APRIL 15, 1914 



309 



combs, the bees should be given combs of 

 lioney, or fed. 



The colony at that time should not be 

 examined for queens. Probably two weeks 

 later would be better, or as soon as pollen 

 is brought in. At such a time the queen is 

 almost sure to be laying. Then every comb 

 in the hive should be looked over, and any 

 drone comb removed. Or, if such comb is 

 full of honey, it should be placed at the 

 outside of the brood-chamber. 



The bees should have jilenty of pollen. 

 If they are short, a substitute should be 

 provided. During the spring of 1913, in 

 Mr. Lunn's section the soft-maple buds had 

 been destroyed b}' frost. He then put out 

 a chop composed of oats, barley, and wheat. 

 The bees gatliered what they could out of it 

 during the day. and he feci the rest to the 

 pigs at night. 



Some colonies are found weak. If any 

 ai'e queenless Mr. Lunn unites such with the 

 weak colonies. Prom that time on. the 

 colonies should be examined every ten days 

 or two weeks. As soon as the danger of 

 chilling brood has passed he begins to equal- 

 ize the stocks so as to have them all in equal 

 condition for the honey-flow. When the hive 

 is fairly well filled he puts on another supei- 

 with comb. He likes to get a colony in such 

 condition that the brood-chamber and supei' 

 of a ten-frame liive will be well filled with 

 bees, brood, and honey before the start of 

 the surplus-honey flow. 



Care should be taken not to let a colony 

 get short of honey. If short, Mr. Lunn likes 

 to give them a comb of honey; or, failing 

 in that, 5 lbs. of granulated honey; or if he 

 can not give that, then a thick syrup. 



BEE-ESCAPES. 



Some discussion took place about bee- 

 escapes. Mr. John McEwen claimed that 

 the best bee-escape board he had been able 

 to find is one with an escape 

 in the center, and then an 

 opening through the front 

 strip of the escape-board. The 

 bees, as soon as they find the\- 

 are separated from the brood- 

 chamber and queen, pile out 

 through the opening in the 

 side, and in an unbroken 

 procession pass down to the 

 entrance of the hive. 



Mr. John Newton advocat- 

 ed having the escapes near the 

 edge of the board. The bees 

 naturally run down the sides 

 and edges of the hives, and 

 for that reason pass out of 

 the supers more readily. 



Drone-laying queen taken 

 from a ball of bees. The 

 worker shown has hold of 

 the queen's wing. Both were 

 dead when found. 



R. F. Holtermann stated that he was 

 getting out 250 bee-escape boards with the 

 wire cloth in the board for ventilation, and 

 to allow the heat from the bees to keep the 

 honey warm. 



QUEEN-REARING. 



Mr. Wm. Elliott, in giving an address 

 upon the above subject, advocated selecting 

 ten of the very best colonies in the apiary 

 the previous season, clioosing on the follow- 

 ing merits: 



1. Color. The queen must be purely 

 mated. His experience was that, among the 

 best working colonies, there will be tliose 

 with the best color. 



2. A colony wliich starts brood-rearing' 

 early in the season, and one which has a 

 large proportion of brood. 



H. The workers should have strong, well- 

 developed wing's. The strong-winged bees 

 can carry the heaviest loads. There is a 

 marked difference in the build of individual 

 bees. 



The colony having the above characteris- 

 tics to the fullest extent should be kept, 

 from wliieh to obtain larvae for young' 

 queens. From the rest, take four or five of 

 the next best colonies and insert in tlie 

 center of the brood-chamber three or foui- 

 combs with drone-cells. In the rest of the 

 apiary try to prevent drone-rearing. Queen- 

 rearing should begin from about June 5 to 

 10. (This applies to southwestern (Ontario.) 

 Graft queen-cells in a couple of bars, and 

 put these in a frame in the' upper stoiy of 

 a strong colony with a card of brood on 

 each side of the queen-oell cups. The object 

 of this is to get royal jelly for jiriming the 

 future cell cups. Next remove the queen in 

 a good colony, saving her if she is young. 

 Combs with only capped brood can be left 

 in the now queenless hive, any other being 

 removed. Give the colony a reasonable 

 amount of pollen and honey, 

 and be sure there is a plenti- 

 ful supply of young hatched 

 bees. Leave three places in 

 the contracted brood-chamber 

 for frames of grafted cells, 

 the object being to make room 

 for the colony. 



The cell cups used are the 

 Swarthmore. The royal jelly 

 is to be taken from the cells 

 in the super previously men- 

 tioned. The best time to graft 

 is when the sun is nearing the 

 western horizon. Stand at a 

 west window, and turn your 

 back to the sun so the light 

 will shine into the cells. Take 



