March 27, 1902 



AMERICAri BEE JOURNAL 



201 



and tliere is sweet clover around here enough to supply 7.S to 

 100 colonies. 



Now, how many colonies can I increase to and still ^et 

 my averaffc, 100 pounds, sprinp count, the coniinp season ? 



I will pivc you my plan and see what you think of itt 

 and then toll me a hotter way. I have read up a fjood doa' 

 on the tiuclcus plan, but do not think 1 would like that ; it 

 would take too much time and work. I have some extracted 

 honey and I propose to buy fjranulatcd sufjar, make a syrup 

 and mix '4 honey and '4 syrup, and take 10 colonies and 

 feed them rijjht after maple and fruit bloom all they will 

 take to stimulate and keep up brood-rcarinfr, and KCt tlum 

 to swarm naturally before June 1, if possible: then rit;ht 

 after the first swarm, divide the old colony equally, fjiving' 

 the most brood and one or two of the best queen-cells to one, 

 and buy a laying- queen for the other half, lillinp^ both hives 

 with full foundation frames. But if they don't swarui be- 

 fore June 10 I will divide nearly equally, pivinp the queen- 

 less half the most brood and best queen-cells, if any, or buy 

 a queen for them. I have made some feeders that will hold 

 about a (juart of syrup (the bees are packed with supers on 

 the top), and I intend to turn back one corner of the cloth 

 covering- the frames, put the feeder on and pack around it 

 so that the bees cannot get in the super (only in the feeder), 

 which is covered %vith glass so I can see the condition of the 

 super by lifting the super-cover. The bee-house is made 

 tight and plastered so that they are not affected with sudden 

 changes in temperature. The hot sun will not bring them 

 out until it is warm enough not to chill them. 



I have never fed my bees anything yet except to set out 

 combs or waste honey for the bees to clear up. 



1. About how much syrup will a good, strong colony use 

 up in 24 hours. 



2. Would I better fill the feeder, or just give what they 

 will use every day ? 



3. If I divide the old colony after the first swarm, how 

 long must I leave the queenless half before giving them a 

 new queen ? or will there be queen-cells enough to give each 

 part cells? 



4. If I divide before June 10, in case of no swarms be- 

 fore then, which would be the most profitable, to let them 

 rear their own queen, or give them a queen — say the queen 

 costs 75 cents and the honey harvest begins July 1 ? 



5. Would it be more profitable to feed the whole 20 col- 

 onies, and divide equally June 1, in case of no swarms be- 

 fore then, and feed all that need it until the honey-harvest 

 begins ? 



6. How many queen-cells must I leave in the queenless 

 half? Illinois. 



Answers. — Answering first the questions that are not 

 numbered, I should say that you can not expect to keep up 

 the same yield per colony if you increase any at all beyond 

 the same rate you have had in the past. You may as well 

 count that when part of your force is devoted to increase it 

 must take that from yotir crop. But that does not make it 

 unadvisable to increase, for the loss by increase this year 

 will be more than made up in the crops of succeeding years. 



You say you will feed all the bees will take. You will 

 probably find that brood-rearing will keep up as well if you 

 feed a pound or so to a colony each day. 



Whether your plan of increase would be best under all 

 circumstances is a question, but one's own plans are gener- 

 ally liked a little better than the plans of some one else, and 

 are better understood, so you may succeed well with the 

 plans you mention. 



I am just a little afraid about your feeding business. 

 I don't understand what kind of a feeder you will have that 

 will allow the bees to come up at one corner of the quilt, 

 and it is quite possible that it will work quite differently 

 from what you expect. The sun will not bring the bees out 

 when it is too cool for them to tly, as you say, but if they 

 work on the feed you may count on that bringing them out. 

 If it is so cool that the bees will not fly, then it is likely that 

 it will be too cool for tliem to work on the feed. Better not 

 feed at all when it is not warm enough for bees to fly. Now 

 for your numbered questions: 



1. All the way from nothing up to 20 pounds, depending 

 on circumstances. 



