MARCH 15, 1914 



227 



materials that the department of beekeepinji' 

 has gathered in one of the rooms. 



One part of the program was the inti'o- 

 duction of short talks on some new thing 

 that each member had discovered during the 

 past season. I will not relate any of these, 

 because none of them proved to be new to 

 any one except the one who gave them. 

 Introduction of queens by the smoke meth- 

 od was described and discussed. It was ap- 

 proved by those why had tried it. 



The election of officers resulted as fol- 

 lows: President, N. E. France; Vice-presi- 

 dent, Frank Wilcox; Secretary, Gus. Ditt- 

 mer ; Treasurer, Harry Lathrop. 



The writer hoboes that the National con- 

 vention will be a hummer, and that the 

 Wisconsin men will come up to their annivil 

 meeting next year feeling fine, and get into 

 line like good little boj's. 



Bridgeport, Wis., Feb. 9. 



MAKING INCREASE BY TAKING A FEW COMBS OF BEES FROM EACH 



OF THE STRONG COLONIES, AND AT THE SAME 



TIME PREVENT SWARMING 



BY W. C. HURDIN 



About every eight or ten days we look 

 through our colonies; and if we think they 

 are getting a little too strong in bees and 

 brood, and do not have enough room for the 

 queens to lay, we take one or two combs of 

 sealed brood and the bees that are on them 

 and put them in an empty hive. We do the 

 same with other hives that are too strong, 

 and when we have enough combs to till the 

 empty hive we give them a comb of honey 

 and also a comb of eggs, putting this latter 

 in the center of the hive where it will keep 

 warm. This comb of eggs will provide 

 young larvse with which the bees can start 

 queen-cells if *here is no young queen to 

 give them. In a few days' time we thus 

 have a good strong colony. 



Some will wonder whether these bees, 

 being mixed up from so many hives, will 

 not fight and kill each other. We made up 

 some twenty colonies last season in this 

 way, and we have had no trouble along this 

 line. I like to make up these artificial colo- 

 nies on a good hot day if I can, fo' then 

 most of the old bees are out of the hive in 

 the field, and there are not so many on the 

 combs to hinder me in finding the queen. I 

 always make sure that I do not get the 

 queen on one of the frames of brood that 

 I take out, of course. Most of the bees 

 taken away are young bees, and they mix 

 with bees from other hives easily, and also 

 stay in the new hive without trouble, for, 

 so far as they are concerned, one hive is 

 just about as good as another. However, 

 when the new hive is about full of bees, if 

 I see any of them that look as though they 

 were going to fight each other I give a 

 few puffs of smoke, and they soon quiet 

 down. 



Some will say that it takes too long to 

 wait until the bees can start queen-cells of 



their own, so, if desired, one can provide 

 young queens, either of his own raising or 

 some bought from a breeder, and give one 

 to each new colony started just as though 

 requeening. 



If one has all the colonies he wishes, and 

 does not care to increase his apiary too 

 much, it is well not to give the bees a laying 

 queen, but let them start queen-cells of their 

 own. It will be some time before there is 

 any brood from the young queen. Conse- 

 quently it will be quite a while before there 

 will be more new bees in the colony. 



In about ten days after going through 

 the old colonies the first time, go through 

 them again and see how strong they are. 

 If any of thein show signs of starting 

 queen-cells, showing that there is danger 

 that they will swarm, take out a comb or 

 two of brood and shake the bees all off back 

 into the old hive ; then put these combs of 

 brood in the new hives that were started 

 some days before, at the same time taking- 

 out of the new hive some of the combs that 

 had brood in them when the colony was first 

 started. By this time these should be emp- 

 ty ; and if these empty combs are put back 

 in the old colony the old queen will have 

 more ro ;^i: to lay in. In this way the old' 

 (|ueen can keep both colonies going until; 

 the new colony has a laying queen of its 

 own. Then, to(/, giving the eld queen plenty 

 of room to lay in helps a good deal toward 

 preventing swarming. 



By the old way of making increase it 

 often makes both the new and the old colony 

 weak for a long time to come; while by the 

 plan tliat I have described, of taking a 

 ccmb "^v two of bees and brood at a time, 

 the old colony is left in good condition for 

 work at any time when the honey-flow 

 comes. One can give the new colony enough 



