294 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



of this screen is shown a long slot covered at 

 the bottom with perforated zinc, and at the 

 top with tin slide, shown at E. E. In the 

 rear of the board is a flight-hole and plug, 

 shown at G. 



THE CHAMBERS CELL-BUILDING HIVE. 



This description completes the explanation 

 necessary to a clear understanding of this 

 part of the device. The remaining parts 

 consist of a plain rim two inches deep, and 

 the size of the hive in use. This is called 

 the feeder-frame. Nailed crosswise of this 

 frame is the feeder, shown at A, with a bee- 

 space over and under it. In the illustration 

 the screen cloth is turned back to show the 

 feeder. When I desire to start a lot of cells 

 I fasten a trap screen-board to the bot- 

 tom of a shallow hive- body and take it to 

 a hive containing one of my imported 

 breeders. I now select four combs of as 

 nearly solid sealed brood as possible, and 

 one comb of brood in all stages of devel- 

 opment, placing the sealed brood in the cen- 

 ter of this shallow hive. I spread them so 

 as to receive the comb contaming the open 

 brood, and then fill up the lower hive with 

 empty combs. I now place the feeding rim 

 over the shallow body, and the cover ov^r 

 all. But if the weather is very hot it will 



be necessary to lift the cover a little in or- 

 der to give air. The tin slides, E E, are 

 pulled out as shown in the illustration, at 

 nightfall. I raise the cover and pour into 

 the feeder a pint or more of thick feed. 

 This will occupy the attention of the young 

 bees during the entire night. Early in the 

 morning I go to the hive and shove in the 

 tin slides, and thus trap the full force of 

 young bees at work above the trap-board. 

 In less than 24 hours they will be starting 

 cells; but during this time water must be 

 given in the feeder, for these young bees 



'are cut off from all possible chance of get- 

 ting it. As soon as all is ready I begin op- 

 erations by taking a cell-bar, with about 25 

 Doolittle cups attached, and, going to the 

 hive, I blow a Httle sTioke through the 

 screen-covered feeding-rim to drive the bees 

 down a little and tilt the rim to one side, 

 and quickly lift out the comb containing 

 open brood, being very careful to brush the 

 adhering bees back into the hive. I now 



.turn the comb upside down on the feeding 

 rim, and with a fine camoi's-hair brush I 

 proceed to throw out the young larvae in the 

 cells already started, using the royal jelly to 

 prime the artificial cups; and as the colony 

 contains a breeder I do not have to open 

 another hive in order to get all the larvse I 

 need for grafting these 25 cells; and I al- 

 ways feel good about this special feature of 

 this system, for I know well enough t^at 

 these young larv^ have not been starved 

 during the first few hours of their life, but 

 are, on the contrary, always found floating 

 in royal food, and these are the kind to use 

 when the cells are all graf t< d. I place the 

 cups down between the combs of sealed 

 brood, and close up the hive. I now tilt the 

 top body up and replace the comb of open 

 brood in the lower hive where it first came 

 from, and the operation is complete except 

 to give water during the day and feed at 

 night. On the third day after the cups are 

 given I pull out the tin slides and restore 

 communication with the lower hive, and at 

 the same time I remove the plug G and al- 

 low the trapped bees to have a flight. Only 

 a few of the old fello^^s will return to the 

 lower hive, and these do not matter. From 

 this time on during the season I do not close 

 up this hole, but allow the bees to use it at 

 all times as a flight-hole. The tin slides are 

 to be shoved in only when trapping bees to 

 start cell-building, and must be pulled out 

 again as soon as cel^s are well under way, 

 and again shoved in when a second batch of 

 cells is wanted. The number of cells a col- 

 ony can complete is, of course, governed en- 

 tirely by the length of time the sealed cells 

 are left with the building colony. I always 

 prefer to leave them until the evening of 

 the sixth day, and in this way I can get only 

 two batches of cells a month; but as I have 

 fifteen imported breeders I can easily get 

 675 cells a month from the lot; and if I 

 choose to take away the cells as soon as they 

 are sealed I can easily get a thousand or 

 more. Besides all this I can get drones ga- 

 lore by drawing away freely the unsealed 



