is designed. But unless the queen 

 has b(^m removed or lost nearly three weeks 

 before, this process involves the destruction of 

 a large amount of eggs and larvte, and much 

 unpleasant labor. To avoid this, some place the 

 deprived hive oa some other strong stock, 

 opening a communication with the toj), and so 

 let it remain till fall. It is then removed, and 

 the contents extracted. But this operation wiil 

 be successful only in case the lower nive is 

 filled ; otherwise the stores in the upper will be 

 carried down into the lower, while the brood is 

 maturing. The supposed advantage of thi^ 

 operation consists in the construclioa of new 

 comb;>, for which, however, much hon<'y and 

 precious time are required. All this would 

 have been saved by letting them remiin in their 

 old hive till fall, then driving them out, uniting 

 them with some oilier colony, and preserving 

 such of the empty combs as arc still in good 

 condition. Where an apiary contains its full 

 complement of stocks, or the owner does not 

 desire further increase, it is more judicious to 

 drive ouL the bees of his oldest and heaviest 

 co'onies, unite theni with others, and appro- 

 priate tlie stores. The renewal of combs should 

 be etfectcd at a period when the labor of the 

 bees is of less value than it is at the time of lull 

 pasturage in the spring. 



It has furthermore been proposed io strcngfh 'u 

 v/cak coloniu'j by tr.mspoi-sing lu';ni witii iull 



one."?. But this seems literally to be " robbing 

 Peter to pay Paul." It would be a spl -ndid 

 financial operation if a man could enrich b.im 

 self by transferring half the contents of his full 

 purse into his empty one. By such transpo- 

 sition we merely v.'caken one hive as much as 

 Ave strengthen the other — an equalization of no 

 value at the gathering season, however useful 

 it may be at a later period. Besidesthe weak 

 colony is never nearly so much benefitted by 

 such an accession when jjasturage abounds, as 

 the strong one is injured by the loss, since a pro- 

 portionably much smaller number of bees can 

 then be spared for out-door labor. If the Aveak 

 colony has a feeble or superannuated queen, all 

 such efforts to rcinlbrce it must prove abortive 

 in the end. They are only admissable in a 

 case where a colony has been greatly reduced 

 by some accidental cans::, and avc are certain 

 that it still contains a young, healthy, and pro- 

 lific (pven. In all other cases, the surest course 

 is promptly to unite a Aveak stock to a strong 

 one. There is, indeed, one mode of strengthen- 

 ing stocks, Avhich is ahvaj^s commendable — the 

 union, namely, of aftersAvarms Avith old stocks, 

 or that of tAvo or more affcersAvarms Avith each 

 other. But, as on our system of management 

 t'lc expert apiarian Avill prevent afterswarmiug 

 in his " bailiAvick"- as much as possible, licAviil 

 seldom be under the necessity of availing him- 

 self of this process. But Avlien the occasion 

 occurs, he Avill find that the strong stock i?. 

 greatlj- aided by the accession ; and he Avill 

 save himself the A'exation of nursing up con- 

 S'itutional invalids — prcdoomed victims of the 

 moth. 



Tiie Baron of Berlcpsch regards restriction 

 of brooding from the latter end of June as a 

 principal means of securing an ample honey 

 liarA^est. For that purpose he remoA"cs all the 

 old queens from_his colonics, and lets the bees- 

 rear young ones ; Avhereas Dzierzon confines 

 them in qu(;en-cages from about the same time 

 to the close of the gathering season, thus pre- 

 venting the 'pro Inction of brood altogetlier 

 during a prolonged period. Berlcpsch says 

 lie obtains from twelve to tAventy pounds of 

 hone}' more from colonies deprived of their 

 queens than fi"om those not so treated. The 

 dilFereacc seems to us enormous, for it Avould 

 thus ap))ear that I'roni tAvelvc to tAventy pounds 

 of honey Avonld be required for the use of tJy. 

 brood from the end of June to about the first of 

 August, Avhen the young queens Avill haA'e 

 become fertile, and new brood make its 

 appearance, in the combs — though ordinarily, 

 in nndei^rived colonies, brooding begins gradu- 

 ally to diminish after the first of July. Be this 

 as it ma A', it in no easy task to catch and remove 

 the queen from a large cottage hive, AvhichAvill 

 usually be found, at the end of June, croAvded 

 Avith bees, and crammed Avith honey ; and avc 

 must hence forego any advantage Avhich might 

 result from such deprivation while using such 

 hives. The most avc can do to restrict bro;)ding 

 in them is to cease enlarging tliem by nadir in;/ 

 or adding sections at the base. 



As soon as surplus honey and collateral boxes 

 avc filled Avith combs and honey, and the latter 

 \3 ciii'otly capped in the (?ells, thoy arc to be ro- 



