May, 1917 



O I. E A N I N G S IN B K E C U L T U K E 



339 



from several years' experience that 1 ge\ 

 more honey, and that it is of better quality, 

 when no baits are used. 



INCKEASK, AND SUPERING THE SRlALT.EST CAP- 

 PED COLONY. 



While I am supering the first -(ai)pcd 

 colonies I make pi'ovision for the next visit 

 when I exi^ect the weaker colonies will be 

 ready for supers. In my rounds over the 

 yard T save one comb of hatching' brood 

 from each colony that is strong- enough to 

 spare it. Three of these combs with one 

 comb of honey will start a fine colony. 

 Crowd these together with a division-board 

 to keep them warm. Contract the entrance 

 so that only two bees can pass out at once. 

 As I save these combs with tlie adliering 

 bees I shake the bees fiom one extra comb 

 with each. 



Having prepared as many new colonies 

 on the previous trip as I expect to need I 

 nuw have colonies that can use the capjied 

 combs in turn from the colonies that are 

 ready for the first su^Ders. 



Before capping the new colonies T destroy 

 all cells and give each a frame of larvae. 

 Cells built in weak colonies produce poor 

 (jueens. Combs from the caps should now 

 be added until there are twelve in all. The 

 l)io<id-n:st should be covered after this, 

 leaving, however, one space on each end 

 o])en for the bees to go into the caps, and 

 the caps can be filled with combs. In twen- 

 ty days there will be a fine young queen 

 laying, or, if desired, a laying queen can be 

 introduced the day these colonies are started. 

 Thisi is also a good opportunity for intro- 

 ducing choice queens, as young bees Avill 

 accept any queen. 



DISCOURAGE LATE SWARMING. 



When 1 remove the queen eai'ly in the 

 season 1 take one comb of hatching Ijiudd 



witli the adhei'ing bees, and ])ut in a divi- 

 si(in-l)nai(l. At the ii'xt liij), nine days 

 latei-, 1 lake out twd inoie combs of hatching 

 brood and give also one comb of larva;. I 

 move up the division-board and cover the 

 space with a strip of oilcloth before return- 

 ing the super. This sjiace behind the divi- 

 sion-board discourages swarming, and also 

 throws tlie workers immediately into the 

 sections. 



1 have found this plan comparatively safe. 

 The bees are requeened early; it saves one 

 operation, and gives more time between 

 visits. 



I have been asked why it would not be 

 just as well to allow one queen to hatch 

 from the first batch of cells. The great ob- 

 jection to this is that the colonies would not 

 yet be cured of the swarming impulse. Any 

 cell overlooked would lead to swarming. If 

 a virgin returned to the wrong hive there 

 w(ndd be swarming; and once the swarming- 

 note is heard in an apiary in which young 

 fiueens are taking their flight, there is dan- 

 ger of a panic. By the time a second lot of 

 queens is ready to hatch, the swarming fever 

 is over. 



Sand Lake, Mich. 



[The details given here may seem like a 

 good deal of red tape; but on account of 

 this system Mrs. Frey no longer has the 

 trouble that she used to have. She writes 

 that she once saw a swarm go to the woods 

 early in the morning, and, shortly after, 

 other colonies began to swarm until it 

 seemed all the bees in the yard were swarm- 

 ing. A woman and three children helped 

 hive swarms from eight in the morning till 

 late in the afternoon. Swarms returned, 

 went into the wrong hive, doubled up and 

 clustered until the whole ai)iary seemed to 

 liave gone crazy. — Ed.] 



F^, 



OUR hun- 

 Ired colo- 

 nies ff bees 

 may be properly 

 cared for with 

 a 11 a V e r a g e 

 amount of time 

 of only two days 

 a week for the 

 year. Success is due more to proper equip- 

 ment, efficient business methods, and the 

 elimination of unnecessai'}' operations than 

 to any amount of hustling. In the methods 

 here described I claim no originality, having 

 endeavored to adojit oidy such plans as seem 

 ap2)licable to local conditions. I am not an 



ONLY TWO DAYS A WEEK 



'Squired to Manage a 400-Colony 



'See Business in Three Outyards 



Located Fifteen Miles Apart 



By E. S. Miller 



advocate of anv 

 "let-alone plan," 

 lieing a believer 

 in intensive rath- 

 er than extensive 

 beekeeping. No 

 business will suc- 

 cessfully run it- 

 self, and bee- 

 keeping is by no means an exception to this 

 lule. Frequent examination of the colonies 

 is important if done intelligently and .sys- 

 tematically. 



A'al])araiso is a beautiful little city of 

 aJKjut ten thousand inhabitants, situated in 

 the northwestern part of Indiana, near tht 



