JUNE 1, 1916 



453 



fix. Nevertheless, I believe thoroly in the 

 portable outfit. 



A central plant is a fine thing, and one 

 ran have it arranged more conveniently 

 than a movable one. The greatest trouble 

 is that it is more or less distant from a 

 (Considerable part of the honey, and this 

 fault is fatal. If the men who take off the 

 honey shirk, it delays things. The car may 

 have an accident, and lose more time. Or 

 the extracting force may get behind, and 

 the honey pile up on them. Then the owner 

 needs to be present in all three places to 

 get the best results. When any tiling gets 



(Hit of fix, hired men are apt to sit down 

 and talk it over unless the boss is there to 

 speed things up. 



A car will stand up well the first year 

 hnuling honey home; but it nearly always 

 develops trouble the second year. Every 

 mile a car is run is that much of its life 

 gone ; and if it carries heavy loads most of 

 the time, its life is still further shortened. 

 I f a hired man drives it he is not going to 

 be any too particular with it either. Then 

 there is the cost of gasoline and tires, and 

 at present prices the gas-bill is quite an 

 item. 



Bordlonville, La. 



MY SYSTEM OF SWARM CONTROL FOR COMB-HONEY COLONIES 



BY G. C. GREINER 



With the exception of a very superficial 

 examination as early as the weather will 

 permit (it took place April 7 this year) to 

 make sure that all colonies have plenty of 

 stores to cai*ry them to the first natural- 

 honey sources of our locality, I do not 

 molest my bees until the apple-trees are in 

 bloom. Then they are thoroly inspected 

 and graded for spring management. 



If I can judge other beeyards by my 

 own they all consist at this time of these 

 three classes: Strong, medium, and weak. 

 According to the way they have wintered, 

 one or the other end of the line will pre- 

 dominate; but the three classes are there 

 just the same. The two latter groups are 

 run for extracted honey; and by keeping 

 them well supplied Avith empty combs in 

 their supers it is no trouble to keep them 

 from swarming. 



The colonies in the first class (the strong) 

 include everything that has six, seven, or 

 eight combs of good solid brood, and the 

 hive I'easonably well crowded with bees. It 

 is needless to say that the queens must be of 

 the young vigorous type, for the colonies 

 would not have come up to the necessary 

 requirements if the queens had been defi- 

 cient in this respect. Any of these colonies 

 are likely to swarm almost any time after' 

 the api^le-bloom inspection, and even if 

 run for extracted honey it is a puzzle to 

 keep them under subjection. 



To escape this annoying swarming nui- 

 sance the colonies are divided about May 

 15 to 20, beginning with the strongest, that 

 show from outward appearance any in- 

 clination to swarm, until all are taken care 

 of; and they are divided in the old-fash- 

 ioned way of taking two combs of brood 

 with the old queen from the parent hive, 

 and introducing a young laying queen into 



the latter at the time the division is made. 

 On account of the earliness of the season, 

 snuthern-bred queens are used for this pur- 

 pose. The two combs of brood with the 

 old queen are placed in a new hive with 

 three additional empty combs, and the rest 

 of the hive filled out by three chaff division- 

 boards. These latter are the same thickness 

 as one brood-comb witji its bee-space, so 

 that every removed division-board will give 

 room for a brood-comb. This hive so pre- 

 pared is left on the old stand to catch the 

 flying bees, wliile the parent hive with its 

 introduced young queen is also filled out by 

 two division-boards and moved to a new 

 stand some distance from the old one. 



As soon as the old queen has started 

 brood again in those empty combs, which 

 she generally does in about a week, one of 

 the division-boards is removed, the brood 

 spread, and an empty comb inserted in the 

 center of the brood-nest. In about another 

 week the new comb is again stocked up with 

 brood ; another division-board is removed, 

 and a second comb inserted in its place. 

 The same procedure is repeated with the 

 last division-board, so that, by the time the 

 white-clover flow is opening, the brood- 

 chamber is filled with brood, and all the 

 incoming honey has to go into the super. 

 However, it must be remembered that this 

 is only an outline. Time and space will not 

 l)ermit to give all the connecting details, 

 vvhich must be left to the judgment of the 

 operating beekeeper. 



The removed parent hive is managed in 

 practically the same way as the newly 

 formed swarm with the old queen. As it 

 takes a few days longer for the introduced 

 (jueen to be liberated and laying, the ex- 

 changing of division-boards for empty 

 combs will be delayed that many days. But 



