296 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



October 



just to get their hands in and see what 

 it is like before venturing out of their 

 depth. This is so far good, but in the 

 majority of cases it would be well be- 

 fore venturing on the new departure 

 to go into the pros and cons in order 

 to understand what we are about to do 

 and that a good and proper start may 

 be made. It may seem to the uninit- 

 iated rather beginning at the wrong 

 end of the season to make a com- 

 mencement now, but there is, in ray 

 opinion, no better time to do so than 

 the month of September, and pro- 

 vided no time is lost in the matter. 

 Ail that is necessary is a good, sound 

 hive, six or seven frames of comb, and 

 five or six pounds of driven bees. 

 These can be got cheap at this time, 

 and if hived on just as many frames 

 of comb as they will cover, and fed, 

 slowly at first — until the queen has 

 begun to lay freely — and afterwards 

 rapidly till at least 20 lb. of food is 

 stored. When this ])reliminary work 

 has been got thrcmgh the bees must be 

 wrapped up carefully for the winter, 

 and if the job is well done the chances 

 are they will make a capital stock 

 next spring, and one which will give 

 a good monetary return the first year, 

 1 consider this to be a cheaper way to 

 start than waiting until spring for 

 swarms which can only be had when 

 the season is rapidly advancing. Be- 

 sides the certainty of a honey return 

 from a swarm is entirely problematical, 

 and dependent on the season. Diiveu 

 bees should be hived either late in the 

 evening or early in the morning, and 

 if they have travelled a distance let 

 them rest awhile in a cool, dark place, 

 and give a little warm syrup just be- 

 fore hiving. The one great objection 

 to driven bees is that the queen is 



likely to be old, though probably good 

 enough to produce a prosperous col- 

 ony the following year Therefore, 

 and to guard against failure in this 

 respect, ten days or a fortnight after 

 hiving examine the combs for brood, 

 and if it is seen that the queen has 

 laid in four or five of the combs it may 

 reasonably be assumed that her ovipo- 

 siting powers are still vigorous. If, 

 however, but few Qggs or brood are 

 found, the sooner she is replaced the 

 better. 



Many readers — especially in rural 

 districts — will no doubt have the op- 

 portuuity of driving bees for them- 

 selves, but although this is an easy 

 operation to those accustomed to it, 

 "driving" expeditions should not be 

 heedlessly entered upon until exper- 

 ience has been gained. In fact, on no 

 account should they be undertaken 

 by the uninitiated. As I have already 

 said, nothing appears simpler than to 

 drum the bees from skep to skep, but; 

 unless great care is taken, and a know- 

 ledge of the exigencies which may 

 arise be constantly borne in mind^ 

 serious upsets may arise, especially in 

 large apiaries, and in places contig- 

 uous to houses and highways; upsets 

 not seldom leading to utter disorgan- 

 istion and disturbance, but to bees 

 and humans, which it may take days 

 to quell. In driving bees the operator 

 must be cool and take matters quietly. 

 One of the main points is to have at 

 hand everything that may be needed 

 before touching the bees which are to 

 driven. The operation is so simple 

 when once its elements are grasped 

 that failure seldom occurs, unless 

 through inaptitude or forgetfulness. 

 Smoke the bees moderately only, and 

 give them time to gorge with honey 



