310 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 15 



Heads of Grain 



from Different Fiefds 



A Simple Plan for Dividing in the Spring. 



For a few years I have been dabbling In bee-keep- 

 ing, and have succeeded in getting some very large 

 yields of comb honey. My yield last summer was 

 the largest I have ever had, and averaged 160 lbs. 

 per colony from eight colonies, spring count. I di- 

 vide my colonies as early in the season as the 

 strength of the colony will permit, and for the past 

 four years my largest yields have come from my 

 early divisions. A Banat-Italian cross gave me last 

 year 250 4x5x1^ sections, 70 4x5xl?^8 sections, 

 and stored 70 lbs. in telescope covers, after I thought 

 the honey-flow was over, and had removed all su- 

 pers. These divisions swarmed, and from the one 

 spring count I had the above-mentioned honey 

 crop, and from colonies with plenty of honey for 

 winter. 



For some time the problem of dividing bees 

 equally, or, rather, of keeping them equally divid- 

 ed, presented the great barrier to this way of mak- 

 ing increase. One year when I divided I left half 



especially so if they remain there for 24 hours or 

 more. Generally the comb will be no larger than 

 a man's hand. In a very few Instances swarms 

 have been known to build three or four combs — in 

 fact, make a general start in house-keeping; but if 

 they are located In a northern State they will die 

 out during winter from exposure. 



We can assign no reason why bees build comb on 

 a limb except on the theory that the swarm having 

 come forth unexpectedly did not send out scouts. 

 Not knowing where to go they stay where they 

 alight. A general furore of swarming on the part 

 of other bees In the same yard sometimes induces 

 some colonies to swarm, even though they have 

 made no preparations for it. In such cases a swarm 

 might remain on a limb for two or three days. Dur- 

 ing that interval they may build a little comb; for 

 unless the swarm is starved out It will take consid- 

 erable honey, and this honey induces a secretion 

 of wax scales, furnishing the bees plenty of material 

 with which to construct comb. 



There Is no reason to suppose the bees you refer 

 to were queenless. They swarmed out of the box 

 hive In which you put them, probably, for want of 

 stores. If there was no honey coming In they would 

 soon run short of stores. 



A cellar may be damp from two or three causes. 

 First, there may be poor drainage; second. Insuffi- 

 cient ventilation; third, too low a temperature. In 

 some cases dampness is due to a combination of all 



RESULT. 



of the colonies divided on the old stand, loaded the 

 others on a wagon, took them about three miles 

 from home, then In a few days returned them. 

 This plan to keep bees from deserting nuclei I saw 

 in Gleanings. This plan worked fairly well, but 

 was altogether too much bother; and, even when 

 brought back to the yard, many of the bees would 

 return to the old stand. But I have solved the 

 problem, and can now divide and keep them 

 equally divided without removing from the yard 

 or even keeping them closed for a few days. The 

 accompanying sketch will explain the plan better 

 than I can tell It. 



The detachable board, having the appearance of 

 two hive-ends, and having In It two entrances, 

 should be placed on the hive early enough so that, 

 by the time the colony Is ready to divide, the bees 

 will be using each entrance In about equal num- 

 bers. 



Clifton. 111. W. W. Howard. 



[The plan you propose looks as If It might work. 

 It might be used later In the season for colonies In 

 pairs.— Ed.] 



A Swarm that Built Some Comb on a Limb; Damp 



Cellars; how to Make them Dry 



and Habitable for Bees. 



Two years ago I found a swarm of bees on a limb 

 of a small tree. They had built one piece of comb 

 about 10 by 14 Inches. I hived the bees in a box 

 hive, which they filled half full of comb; then the 

 bees all left. Can you tell me the cause of bees 

 building comb on limbs? Do you think they were 



Will a damp cellar hurt bees? I have a cellar 

 that Is damp; the combs are moldy this spring. Will 

 the bees clean the combs? The thermometer at 

 times stood at 30°. I have thought of celling the 

 cellar 6 Inches from the wall, and filling with saw- 

 dust. I should like to know If that would take up 

 the dampness and make the cellar warmer. 



LlvlngstonvUle, N. Y. D. A. Sawdy. 



[Occasionally we find instances where a swarm of 

 bees alighting on a limb of a tree will build comb. 



three In the cellar mentioned the temperature 

 was too low, and it Is apparent that there was a 

 lack of ventilation. Lining the cellar on the Inside, 

 as you describe, would help only as It would shut 

 out the outside cold, and so raise the temperature. 

 The higher the temperature the more moisture that 

 will be held In the air. 



If your cellar drainage Is good, and the cellar is 

 then too damp, provide ventilation either by open- 

 ing the windows or by using a small stove (do not 

 use oil-stoves). Connect the stovepipe to a chim- 

 ney-flue, and build a light slow Are. In doing so be 

 careful not to raise the temperature higher than 

 50° F. The stove will raise the temperature, and at 

 the same time draw off the excess of moisture. In 

 your case the 30° temperature with dampness was 

 very bad, and you probably would not be able to 

 winter bees successfully In such a cellar until you 

 raised the temperature and removed the excess of 

 moisture. Dampness Is not necessarily bad If the 

 temperature Is high enough, but low temperature 

 and dampness are either fatal to the colony or leave 

 It so weak from dysentery as to make It practically 

 worthless.— Ed.] 



Putting Empty Supers Under or Above Partly 



Filled Sections; Putting on Partly Filled 



Sections to Supply Stores in Spring 



I have read several articles In favor of putting su- 

 pers under one already on. I tried this In Ut09, and 

 every time the bees would work in the empty super 

 and leave unfinished the one partly filled. So in 

 1910 I tried putting the empty one on top, and it 

 worked very M'ell, for the bees finished the lower 

 one and then went oa top; and when the top one 

 was about half full I reversed them, putting an es- 

 cape between. Of course, sometimes there were a 

 few sections that were not quite finished; but I al- 

 ways put them In the next super. 



For spring, would It be a good plan to use early a 

 plenty of rye or pea meal for pollen, and then put 

 on supers having 12 sections filled with honey and 

 12 empty, so as to be sure that the bees would have 

 plenty of stores? If they should need the sections 



