208 



Mar. 14, 1907 



American He^ Journal 



tions all solid with fence separator at 

 each side between sections and side-wall 

 of section-case — I tried during the last 

 season with highly gratifying results, 

 there being no sections but what would 

 readih" sell in the home market, and 

 most of them would easily do to ship 

 to distant market. 



I have always made use of and advo- 

 cated double supers, that is, an outer 

 super-shell with separate case of sec- 

 tions to set within. This method gives 

 much better results in comb honey pro- 

 duction than can be got in single-walled 

 supers. Formerly I practised letting the 

 bees have access to space between the 

 case and outer shell, but I now exclude 

 the bees from that space. 



I rarely wait till the bees begin to 

 whiten the combs before putting on sup- 

 ers. If I did I should be bothered by 

 swarming more than I am. I put on 

 supers of sections in spring just as soon 

 as I see "graduating nurse-bees" 

 crowding into the space back of the 

 follower, regardless of whether there is 

 a honey-flow or not. This first super 

 is usually well supplied with bait-sec- 

 tions, and often continues to be a bait- 

 section case throughout the season. 



If this case gets filled with good 

 honey — big IF here — I remove it early ; 

 but as it is usually filled with a mix- 

 ture of inferior honey and honey-dew 

 in this locality, I leave it on as the /o> 

 super till late in the season. 



The bees generally take immediate 

 possession of this first super and the 

 hive is thus relieved of crowding. If 

 the honey comes I do not allow the 

 bees to crowd this case full — at the 

 jeopardy of a crowded brood-nest and 

 of swarming — but I early insert between 

 it and the brood-chamber another supei 

 of new sections with full sheets of 

 foundation. If the season continues 

 good a third case is inserted. Whether 

 this third case goes between the two 

 cases already on the hive, or between 

 the second case and the brood-chamber, 

 is a matter to be decided by the condi- 

 tion of things about each particular 

 colony, and also by the character of 

 the flow and its duration. If the sec- 

 ond super is nearly completed I some- 

 times raise both supers, and if the sec- 

 ond super is only half-filled I insert 

 a third case between the two. 



This brings about the completion of 

 the second super before the need of a 

 fourth super comes ; and upon the re- 

 moval of the second super, the first and 

 third supers become the first and sec- 

 ond, the fourth being treated as a new 

 third super. Number i, as will be seen, 

 is sacrificed for the good of the others. 

 Bees will rarely swarm if this top super 

 is filled, or nearly filled, with sealed 

 honey, and between it and the brood- 

 chamber stands a super of empty sec- 

 tions. I would not convey the idea thai 

 the top-super is a total loss. Far, from 

 it, for if edible the honey is not hurt 

 by its long stay at the top, and if un- 

 edible the poor grade of honey has been 

 paying good interest by checking 

 swarming. 



It will be noted that my plan is to 

 keep the bees lifting all honey to the 

 supers, clearing constantly the brood- 

 combs for the use of the queen. 



This plan has worked well with me 



where there is an early flow with a 

 more or less continuous flow till late 

 in June. In Jul}-, when my best flow 

 occurs, I plan, before the flow begins, 

 to have 2 fresh supers ready for each 

 colony. Bees almost never swarm with 

 me during this flow from the sumac, 

 and will fill supers whether they be nexv 

 to the brood-chamber or away at the 

 top of the tiered supers, provided the 

 flow is of sufficient duration. By this 

 time of the season the economic condi- 

 tion of the average colony is such that 

 the swarming impulse but rarely comes 

 into existence — only in the case of colo- 

 nies that have "come on late" does it 

 occur. 



This method leaves me at the end of 

 the season with a super from each col- 

 ony which is often of poorly finished 

 and inferior honey, sections badly pro- 

 polized and not infrequently many un- 

 capped corners with empty cells, but 

 since I am troubled little by swarming, 

 and since I usually get besides this in- 

 ferior case from 2 to 4 other cases of 

 fair to excellent sections, I willingly 

 make the sacrifice. 



I spoke above of using 7-to-the-foot 

 sections without separators other than 

 next the outer rows. This plan gives 

 good results only when such supers are 

 inserted between super and brood- 

 chamber, and onl}' when bees are so 

 plentiful that they take possession of all 

 the 28 sections at one time. Beginning 

 work in the sections simultaneously they 

 will, since the hive is level, make all 

 combs meet half-way even without sep- 

 arators. As far as I can see, I can get 

 28 sections thus just as easily as I get 

 24 with fence separators, and the work 

 in preparing the sections is somewhat 

 less. Bottom-starters must always be 

 used in case separators are dispensed 

 with. 