2. It will be generally better to give them what will be 

 used each day, but that also depends somewhat upon condi- 

 tions and circumstances. Speaking in general terms, dur- 

 ing May and June the weather ought to be warm enough 

 usually to make no trouble if feed is left on all the time, ex- 

 cept the trouble that comes from feeding too much. 



3. If the queen is in a provisioned quccn-ca^fc, she may 

 be given at once. It will be .1 n-markablc case if there are 

 not more queen-cells than are m.-eded for both parts. 



4. It would probably be ecinomy to buy the queen. 



5. I don't know. It may bo a good plan to operate upon 

 half, and then you can decide as to what is best for the 

 future. 



6. One is as good as 20 if it is the best one in the 20, and 

 in a place where it will not be chilled. But you can hardly tell 

 as well as the bees which is host, so it is better to have more 

 than one. You will probably have enough so as to use 

 several. 



Having answered your questions, and understanding 

 that you favor natural swarming, let me suggest a plan 

 that you might try, at least in one case, to see how you like 

 it: 



Have five colonies built up strong, and about June 1, or 

 sooner if they are strong enough, take from Xo. 1 a frame 

 of brood with adhering bees, and the (jueen in an introduc- 

 ing-cage ; put these in an empty hive, filling out the hive 

 with frames of foundation, and put in place of No. 2, set- 

 ting No. 2 on a new stand. Keep the feeder going and No. 

 1 will start a number of queen-cells, and when the first 

 young queen is ready a swarm will issue with her. Hive 

 the swarm on the old stand, set No. 1 in place of No. 3, set- 

 ting No. ^ on a new stand. A day or two later. No. 1. hav- 

 ing been strengthened by the returning bees of No. 3, will 

 swarm again. Set the swarm in place of No. 1, set No. 1 in 

 place of No. 4, and set No. 4 in a new place. In a day or so 

 No. 1 will swarm again, when you will set the swarm in 

 place of No. 1, putting No. 1 in place of No. 5, and No. 5 in 

 a new place. Of course, the feeder must be kept going all 

 the while if there is no pasturage. 



Transferring Bees from a Log. 



Last fall I cut down a white-oak that had in it a colony 

 of bees ; they are in a log about 2 or more feet long. As 

 there were only a few days after I got them that it was fit 

 for them to be out, I was afraid they lacked honey for the 

 winter, so I put iioney in the comb on top of the log and 

 they took in about 4 pounds, or all I gave them. I put them 

 into the cellar and they seem to be alive at present. The 

 question is. When and how shall I get them into a hive ? 

 1 cannot see into them, and know nothingof their condition, 

 only of late when the day would be warm a few of them 

 would find their way up the cellar-stairs to the light, and 

 they at times make considerable noise. This is all I know 

 about them. 



The piece of log has in it a regular exit-place ; also, 

 since cutting off, it has a hole in the top and bottom, but I 

 have nailed a board over the bottom. Wisconsin. 



Answer. — You will do well to leave them in the log till 

 they swarm. Before that, however, see what part of the 

 cavity is not occupied by combs, and saw off the log so there 

 shall be no unoccupied space. Otherwise it is possible they 

 may go on building more comb and not swarm at all. When 

 they swarm, if you are anxious for honey, set the swarm on 

 the old stand with the log close beside it. A week later set 

 the log in a new place. Two weeks later still, or three 

 weeks after swarming, drum all the bees out of the log, and 

 unite them with the swarm, smoking both well. Or, you 

 may drum the bees out of the log and treat them as a second 

 swarm. If you are anxious for increase, when the bees 

 swarm out of the log, hive the swarm and set it in a new 

 place, leaving the log undisturbed. In eight or ten days 

 a second swarm may issue, and you can put that on a new 

 stand, still leaving the log undisturbed. Then you can 

 leave the log to furnish you more swarms nest year, or you 

 can drum the bees out three weeks after the issuing of the 

 first swarm. When all the bees are drummed out of the 

 log, you can set it some distance away and let the bees rob 

 out the honey. Then you can split the log open and melt 

 the combs. 



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