No. 11. 



Swarming of Honey Bees. 



355 



has slowly extended itself to all other parts. 

 In both, the system of the tree or plant 

 seems enfeebled, and almost entirely de- 

 stroyed by a blight, which may be traced to 

 an original disturbance in the healthy action 

 of the foliage. 



Whatever may be the final conclusion re- 

 garding the Sycamore disease, one thing we 

 know by experiment to be certain, viz : it is 

 not without a remedy. And we therefore 

 beg those of our readers, who may have fine 

 old specimens of Sycamores, which are just 

 attacked, or not yet wholly destroyed, to re- 

 peat our experiment, in order to save the 

 lives of their trees. 



The plan we allude to, is that of heading 

 in, or shortening, very severely, as early as 

 possible in June, the extremities of all the 

 lower limbs; say, if possible, one-fourth of 

 the extent of the branches, if small, or one- 

 eighth, if large trees. This forces the tree 

 to develope new buds, and a strong set of 

 fresh and thrifty shoots, with large and 

 healthy leaves. This young and vigorous 

 foliage, put forth at this late season, appears 

 to have the power of resisting the malaria, 

 so fatal to the ordinary, or normal growth. 

 The tree rapidly makes wood, in a short 

 time presents a rich head of large leaves, 

 and in a few years becomes larger and more 

 beautiful than ever. 



Six years ago, when this disease had be- 

 gun to destroy a large number of Sycamores 

 in one of our more Southern cities, we re- 

 commended this course, as an experiment, 

 to be made on four specimens in a row of 

 fine old trees, standing in one of the princi- 

 pal streets. They were very much headed 

 back in the branches, and very speedily put 

 out a fine new growth, which was not again 

 attacked, and are now very beautiful and 

 healthy trees. The other trees that were 

 left: to themselves, are now entirely dead, or 

 so miserably bare of foliage, as to appear so. 



Since that time we have seen the same 

 treatment pursued in other parts of the 

 country, with similar good results. We 

 therefore make it more public, now, in the 

 hope of saving many specimens, in various 

 districts, that otherwise would fall victims 

 to the malady, to the injury of many a pretty 

 bit of landscape. — Downing^s Horticultu- 

 rist. 



From the American Agriculturist. 



Swarming of Honey Bees. 



The cause of swarming, in all cases, is 

 an excess of population, the bees not having 

 room for all to work to advantage. When 

 bees are placed in very large hives, or when 

 they are quartered in an open room, as is 



sometimes done, they never swarm. Swarm- 

 ing may also be prevented by affording addi- 

 tional room, either at the bottom, top, or side 

 of the hive during the swarming season. As 

 a matter of profit, in the increase of stocks, 

 bees should never be placed in rooms, or in 

 hives larger than twelve inches square. If 

 we should hive two swarms, the one in a 

 hive two feet square, and the other in a hive 

 one foot square; or in hives of the same 

 solid contents, though differently shaped, the 

 result of the increase of each, at the end of 

 five years, would be, with good management, 

 about as follows: viz., the swarm in the 

 larger hive would about half fill it with 

 comb the first year; the second year it would 

 be completed, but no new swarm. The fol- 

 lowing spring would find the hive full of comb, 

 but only half full of bees; and it would re- 

 quire the third year to replenish, and so it 

 would continue ad infinitum yearly replen- 

 ishing its lost population, and at the end of 

 fifty years you would have no more bees 

 than when you commenced ! 



The other hive would be plumply filled 

 the first year; the second year a couple of 

 prime swarms might be calculated on ; the 

 third year, we will say, only one swarm each 

 — a very low estimate — we now have six 

 swarms; the fourth year we will double to 

 a certainty, and the fifth year the same, 

 making 24 swarms, while the larger hive 

 "stands alone in its glory," if not entirely 

 annihilated by the ravages of the moth, the 

 more probable result of the two. In each 

 hive there is but one queen, which is the 

 source of all the increase. The eggs are 

 laid by her. A hive one foot square, is as 

 large as she can use. In such a hive all the 

 workers that she desires to carry out her 

 ends can be fully accommodated. Ten thou- 

 sand bees to a hive in the spring are all-suffi- 

 cient — more would be but an encumbrance; 

 hence, we find, that though there be one 

 hundred thousand in a large hive during the 

 breeding season, the following spring finds 

 them departed to that " bourne whence they 

 never return." 



The principal laying of the queen depends 

 much upon the mildness of the spring and 

 much upon the strength of the stock. I am 

 fully satisfied that many of my stocks are in 

 progress of breeding through the entire win- 

 ter, to some extent. Indeed that such is the 

 case with any populous stock we have abun- 

 dant proof, in cases where the stock has been 

 destroyed in the heart of winter, as an ex- 

 periment to test the fact. Where such is 

 the case, there is not that diminution in the 

 number of the bees from fall to spring that 

 ordinarily occurs. In weak stock.s the in- 

 ternal heat necessary for the maturing of the 



