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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



The following will be of interest in the lat- 

 itude of Toledo : 



"Keep all colonies strong, and do not put off till to- 

 morrow what should be done to-day." is the motto of 

 A. B. Mason, who is one of the most successful bee- 

 growers in this country. 



Here's a good idea : 



The rapid strides made in the science and practice 

 of bee-keeping during the present half-century, and 

 the present great proportions of the industr>' are 

 largely due to the fraternal feeling and unselfish in- 

 terest taken in its development by many of its pro- 

 moters. 



tl/ 



Here is something relative to Colorado as a 

 honey State : 



One apiary in this county, the owner states, includes 

 swarms [colonies ?] that have produced over 300 lbs. 

 each up to Aug 1, of this sea.son, and this apiary is at 

 least 25 miles from the mountains, although it is in a 

 well-watered and fertile region. There are two other 

 apiaries within a mile of this place which have not 

 had one-half the success of the one mentioned. 



The editor says further : 



A bee-keeper who has kept bees for years, and visit- 

 ed them only to remove the honey, would be no more 

 of a success in Colorado than where he is now; but the 

 industrious, studious, and scientific bee-man will find 

 this region well fitted to the industry. 



The great number of inquiries made relative 

 to Colorado is my reason for saying so much 

 about it here. But all should remember what 

 has been said in these columns about starting 

 new apiaries where others have been long in 

 possession of the pasturage. The " unwritten 

 law " governing in such cases in the " woolly 

 West " should be observed. 



\b 



WESTERN APIARY. 



This journal is the successor of the one just 

 quoted above. It is published monthly by 

 C. H. Gordon, editor and proprietor, Boulder, 

 Col. It has 16 pages, very coarse print, and 

 is well gotten up. One department is devoted 

 to Belgian hares. Excellent pictures of the 

 Frisbee family are given — Mr. R. K. Frisbee 

 and his son, J. C. Frisbee, and the wife of the 

 latter, who is the secretary of the Frisbee 

 Honey Co. The elder Frisbee is over 80 years 

 of age, but rides a wheel to tone down his ex- 

 uberance of spirits — a rare thing. 



BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 



In the museum of the Whitechapel Library, 

 in Eist London, three observatory hives were 

 put from Oct. 9 to 12. Nearly 2000 children, 

 from 22 elementary schools in East London, 

 came with their teachers in parties numbering 

 from 30 to 50. Each party had a half-hour 

 lesson, and then the children marched past 

 the hive two by two to see the queen, who 

 showed herself most graciously to every partj'^ 

 except two. These forgot their disappoint- 

 ment in the pleasure of seeing the bees' 

 tongues sipping syrup by means of the very 

 clever arrangement which is attached to Jas. 

 Lee & Sons' observatory hives. That is not 

 only a good way to teach in general, but a 

 good way in particular to introduce to the 

 children the wonders of the bee-world. 



HIVING SWARMS ON SHALLOW BROOD 

 CHAMBERS. 



The Secret of Keeping Down Increase and Prevent- 

 ing Swarms More Fully Explained. 



BY HARRY I^ATHROP. 



Friend Root : — Referring to my article, 

 'Hiving Swarms on Shallow Brood -cham- 

 bers," page 684, there is one point I forgot to 

 mention. It might appear to some bee keep- 

 ers who read the article tl;iat it would do no 

 particular good to unite the bees from the 

 shallow brood chamber to the old hive at the 

 left when the end of the honey season has 

 come, as, when a colony of bees is populous 

 enough, it will do no good to give them more 

 bees, and may do harm. But the poi-nt is, if 

 the honey season is a good one, and quite long, 

 I take so many young bees from the old hive 

 and run them into the working colony from 

 time to time, that the old hive will not have 

 bees enough at the close of the season ; hence, 

 see that the combs in the old hive are well 

 filled with honey ; unite the bees, and you 

 have a good strong colony with a young queen 

 to go into winter quarters. 



Now, referring to Dr. Miller's Straw on the 

 front page of Gleanings for September 15, 

 he asks me to tell zvkjy I have fewer swarms, 

 and you in a footnote repeat the request with 

 so much emphasis that I am a little inclined 

 to believe you and the doctor are poking fun 

 at me. Neverthele.ss I will offer my humble 

 explanation. In the first place I will say I 

 have not had any swarms from colonies work- 

 ed exclusively for extracted honey in years, 

 and I suppose others have had the same ex- 

 perience. Now, a colony of bees working 

 away quietly year after year in an apiary, 

 without once attempting to swarm, sets a good 

 example in the commiinity, at least. I try to 

 keep my comb-honey colonies as busy in the 

 sections as possible, watch them closelj', and 

 give storage room as needed, removing the 

 finished supers promptly. The lesult has 

 been that only about a third of such colonies 

 swarmed out in good honey years. If the sea- 

 son is a poor one, furnishing little or no hon- 

 ey for the surplus apartment, but enough to 

 keep brood-rearing going at a good pace, then 

 is the time my colonies want to swarm, and 

 do swarm. I have had them cast swarms at a 

 time when I knew there was very little honey 

 in the fields for them, and no prospect what- 

 ever for any ahead. At such times I just let 

 them go to the woods, and am glad to get rid 

 of them. They would have been only con- 

 sumers had they remained. 



If I should buy an apiary from some farmer 

 who had attended to them as farmers usually 

 do, allowing each colony to swarm two or 

 three times each season, I could not expect 

 the same results for several years ; so you 



