Vol. XII. 



JULY 15, 1881. 



No. U. 



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A REMEDY FOR EXCESSIVE SWARM- 

 ING. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT THE CUOSS BETWEEN 

 SYRIANS AND ITALIANS. 



T SEE in July Gleanings, V. P. Dupuy states an 

 iM important faetwlien he says the swarming- tcn- 

 ^ll dency is inherited, and hence we may liave less 

 '■^ trouble from too much swarming: by weeding- 

 out those queens that seem to have this mania, 

 and rearing- new queens from stock of more steady 

 habits. I fully believe that, for I have this summer 

 a colony of Italio-Cyprians that have been given 

 the name of the swarming queen. She was marked 

 last summer, for she had only led a colony into a 

 new hive, and occupied it a week or less, when she 

 again led a colony off, with plenty of empty combs 

 in the midst of the brood-nest. This season she 

 again swarmed, and the colony sent off an after- 

 swarm, and I think would have sent oti' a second 

 after-swarm, if 1 hadn't torn cut all the cells tnit 

 one. 



In my apiary of 50 colonies, 1 have had but tw) 

 other swarms this season. I shall designate this 

 (lueen and all her descendants as the "swarmer" 

 race. I must add, the (luocng of this race are cx- 

 cccdingly prolilic and excellent; in fact, siii)erior 

 honey-gatherers. There was a special cause for (ex- 

 cessive swarming last season; viz., tlie uuiidcr- 

 rupted flow of honey from the fli-st appearance 

 of fruit-blossoms until the end of white clover. Usu- 

 ally there is a scarcity of honey for two weeks 

 after cherry-blossoms, at which time drone and 

 queen cells started arc all destroyed; and as the 

 season advances, the natural-swarming impulse 

 wanes, and is easily prevented. 



As an example, I give the record of a colony for 

 1883. 



IMay 15, Jst swarm; ;.'5, 2d swarm; 27, 3d swarm; 30, 

 4th swarm; June 1, 5th swarm. I didn't follow 

 these colonies to see how often they swarmed again 

 in 1883, but I found the old colony left queenless; 

 this colonj' was the Syrio-Italian stock. 



SYRIANS, CYPRIANS, ITALIANS, WHICH? 



Neither; I want them mixed. I had a stock of 

 pure Syrians; couldn't get along with them, and 

 sold the queen to you last summer; they were not 

 remai-kable lor work, nor for proliflcness; but I 

 have a daughter of that queen, fertilized by an 

 Italian drone, the most prolific queen, and decidedly 

 the best working colony in my apiary; up earlier in 

 the morning; at it later in the evening; storing more 

 honey, with none so far ever seen "hanging out;" 

 besides, they are beautiful and gentle. Of some 

 I sent you last summer, you wrote they were 

 '•among the handsomest bees you had ever seen." 

 If the swarming impulse is inherited, can't I, or 

 sliouMn't 1, preserve the good qualities of this stock 

 by raising iny queens from hery 1 vote for the Syrio- 

 Italians. 



TWO LAYING QUEENS IN THE SAME HIVE. 



T had an experience last summer like J. AV. Eck- 

 inan's, page 451, a mother and daughter laying to- 

 gether in the same hive, and I always found them 

 on the same comb, ymny times 1 saw tho .young 

 queen approach and toiicli thtj old onp with her at- 

 teni'.ii. A Iter a icw w eeks tiic dd one disappeared; 

 unferlur.atcly, file young (H'.ecn also died in win- 

 tering. 



CliOPS FOR HONEY. 



I waul to sow something next year lo jvive my 

 bees em))loyiiiciil aKcr July Tth. I had buckwheat 



