22 



hybrid queens over one year old, and also 

 practically all queens that will soon be three 

 years old. On the next trip we cut out all 

 cells started in hybrid colonies and supply 

 such colonies with cells from one of the 

 hives containing an old queen also killed on 

 the previous trip. On this trip we destroy 

 all cells but one in the hives that had con- 

 tained these three-year-old queens. In 

 this way we eliminate swarming in at least a 

 third of the colonies in each yard. 



About June 20 we commence making in- 

 crease to atone for the winter losses. All 

 of our hives face the south. In case of 

 colonies prepainng to swarm, a new hive 

 with full sheets of foundation or combs is 

 placed on the old stand, the old hive being 

 set to one side, facing the north. The 

 queen and frame of brood is taken out of 

 the old hive and placed in the new one on 

 the old stand, the extra frame from the hive 

 being put in the old liive. At the next 

 trip, eight or ten days later, the old hive 

 is taken away to an entirely new stand, 

 after first shaking the bees from four or 

 five frames in front of the new hive on the 

 old stand. (Combs with cells on them 

 should not be shaken.) In this way the old 

 colony has just enough bees so that the 

 brood will not chill. The supers, of course, 

 were put on the new hive on the old stand at 

 the time the division was made. 



This is the most satisfactory way of 

 making increase that I have ever tried. 

 The old colony gives a good account of 

 itself on the clover flow. 



JULY 



After the first of July nothing is done 

 toward stopping swarming but cutting out 

 (lueen-cells. As swarming is usually over 

 in this locality by the 10th, this plan is 

 nearly always sufficient. A few may swarm 

 out now and then; but aside from a little 

 mixing up no harm seems to result. 



The" honey-flow generally lasts until 

 about the 20th. If it is a good flow more 

 supers are added on each trip. 



As soon as a wide frame of four sections 

 is found sealed it is removrd. About the 

 2r)th we commence taking off all the clover 

 lioney. We go to a yard with a wagon and 

 l)lankets and an empty super. We go to a 

 hive, take out all the frames tliat have any 

 sections that are capped, or partly so. It 

 is not necessary to haul the empty sections 

 liome. We leave them on and fill in with 

 others if there are not enough to complete 

 a super. This leaves a super on eacli 

 liive witli some half-built combs to start 

 tlie bees on buckwheat. As fast as the 

 finished honey is taken off we give each 

 frame a good shake, thus dislodging the 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1917 



bees, and place it in a super and then 

 wheel or carry the super to the wagon. 

 A few bees will be carried home, but not 

 many. The few that are left on the honey 

 usually take wing when the blankets are 

 raised during the loading of the honey. 



To avoid robbers it is a good plan to 

 have two men, one to take off the honey and 

 shake, and the other to carry it to the 

 wagon and load. No hive should be kept , 

 open a minute longer than necessary. If 

 robbers get started in one place we go to 

 another part of the apiary, keeping the 

 honey tightly covered on the wagon all of 

 the time. Shaking bees off from only four 

 sections at a time may seem slow work, but 

 it is not. Two men will " strip " a yard a 

 day. 



AUGUST 



We aim to have the early honej' taken 

 off, scraped, packed, and shipped by the 

 15th of the month. We make two grades. 

 No. 1 is the grade that we ship, and the 

 No. 2, consisting of the sections not fully 

 capped over, which we sell around home. 

 Sections that are too light for the second 

 grade we extract. After this we prepare 

 more sections and refill the supers. 



About the 15th we again run over the 

 yard. In fact, we do this every ten days 

 until about the middle of September, be- 

 cause there is often considerable swarming 

 during the fall honey-flow. We do no- 

 thing to prevent the swarming except to 

 keep the cells cut out every ten days, and 

 make sure that all laying queens are clip- 

 ped. The swarming fever is more easily 

 broken up at this time of the year than 

 earlier during the clover flow. 



At the August 15th visit we clip all 

 queens in our new colonies, and also in the 

 colonies requeened early in Jane. Supers 

 are put on the new divisions, also another 

 on the old colonies if the bees are storing 

 rapidly. At the next one or two visits we 

 simioly give more room if necessary and 

 look the combs over for cells. 



SEPTEMBER 



The work during this month is a good 

 deal like that in July. At the visits during 

 the fore part of the month we supply more 

 room and haul home any frames of sections 

 that are finished. About the 25th the flow 

 from buckwheat and goldenrod is over, and 

 we therefore remove all the honey. We 

 work just as we do in July, except at this 

 time all sections are taken off. About this 

 time we also bring along the chaff trays and 

 the entrance-blocks and put them on. 



OCTOBER 



Tliis is a busy month, for we scrape, 

 scrape, all day long. 