I feel somewhat guilty in offering this 

 article, and do so only because I have 

 been asked. I shall during the coming 

 season employ a radically different 

 method, but since it has not been thor- 

 oughly put to the test I will not offer 

 it here. In a general way the plan out- 

 lined here is what I have followed with 

 slight variations for a score of years. 



Norwich, Conn. 



Number of Colonies for the 

 Pasture 



BY E. F. ATVVATEK. 



Dr. Miller's reply to "Utah," page 114, 

 (the question being, "My bees have at 

 least 300 acres of clover and alfafa 

 within 2 miles. How many colonies can 

 I pasture to be safe?") arouses my in- 

 terest. Surely the nectar-producing 

 qualities of plants must vary greatly in 

 different regions. If Dr. Miller is cor- 

 rect, that 200 colonies might do well on 

 300 acres of white clover — if it yields 

 — I would add : We have moved all 

 our yards that were between Meridian 

 and Boise, considering the country un- 

 fitted for profitable bee-keeping, yet this 

 "tabbooed" district is simply grand for 

 spring breeding, and hundreds, or even 

 thousands, of acres of as fine white clov- 

 er as one could wish, are covered with a 

 mass of bloom during part of May, of- 



ten all of June, with more or less bloom 

 for many weeks later. The bees work 

 on it quite industriously, but, as a rule 

 the crops are very light. Through thai 

 district there is but little alfalfa— our 

 great source of nectar. 



Having spent 6 years here, the sea- 

 son of 1906 was the first in which 

 white clover gave a good account of 

 itself. Bees in any of our abandoned 

 locations would have done well. I 

 think that irrigation and cool nights 

 are unfavorable to the secretion of nec- 

 tar in the white clover bloom, as a 

 general rule. Probably "Utah's" con- 

 ditions are somewhat similar to those 

 here. If he means that much of that 

 300 acres is sweet clover, even 10 per- 

 cent of it, and he is so fortunate as to 

 live where that plant yields abundant- 

 ly, then he might be able to keep 300 

 or more colonies in one yard, if the 

 alfalfa has also the habit of yielding 

 abundantly. 



Alfalfa certainly is a far more near- 

 ly constant source of profitable crops 

 in the arid West than is white cTover, 

 but I should be seriously discouraged 

 if only 300 acres were within easy rang* 

 of an apiary. I have seen that much cut 

 before it was of any value to bees, near 

 some yards. If there is 1000 acres o« 

 more within 2 miles, some of it is usual- 

 ly allowed to bloom. Sometimes some- 

 thing delays one rancher, sometimes an- 

 other. One year a tenant may cut early, 

 another year another tenant may have 

 different views and cut later. 



I have in mind a range that I have 

 never considered above the average 

 good locality. Just such a range as you 

 or I might risk 100 colonies' on. A bee- 

 keeper occupied it with 400 colonies in 

 one yard, and has always averaged a 

 fair crop, compared with other yards 

 around him. In a season when no one 

 else within a good many miles got any 

 comb honey, he took 100 cases. Not 

 because of the big apiary, but he had a 

 little spurt of nectar and was prepared 

 for it. Some of my own yards did noi 

 have even that little flow, though only 

 6 1-2 to 12 miles away. The subject 

 of over-stocking is one of which we 

 know but little. 



Meridian, Idaho. 



Something More on Hive- 

 Making 



BY G. C. GREINER. 



As much as I dislike jangles and 

 snappy disputes in publications that are 

 intended to help our fellowmen in their 

 undertakings, I find it sometimes neces- 

 sary to correct and explain things when 

 our arguments are misunderstood or 

 misrepresented. The general trend of 

 Mr. Bevins' article, on page 128, is 

 plain evidence that we do not see things 

 alike, and this from the simple fact that 

 he takes his views from a very different 

 standpoint from which mine are taken. 



I did not mean to say that we could 

 not make bee-hives out of all miscel- 

 laneous material. Of course we can, 

 if we have no eye for improvements and 

 up-to-date surroundings, and if we havs 

 plenty of time that we can not utilize 

 to better advantage. From a financial 



