268 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



have held my head in shame and kept 

 silent. Allow me to paraphrase Mr. Tay- 

 lor's third and fourth sentences as found 

 on the above quoted page, under " Pre- 

 vention of After-Swarming:" 



" Perhaps Taylor is led to practice his 

 method from the fact that he is largely 

 using the Heddon hive and wishes to en- 

 gage others toward a favorable opinion of 

 that hive. In the absence of some such 

 reason I would never follow the method 

 he gives; because it i a laborious, time- 

 consuming operation, at a season of the 

 year when it is especially wise to econo- 

 mize both in time and labor, without any 

 corresponding advantage." 



Wonder if Bro. Taylor ever tried the 

 Doolittle plan of preventing after swarms. 

 Then I wonder if he ever tried the 

 Heddon-Taylor plan with an}^ other hive 

 save the Heddon. I tried the Heddon- 

 Taylor plan for three jears, and I found 

 that the changing the old hive to one 

 side of the new, " then gradually turning 

 the old hive around beside it and carry- 

 ing it (the old hive) away, while the 

 V)ees were flying, on the sixth or seventh 

 day," to a new stand, was a "laborious, 

 time-consuming operation, without any 

 corresponding advantage." The whole 

 of this operation during the seven days 

 consumed double the time of that of the 

 plan of cutting queen-cells which Bro. 

 Taylor criticises, while the queen-trap 

 purchase was entirely avoided; and this 

 trap-money saved for some glad surprise 

 to the family, by way of some needful 

 things they could have with the money. 

 But the laborious part came in the carry- 

 ing of the hive; yes, even with the 

 Heddon hive. And, Brother, the especial 

 part of this criticism comes in your fail- 

 ing to take into consideration, that not 

 one Heddon hive is in use to where there 

 are fifty to one hundred other kinds of 

 hives. Imagine Mrs. Harrison, or INlrs. 

 Axtell, following your plan with the reg- 

 ular Langstroth hive. See them stooj) 

 over, then straighten up, with the blood 

 nearly ready to burst through the veins 

 on their faces, then walk to a new stand 



and lower the hive thereon, and then 

 talk about the " laboriousness " of my 

 plan. Then there are thousands upon 

 thousands of chaff hives in use-; and, sure 

 as you liye, swarms issue from those 

 hives. Imagine Bro. York picking up 

 one of these hives, setting it back, grad- 

 ually turning it for seven days, then 

 picking the thing up bodily and " trot- 

 ting off " with it to some new location, 

 five to ten rods away. Then, Brother, 

 there are hundreds of tenament hives in 

 use, the same holding from four to six or 

 eight colonies. Imagine Bro. Taylor 

 picking one of these up and carrying it 

 off at arm's length and depositing it on a 

 new stand. Then, my dear, good friend 

 Taylor, there are scores, if not hundreds, 

 of house-apiaries in use. Just imagine 

 260-pound Doolittle picking up — but. 

 hold on, Doolittle don't have to do an}' 

 such thing. Nor need anyone do any of 

 this laborious work by the plan you 

 " would never follow." It was because 

 the plan I gave in the American Bee 

 Journal, 402, was adapted to any frame 

 hive or any clime, that I recommended 

 it, and not because " I get plent}' of good 

 queen-cells ready to hatch;" for 99 out of 

 every 100 queens reared in my apiary are 

 reared by the plan I gave in my bbok. 

 And now, Bro. Taylor, I am perfectly 

 willing that each reader of the Review 

 should use the Heddon-Taylor plan of 

 prevention of after-swarming if they be- 

 lieve it is more to their ease and comfort 

 so to do, for I give my plans and ways of 

 working onl}' with the hope that it may 

 help, ease and lighten the burdens of my 

 brethren and sisters. 



I wish to thank the editor for the light 

 he threw on the " facing " matter in last 

 Review, page 242. I know that this sub- 

 ject has been long drawn out, and twice 

 the room taken with it that would seem 

 necessary; yet there are some who no not 

 seem to see the truth yet. Therefore, 

 allow me just a few words more to try 

 and make my position plain. From more 

 than twenty years' business with com- 

 mission men I feel authorized in saying 



