GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Fig. 3. — Interior of box used as a super, showing naturally built combs. Note that some of the combs 

 are built with two parallel sides of the cells vertical, and some with two sides horizontal. 



With US we have the summer flow of 

 white honey and the fall flow of buckwheat, 

 the latter being the heaviest flow as a rule. 

 T find that, with the ten-frame hive during 

 the buckwheat flow in August, in most cases 

 where there is a good prolific queen there 

 will be from eight to ten frames filled with 

 brood, leaving very little room for honey; 

 consequently the l^oney all goes up into the 

 supers ; and if it happens, as it has for 

 several years past, that the flow shuts off 

 suddenly, due to o!ie cause or another (gen- 

 erally a drouth at that time of the season), 

 the bees will be short of stores; for with us 

 buckwheat is the last of the honey-flow ex- 

 cept for a limited amount of wild aster and 

 a little second-growth sweet clover. By 

 using a twelve-frame hive the queen would 

 require no more room for brood than in the 

 ten-frame hive, and there would be two 

 extra combs for winter stores. In the spring 

 the brood-chamber should be contracted 

 down to six or eight frames by using a 

 heavy division-board and putting the emp- 

 ty combs to the outside. In my opinion it 

 will not be many years before the twelve- 

 frame hive will have taken the place of the 

 ten-frame as a standard hive. 



When our bees went into the cellar, De- 

 cember 20, they had several combs of brood, 

 and in some cases the queens were still 

 laying; but a number were so short of stores 

 that it was necessary to feed them. 



My best colonies are the ones that have 

 jilenty of honey in their hives in the spring. 



1 do not practice stimulative feeding in the 

 spring. I believe it is better to let nature 

 take its course; and if there is plenty of 

 honey in the hives when the bees come out 

 of winter quarters I'll risk but that you will 

 have rousing colonies by the time the flow 

 has come, providing you have a good young 

 queen in the hive. Understand that I am 

 speaking for this locality in New York. 



As I have some foul brood in my apiaries 

 I do not feed much honey, but use sugar 

 syrup, as there is too much risk in feeding 

 honey from a yard where there is disease, 

 unless first boiled. Two years ago I had 

 considerable disease among my bees; but 

 (o-day I have only a few colonies affected. 

 In 1912 I treated over fifty colonies during 

 the season; but later on a few more affected 

 colonies appeared, and were treated in the 

 spring of 1913. No more disease appeared 

 until AugTist, and I thought I was rid of 

 foul brood; but in August, toward the 

 close of the buckwheat flow, I discovered 

 several colonies that were slightly affected ; 

 and as it was too late to treat them I re- 

 moved them from the yard, and left them 

 to be treated this spring. I am in hopes to 

 stamp it out entirely this season. 



I have a simple system of keeping track 

 of my diseased colonies. Some who have 

 disease in their yards may think it worth 

 trying. T take some small-size roofing-caps 

 and dip them in blue paint (any color will 

 do) ; and when I discover a colony that is 

 affected, I tack two of these blue caps on 



