gleaj^ings in bee culture 



The paper was frankly and aboveboard 

 speculative, and I am sure it was not mis- 

 understood by those who listened to it, as 

 (he discussion following the reading proved. 

 However, your criticism of some other 

 phrases and expressions in the paper are 

 quite justified, for I perceive, now that my 

 attention has been called to them, that they 

 might be construed to imply a wish to 

 obtain certain results, when I meant we 

 were merely seeking to learn if certain facts 

 would be obtained which would agree with 

 the theory interrogatively propounded. I 

 hope these slips of language, due to rapid 

 writing of a paper, against time, for the 

 Horticultural Society, will be interpreted as 

 they were meant ar.d not as they were writ- 

 ten. In your conclusion you express the 



hope that I " will not drop the problem 

 until I have found out how much truth 

 there is in the theory." Thank you most 

 heartily for the implied confidence that I 

 will give an honest report. I esteem your 

 belief in my integrity much more than I 

 would your confidence in my scientific ac- 

 tivities, tho, of course, I should appreciate 

 both. All the work has been so checked, 

 and will continue so to be, that I could not 

 give a wrong report, even if I were so 

 minded. 



May I ask if you will give space in your 

 paper for this somewhat extended reply, Jn 

 justice to the other officers of the Ohio 

 Station, as well as to myself, and I shall 

 much appreciate the kindness. 



Wooster, Ohio. 



COMB -HONEY PRODUCTION IN OUT -APIARIES 



BY W. A. LATSHAW 



About May 1 we go over all our bees to 

 make sure that none lack for honey, to feed 

 them up, to clip all the queens' wings, and 

 to help out the weak somewhat by giving 

 frames of brood and bees from the stronger 

 colonies. Tliis we keep doing until we have 

 them fairly well equalized, and shaped up 

 in good condition for the raspberry-clover 

 honey-flow, which begins here about June 9, 

 and with it swarming starts with a ven- 

 geance. 



With the swarming season at hand it 

 becomes necessary for us to visit our bees 

 more often, especially when it is at its 

 worst ; and this we do, making the rounds 

 once each week to each out-apiary to give 

 more storing room, and to take off the fin- 

 ished comb honey, and case and grade it, 

 and to prevent and control the swarming. 



Now, our method of swarm control and 

 prevention is vfery simple. During the 

 height of the swarming season we go over 

 all the colonies and cut the queen-cell out 

 of all that are preparing to swarm, once 

 each week, or every seventh day. As the 

 swarming season advances, and when the 

 swarming mania begins to wane, it is neces- 

 sary to go over them for swarm-cells only 

 once every ten days; but during the worst 

 of the swarming we have found it best to 

 cut cells once each week, especially as we 

 have to make tlie weekly visits anyway, to 

 take care of the finished comb honey, and 

 to give more room; for when swarming is 

 worse, honey is " worser," provided your 

 bees are prevented from swarming, and they 

 will be if you have the queens' wings all 

 clipped, and make a c^veful job of the cell- 



cutting, being very careful not to miss a 

 single one. 



Only the hives that are preparing to 

 swarm are opened during our cell-cutting 

 rounds, and this we ascertain by turning 

 the hives one after another off their bot- 

 tom-boards (which are loose) and smoking 

 the bees back off the lower half of the 

 brood-combs, so as to be able to see the 

 queen-cells, if anj- , that have been started ; 

 and only such as have queen-cells started 

 are opened, it being necessary only to turn 

 the rest back on their bottom-boards, and to 

 proceed to the next. In this manner an out- 

 apiai*y can soon be looked over for swarm- 

 ing, and the cells cut out, provided you 

 have a big smoker and use plenty of smoke 

 in the smoking-back operation. Another 

 thing, don't be afraid to switch the hives 

 around on their upside-down corner, or turn 

 them upside down, if need be, to get the 

 light so 3'ou can see down in. 



If you do a good job of looking for cells 

 and cell-cutting, and have your queens' 

 wings all clipped, and do it regularly once 

 every week or ten days you will be absolute 

 master of the swarming problem so far as 

 comb-honey production is concerned. 



When we wish increase we make it natur- 

 ally by hiving swarms that issue during our 

 visits to the out-apiaries, or else we take 

 two frames of brood and bees with the 

 queen from the old hive, then place them in 

 the center of the new hive on the old stand, 

 and then set the old parent colony off on a 

 new stand and give a ripe cell. This throws 

 the working force mostly with the two 

 frames of brood and bees and queen on the 



