1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



293 



lbs. in his poorest year to 166 lbs. in his 

 best year. 



The planning of work will include not only 

 the examination of every stock— feeding, 

 and uniting to form good strong colonies— 

 but making arrangements for planting out- 

 apiaries in conveniently situated areas. All 

 interference with hives should cease early in 

 October. 



HOW FAR DO BEES TRAVEL? 



Upon this point much depends. The very 

 object of establishing out-apiaries is to en- 

 able the bees to gather the greatest possible 

 quantity of honey during the time the hon- 

 ey-flow lasts. It is most absurd to try to 

 see how much the distance bees actually fly 

 can be stretched. For twenty years I have 

 always acted on the teaching that, if you 

 want to move bees, it must be at least two 

 miles. Time after time have I had occasion 

 to move bees, much within that distance, 

 but beyond a mile, and in only one instance 

 have any bees returned. It is certainly un- 

 wise to expect much honey from a stock of 

 bees located a mile or more from a honey- 

 producing crop. 



I once knew of an apiary which remained 

 on the spot for eight years, and its crop was 

 always shorter than that of any other apia- 

 ry. It was on the bank of a large river, and 

 about four miles north of the house; and, al- 

 though it was known that the vicinity of the 

 river had something to do with the scanty 

 crops, yet it was not moved, because it was 

 in a location where orchards abounded, and 

 the facilities for a spring harvest were good. 

 It was a long time the impression that the 

 home apiary was helping to cut off the hon- 

 ey supply by its proximity; but this doubt 

 was well cured when an apiary of ten colo- 

 nies was found just half way which had har- 

 vested more surplus than the known ones. 

 I have often since ascertained that localities 

 three miles apart may have altogether dif- 

 ferent crops, both in quantity and quality. 

 We should find out what crops likely to be 

 of value to bees are growing in our district, 

 and before the end of May. When stocks 

 may be moved without danger, remove the 

 bees to a spot only about a field away from 

 the best sources of honey. 



Medicine Hat, Man. 



[Our basswood apiary is located about a 

 mile and a half in an air-line from our home 

 yard. One year when the basswoods were 

 at their height I walked across the country 

 to see how far the home bees were flying 

 toward the basswood yard, and the bass- 

 wood toward the home yard. I was sur- 

 prised to see that the line of flight did not 

 go much beyond half a mile. The probabil- 

 ities are the bees could find all they could 

 gather within that dietance. In the case of 

 clover it is possible and probable the bees 

 would fly further, as they would have to 

 take a longer time in getting a load, and in 

 flying from one blossom to another they 

 might go two or three miles. But I am sat- 

 isfied that in an ordinarily level country they 

 do not go much beyond a mile, even for clo- 



ver. But there are marked exceptions to 

 all rules. Mr. Alexander thought his bees 

 would sometimes go five miles, for, as you 

 are aware, he has 750 colonies in one locali- 

 ty. This number would drain all the nectar 

 in a radius of two miles without difficulty; 

 yet two or three miles beyond they can see 

 other patches of white (buckwheat), and 

 apparently they will fly further aross a val- 

 ley or a body of water, when they see plen- 

 ty of color beyond, than they will when they 

 have to go over underbrush on a level where 

 they can't see ahead. Possibly this long- 

 range- vision idea will be pronounced a here- 

 sy. Let the doubter travel over the coim- 

 try and observe for himself.— Ed.] 



CHAMBERS' CELL-STARTING DEVICE. 



A Simple and Convenient Device for Starting 

 Queen-cells. 



BY J. E. CHAMBERS. 



[The reader may be a little confused unless he under- 

 stands that the lower hive shown in the illustration is 

 not full depth but half depth, the same as the half- 

 depth body shown under the feeder-frame. Otherwise 

 it would not be possible to take frames from the lower 

 to the upper hive, as explained by Mr. Chambers, who, 

 if we are correct, is a user of shallow brood-chambers. 

 —Ed.] 



During the past six years I have been 

 studying the many different systems of 

 queen- rearing and cell- starting. To most of 

 them I have found one serious objection: 

 They are all too complicated, too technical, 

 methodical, and admit of no modification or 

 elasticity. They take up too much time, all 

 pottering and mussy, and are entirely im- 

 practical in the hands of the novice, and fail 

 to bring results proportionate to the amount 

 of work involved. After quite an exter ded 

 trial, side by side, I had to give them up as 

 not being equal to (in my hands at least) ihe 

 system and device which I am going to ce- 

 scribe. Of course, I do not want this un- 

 derstood as a condemnation of any of these 

 systems. In the hands of the very expert 

 they are, no doubt, effective; but the less 

 expert, to say nothing of the novice, will be 

 apt to fail of attaining satisfying results, in 

 either quantity or quality. As for mys( If I 

 do not claim to be much of an expert. I 

 have been studying queen-breeding but a 

 little over six years and bee-keeping for 

 twenty; and to my awkwardness, perhaps, 

 as much as to any thing else, is due my fail- 

 ure to make these several systems work sat- 

 isfactorily. Be that as it may, I have one 

 of my own, and intend to give it to the pub- 

 lic. I make this explanation in order to as- 

 sure all that I am not leveling my guns at 

 any one's pet system as some may think. 



This new device consists of a trap screen- 

 board; but a double screen is preferable for 

 the purpose of maintaining the colony odor, 

 at the same time keeping the reigning queen 

 in the lower hive as far away from the cell- 

 starting bees in the upper hive or super as 

 possible. This double screen is shown at M, 

 the top screen being raised in order to afford 

 a clear view of the lower one. At either side 



