1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



365 



IN THE TOP OF THE PALM. 



fruit, and simply climbs the rest of the way. 

 An expert hand will denude a tree of leaves 

 so rapidly that a dozen leaves will be in the 

 air at once on their way to the ground. 

 Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba, Nov. 6. 



SWARMING. 



What this Means to the Progressive Bee-keeper; 

 the Value of a Hive Large Enough to 

 Give a Brood Space Unobstruct- 

 ed by Honey or Pollen. 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



THE NATIVE METHOD OF CLIMBING PALMS 

 IN CUBA. 



For some time I have seen that swarming 

 in the life's history of a colony of bees is a 

 calamity, even if the colony is in the hands 

 of an mtelligent producer. Mr. L. A. As- 

 pinwall has still better expressed it, and in 

 language none ti.o strong, by saying, "It is 

 the bane of modern apiculture." Swarm- 

 ing is to the honey crop what the rearing of 

 calves is to the cheese and butter crop. This 

 is a fair comparison, and the two are very 

 closely parallel. To swarming can be traced 

 in ordinary bee-keeping the majority of cases 

 of queenlessness, robbing, weak colonies in 

 the fall and i-pring. loss of honey crop, and 

 foul brood. It means divided energy, often 

 two to lift two loads when it takes the two 

 to handle one, therefore nothing or little is 

 accomplished. That this has in the past been 

 acted upon without thoughtful recognition 

 in my case and in many others is shown by 

 our admission that large swarms are expect- 

 ed to give us yields of honey when the small 

 oft divided we set no task in that direction. 

 We have sought to prevent swarming, large- 

 ly as a matter of convenience, by not having 

 to watch them, and sometimes so as not to 

 have the trouble of hiving them. This alone 

 makes non-s Alarming a goal worthy of our 

 effort. When I loose upon the many hours 

 and days sp. nt in hot summer weather 

 watching issuing swarms •; nd hiving them, 

 it seems to me 1 would almost sooner go out 

 of the business than leturn to these proba- 

 bly antediluvian methods. 



While not completely master of the situa- 

 tion, as I am inclined to beheve Mr. Aspin- 

 wall may be, yet I have put together a sys- 

 tem of non swarming very satisfactory to 

 me, and I have very largely worked it out 

 for myself, and consulted no one about it. 

 As stated at the Chicago convention, certain 

 similar lines of thought and certain conclu- 

 sions, one independent of the other, have 

 been followed out by Mr. Aspinwall and my- 

 self. This is to me only ac'ded evidence of 

 their correctness. My methods can be of 

 use, and applied to almost any modern hive, 

 the advantages being greater or less -more 

 or less complete in its application. The 

 smaller- hive man can use it to advantage 

 but not with best results. ' 



Some of us may be accused of being large- 

 hive men, and that we are booming large 

 hiv<.3- There is no patent on the size of a 

 hive. I have been compelled to become a 

 large-hive man against my will; and, had I 



