1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



more. The poultryman gets a new cock rather 

 than a new hen; the dairyman a new bull 

 rather than a new cow; and it may be that, in 

 the future, drones may become a matter of 

 merchandise as well as queens. Then Dr. 

 Murdock will get a set of drones from the man 

 whose workers live eight instead of six weeks 

 in the busy season; and when he has that trait 

 well fixed he will get drones from the man 

 whose bees never swarm, and so on. I have 

 hopes that, by getting one of Dr. Murdock's 

 queens, and giving her nothing but ordinary 

 drone comb, I may raise as large workers as his 

 and see them busily at work on red clover. 



It may be that A. L Root will have to brush 

 up that foundation-rail! that he threw aside 

 years ago. He made foundation that was 

 laughed at, because it ran 4K cells to the inch, 

 and the bees didn't know whether to use it for 

 drone or worker comb. The trouble was, that 

 A. L Root was just that much ahead of the 

 age. I don't think large bees will be secured 

 by using large cells, but large cells will come 

 from breeding large bees, and progress must 

 not be hindered by cramping them in cells too 

 small. I shall watch with Interest to see if 

 these bees do better than others on red clover; 

 and if they do, brother Root, please get ready 

 for me some proper foundation. 

 Marengo, 111. 



501 



SECURING COMB HONEY. 



HOW IT 18 DONE 



By S. F. Newman. 



[We believe it is quite possible to breed an 

 extra large race of bees-just as possible as it 

 is to breed four Hnd five banded Italians from 

 the ordinary three-banded stock. The best 

 evidence of this is seen in the samples of com'b 

 forwarded on to us by Dr. Miller. It mic^ht 

 almost be taken for the comb of the Api>i dor- 

 sata, for It is remarkable in size as compared 

 with ordinary worker and drone comb. Now 

 while we admit the possibilities of rearin<^ 

 these large bees, we somewhat question wheth^ 

 er any thing would be gained unless, perhaps 

 in the one item of their getting honey from red 

 clover. Cheshire says that there is harmony in 

 nature, and that all flora and plant life seems 

 to be specially adapted for the ordinary hive- 

 bee, and in his work he furnishes abundant 

 F''^?:u . ''". .remarkable, but nevertheless a 

 lact, that, with perhaps the single exception of 

 led clover hive bees are able to reach in some 

 manner the nectar in every blossom of every 

 sort. Chpshire^goes on to say, further, that the 

 ord nary h,ve-bees are of just the right size for 

 making the quickest tiights. and. therefore 

 carrying the largest amount of honey. A lar^-er 

 bee. while it might carry a larger load, would 



so -logy" that it would in reality carry 

 much less honey during the day or season, and 

 besides, a larger bee would require a corres- 

 ponding change in plant life. Let us give an 

 Illustration in the line of mechanics. Take 

 tor instance, the ordinary bicycle. The first 

 wheels were .32 inches in diameter; then byV 

 sort of tacit agreement they were reduced to 

 30 inches: then again to 28: a few jumped still 

 turthpr down to 2(). But very soon the whole 

 nne gravitated back to 28 inches as the stand- 



How much more perfect are the works of na- 

 ture! Therefore it would seem that the size of 

 the hive-bee is now and has been for centuries 

 ho "^E !° ^^'^"'"^ ^^^ largest amount of 



Brother Root:— I have been requested, as you 

 will see by the inclosed letter, to give my meth- 

 od of operating to secure a crop of comb honey. 

 My plan may not be new; but if you think best 

 you may give it a place in your journal. 



It is needless to say, that, to be successful, all 

 colonies must be strong at the beginning of the 

 surplus-honey season. Until that time I con- 

 fine each of my colonies to such a number of 

 combs as will enable the queen to keep each 

 filled with brood and eggs, except a little space 

 in the upper corners of each. When my bees 

 begin to gather honey from white clover, if the 

 requisite number of combs are not filled with 

 brood (each bee-keeper must determine for him- 

 self what that number is), I add to my strongest 

 colonies comh?> filled with hatching brood taken 

 from other colonies, until each contains the 

 number of brood-combs to be used during the 

 surplus-honey season. 



When a colony swarms I hive the new swarm 

 on empty frames — the number used depending 

 upon the strength of the colony— and place it 

 on the old stand, removing the old colony a few 

 feet away. After the new colony gets well 

 started in building combs, say in two or three 

 days — the length of time depending upon how 

 rapidly honey is being gathered — I remove all 

 the frames and new combs, except three, and 

 supply their places with combs /(Wed with hatch- 

 mg brood taken from the old colony, being very 

 careful to remove all queen-cells from the combs 

 thus used, and at the same time I remove the 

 surplus from the old colony, and place it upon 

 the new. I never require the new colony to 

 build more than three new combs; and as the 

 season advances I reduce the number of combs 

 to be built to two, and, toward the close of the 

 season, to one. I furnish the old colony with 

 empty combs to take the place of the brood- 

 combs roiuoved. 



By this method nearly all the work of the 

 new colony is thrown into the surplus-chamber, 

 all the working force is retained in the new col- 

 ony, and it is kept at its full strength by the 

 hatching brood that was supplied from the old 

 colony. 



After the new colony has been supplied with 

 frames of brood from the old colony, the old one 

 should be removed some distance away from the 

 new, thus throwing the whole field force of bees 

 into the new. If the season is favorable, the old 

 colonies thus manipulated will become strong 

 enough to winter well, and. with their young 

 queens, will make the most profitable colonies 

 for the next season's work. If some of the old 

 colonies, at the close of the season, should be 

 found too weak to winter well, they can be re- 

 duced in number, and strengthened by uniting. 



