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govern the successful control of swarming. 

 The method above outlined is virtually a 

 system of swarm prevention — a thing that 

 is much talked about though seldom realiz- 

 ed—a will-o'-the-wisp that is ever eluding 

 the grasp of would-be promoters of systems 

 -and methods of swarm control. 



While the terms "swarm prevention" 

 and "swarm control " would seem at first to 

 be synonymous, a closer study reveals the 

 fact that they have a separate and distinct 

 -meaning. Swarm prevention is supposed 

 to prohibit swarming entirely, while swarm 

 control does not necessarily prohibit swarm- 

 ing but may forestall the event by substi- 

 tuting the artificial for the natural swarm; 

 and thus by M'orking in harmony with the 

 habits of bees we pay tribute to the demands 

 of nature, the swarming instinct is satisfied, 

 swarming is held under control, and the 

 bees are placed in condition to do the best 

 work that they are capable of performing 

 under the most favorable circumstances. 



As a rule, where colonies are strong at the 

 beginning of the honey-flow it is advisable 

 to begin the season with a single colony on 

 one side of a double switch-board, and, at 

 the approach of swarming, shift the flying 

 force over into a new hive that is placed 

 beside the first one for this purpose, and 

 in eight or ten days the swarm is reinforced 

 by a subsequent shift of young bees by 

 means of the switch lever. Of course, the 

 queen and a frame of brood goes with the 

 swarm at the time of shifting. If increase 

 is desired, a young laying queen or a virgin 

 just hatched is given to the depleted colony, 

 which will build up strong for wintering. If 

 no increase is desired, no queen is given; 

 and at the time of the reinforcing shift, in- 

 sert a specially constructed bee-escape in the 

 entrance between the switch lever and the 

 end of the main entrance, into which the 

 returning bees will go, since no bee can en- 

 ter the depleted hive. 



W hen the brood has nearly all hatched, and 

 the bees added to the swarm automatically, 

 the hive and combs may be used as desired. 

 Since all colonies are not strong at the be- 

 ginning of the harvest it is very desirable to 

 have a system whereby the working force of 

 two colonies may be combined in one set of 

 supers, as suggested by our correspondent, 

 without violating the principles that govern 

 the successful control of swarming, and 

 with the minimum of labor. To accomplish 

 this, and to avoid the intermingling of 

 strange bees at swarming time, which would 

 have a tendency to defeat the plans of swarm 

 control, one colony is placed on top of the 

 other on one side of a double switch-board, 

 the two separated by a queen-excluder; this 

 should be done a week or two prior to the 

 time of shifting. 



These double deckers use one common en- 

 trance with ai)parently one strong colony 

 having two brood-chambers and two queens. 

 At the beginning of the honey-flow the fly- 

 ing bees from both hives are shifted over in- 

 to a new hive containing full sheets of foun- 

 dation in brood-frames. In the center is 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



placed a frame of brood and bees, including 

 the queen from the top hive, giving the 

 swarm a superbf sections or extractlng-combs 

 above a queen-excluder and reinforcing the 

 swarm thus made by subsequent shifts of 

 young bees from the parent hive as previ- 

 ously described. If working for extracted 

 honey, the top story of the parent colony 

 containing brood and honey, but no queen, 

 may be placed on top of the super on the 

 hive containing the swarm; and as fast as 

 the brood hatches, the combs will be filled 

 with honey. Whether working for comb or 

 extracted honey this method will give ex- 

 cellent results in honey production with no 

 swarming and with the minimum of labor. 



Doubling the working force of an already 

 strong colony at swarming time, without 

 the application of principles that would sat- 

 isfy the swarming impulse, woul i defeat 

 the plans of swarm control; furthermore, the 

 shifting of the working force of a strong col- 

 ony over into a hive containing a colony of 

 bees and a hive full of brood at swarming 

 time would have a strong tendency to accel- 

 erate swarming. 



Don't think it is profitable or even desir- 

 able to attempt to prohibit swarming en- 

 tirely. Don't forget that the surest method 

 of swarm control is to substitute the artificial 

 for the natural swarm. Don't forget that 

 the intermingling of strange bees at swarm- 

 ing time will defeat the plans of swarm con- 

 trol. Don't make artificial swarms until 

 you are sure of the honey-flow. Don't for- 

 get that the time to shift bees and form in- 

 crease is during the honey-flow. Don't for- 

 get that the Hand system is virtually a sys- 

 tem of swarm prevention by substituting 

 the artificial for the natural swarm, and not 

 a system of swarm prevention. 



Birmingham, O. 



Bees Fly Through Netting. 



In a Straw, page 516, Sept. 1, Dr. Miller translates 

 the following from the Schiveizerischr Bienenzeitung 

 —page 229: "To protect passers-by from an apiary 

 within 25 feet of the street, a ft-nce of poultry- 

 netting 40 inches high was erected. The netting 

 had a two-inch mesh, but the bees all flew over it, 

 not one going through, although one colony was 

 only 12 inches from the fence." Now, they act dif- 

 ferently for me. I have some bees at Hot Springs, 

 Ark.: and when I left there, April 17, the bees from 

 one hive were passing back and forth through the 

 meshes of a thirty-inch fence of netting, although 

 it was 18 inches from the hive, and not in front of 

 It, but at the side. My brother from Hot Springs 

 reports that the bees have done this throughout 

 the sunimer. Pernaps that colony is a freak. 



Vandalla, 111. L. H Hoover. 



Record on Scale-hive for August. 



Aug, 2, 65 lbs., one super on: 6. 1^%: 8, 82%, super 

 No. 2 on; 9, 91%: 11. lOOK : i:i 108: 16. 119% : 18, 123^: 

 20, 126% : 22, 131 : 23, 133 : 24, 134 ; 24, 143, super No. 3 ; 

 27, 143; Sept. 3, 147; 4, 148J4. Dry-weather vine yield- 

 ed from Aug. 2 to 24 ; color white : wild cucumber 

 and heartsease came the first part of September. 

 One week, rains and cold weather stopped gain. I 

 have a larger yield in September most years if dry 

 and warm. 



Evansville. Ind., Sept. 5. W. \\\ Vickery. 



