JUNE 15. 1916 



483 



The engine and eight-frame extractor are 

 placed in the extreme front end of the room, 

 where they balance well on the wagon. I 

 use two-ton springs for moving the wagon. 



A hole is cut in the floor, and a pipe is 

 laid to carry the honey out over the left 



front wheel into a tank not over 36 inches 

 high, large enough for a day's run of honey. 



One of the main features of this wagon is 

 that, as soon as one arrives at the yard, and 

 blocks the springs, extracting can be com- 

 menced without delay. 



Meridian, Ida. 



SWARMING PREVENTED BY CONFINING A QUEEN WITH EXCLUDERS 



BY J. H. BURNS 



Some time ago I described my method of 

 swarm control in Gleanings. As I had tried 

 it on only a small scale I was anxious to 

 know if any other beekeeper had used the 

 method in a large way, but I was taken sick 

 shortly after and stopped reading, I in- 

 tended to experiment further on a larger 

 scale; but as I am still unwell it is not 

 likely that I shall ever be able to do much 

 with bees again; therefore I have decided to 

 describe again briefly the method, together 

 with such alterations as I contemplated try- 

 ing, in the hope that it may prove useful to 

 some one else. I should be glad to know if 

 this method has ever been tried before, and 

 whether it is as likely to prove effective as 

 my experiments indicate. 



The method is a simple one. It consists 

 in inclosing the queen on a brood-frame by 

 covering it on both sides with excluder-zinc. 

 It is better to use a wide-frame; but bulg- 

 ing the zinc in the middle will do. This is 

 done just before the swarming season com- 

 mences, and before queen-cells are started. 



The idea is to cage the queen in the 

 brood-nest, and yet allow the bees free access 

 to her. This, I reason, will prevent formation 

 of queen-cells, and the decreasing brood will 

 induce the colony to give up all notions of 

 swarming. I was able to test it on only a 

 few colonies, but no swarm issued from any 

 of them. Did the decrease in the brood 



probably prevent swarming in this case? 

 There is another advantage in decreasing 

 the brood. The useless after-harvest con- 

 sumers are lessened. Still, a trial with a few 

 hives is not conclusive; but I give the re- 

 sults to the public so that others may reap 

 the benefits if there are any, as I am not 

 able to finish the work myself. Had I been 

 able I would have liked to try caging the 

 queen without using a comb ; and I had even 

 contemplated doing without either hunting 

 or caging her majesty. Instead of the ordi- 

 nary division-board I would have made a 

 tight-fitting one with excluder-zinc. At the 

 beginning of the swarming season remove 

 this division-board from the side, and place 

 in the middle of the hive, spacing the frames 

 over. The queen can now use only four 

 combs, and the brood will diminish a half. 

 Whether this is enough to stop swarming 

 remains to be seen. If not, a six-frame hive 

 could be used, or even a four-frame. In 

 these cases, brood-rearing would have to be 

 provided for in spring by tiering as Dr. 

 Miller and some others do with the eight- 

 frame. Or a large hive with any desired 

 number of these division-boards could be 

 used. But this is all theory. Perhaps this 

 would actually induce swarming by acting 

 the same as contraction ; but I think it is 

 well worth a trial. 

 St. Marys, Ont. 



AS GLIMPSED THROUGH THE CAMERA 



BY H. H. ROOT 



A man may be born smart, but he cannot 

 be born with experience. Experience comes 

 by the slow and sure process known to 

 every one. As Josh Billings used to say, 

 " Experience leeches a good skule, but the 

 tuishun comes pi'etty hi." A man may learn 

 the theorj' of swimming, and be able to go 

 thru all the motions, but nevertheless he 

 feels as helpless as any other individual 

 when he first finds himself in deep water. 



The beginner in beekeeping may under- 

 stand the theoi'y of beekeeping pretty well; 

 but he is likely to feel himself in rather 



deep water the first time he fully realizes 

 tliat he is the owner of thirty or forty thou- 

 sand vigorous bees. It is the purpose of the 

 following set of illustrations to tide the 

 beginner over that helpless feeling that 

 comes to every one when he runs up against 

 a problem which the books apparently 

 ignore entirely. I make no apology for this 

 elementary presentation. We were all there 

 once. The older beekeepers, the ones whose 

 liairs of experience are beginning to turn 

 gray, will please skip the four following 

 pages. 



