MAY 1, 1916 



off supers of honey. At each visit we aim 

 to give each colony all the super room it 

 will require until the next visit. We go 

 over the yard by course, examine each hive, 

 and usually remove every super from hives 

 that have not swarmed, and open them that 

 we may know their exact condition as to 

 whether they are preparing to swarm or 

 not. If we find larvae in queen-cells it is 

 time to begin by removing part or all of 

 their brood, or, instead, their queen. There 

 appear to be two main causes for bees 

 swaiTning — old or failing queens, and a 

 surplus of brood. If the queen is old it is 

 better to remove her at once and cut out all. 

 sealed queen-cells, and, eight days later, 

 again cut queen-cells, and, eight days later, 

 give a virgin queen. It is better to discov- 

 er such queens before any preparation is 

 made for swarming, and remove them, giv- 

 ing a young queen in place of them; but we 

 cannot always do this. 



In regard to the removal of brood, it is 

 much more effective when first preparations 

 are made by a colony for swarming; for the 

 longer it goes after they begin to prepare 

 to swarm, the harder to get it out of their 

 little heads, until sometimes they wiU swarm 

 any way, even if you rob them of all their 

 brood. 



It is time more than wasted to try to 

 prevent a colony that has an old queen from 

 swarming by removing brood ; for you may 

 remove all of it and give dry combs in their 

 place, and it is more than probable she will 

 lay a few eggs in a patch as large as the 

 palm of your hand, and queen-cells will be 

 promptly started, and swarming results. 



Bees as a rule work in supers much better 

 when no preparation is being made for 

 swarming, and we should forestall any de- 

 sire on the part of the bees by giving 

 plenty of super room and abundant ventila- 

 tion as well as shade. There is doubtless a 

 great difference in different strains of bees 



as well as in seasons. Some years bees are 

 much mox'e given to swarming than in other 

 years. Much will also depend on the skill 

 of the apiarist. I believe 1 have had quite 

 as good success by spending one day in 

 eight to a yard, with one man to assist me, 

 as when I employed a man for every yax'd. 

 Taking off honey or super's at an outyard is 

 a vei'y simple matter since we have used 

 bee-escape boards. 



We have sometimes run one or two yards 

 for extracted honey, but have thought the 

 work quite as hard as when run for comb 

 honey. Perhaps we did not undei-stand how 

 as well. It might seem like pretty hard 

 work to lift supers and open 75 or more 

 hives in a day, but we have seemed to get 

 along fairly well. 



For four or five outyards we have got 

 along with one horse and an express wagon, 

 altho an auto truck would be better in some 

 ways. One experienced active beeman with 

 a good assistant can take care of a yard of 

 eighty to one hundred colonies in a day, 

 leaving the other six or seven days for other 

 yards. 



There is, doubtless, a difference of opin- 

 ion as to whether we should work with bees 

 on Sunday ; but I don't believe it pays when 

 it can be avoided. There is a lot of sound 

 sense in the statement by that old Hebrew 

 preacher that " They that wait upon the 

 Lord shall renew their strength; they shall 

 mount up with wing-s as eagles; they shall 

 run and not be weary, they shall walk and 

 not faint." How many times during the 

 swarming season have I felt completely 

 worn out by Saturday night, when the rest 

 of the following day, with church services, 

 and mingling with pleasant people, with all 

 thought of bees removed from me, I have 

 gone to my work on Monday morning with 

 streng-th renewed and the whole world smil- 

 ing for me. 



Middlebury, Vt. 



A HUNDRED COLONIES TO THE APIARY 



BY D. L. WOODWARD 



It is some years since my father, A. E. 

 Woodward, and I started our first out- 

 apiai-y. It is also some years since my 

 father retired from the bee business on 

 account of ill health, and, like some other 

 veteran beekeepers, took up his winter res- 

 idence in Brad^ntown, Florida. 



Since then I have been conducting the 

 business alone. I aim to keep about three 

 hundred colonies, which are temporarily 

 located in two outyards and the home yard. 

 Before the time of the automobile I extract- 



ed my honey for several years at the out- 

 yards, but decided that it was less work to 

 move the honey home to extract than it was 

 to do it at the outyards. Another thing to 

 take into consideration is the fact that'we 

 can be at home more, and can enjoy a warm 

 dinner in place of a cold lunch at noon. 



T still have a honey-house at one outyard 

 which T would not know how to dispense 

 with as it is very convenient to have a place 

 to store supplies, etc.; then, too, we always 

 liave a shelter from storms. 



