1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



497 



which they came. You understand what I 

 have done so far, do you not?" 



"Yes; go on." 



"Now, does it not seem plausible that 

 the bees would keep right on at work in the 

 sections they have commenced in, and the 

 queen go down into the hive from which she 

 came, and, after destroying the queen-cells 

 there, the colony be satisfied, and continue 

 work right along in the sections without 

 any further swarming?" 



' ' There is a possibility that this method 

 might work in Alabama, but it will not here 

 in York State. If I were in your place I 

 would try a few colonies that way, and that 

 will tell you for certain as to its being ap- 

 plicable to your section of country." 



"Why will it not work in your State?" 



"Because the queen would not go down 

 and destroy those queen- cells unless there 

 should come a great dearth of honey just 

 after the swarm issued— not but that she 

 would go down; but the bees of the swarm, 

 together with those which had and were 

 emerging from the brood in the hive would 

 bring back the swarming-fever again, and 

 the next day or two they would swarm; and 

 even should the queen destroy the cells, or 

 cause the bees to do so, if the yield of honey 

 was not so great that all colonies gave up all 

 idea of swarming in their mad scramble for 

 honey, the bees would start queen- cells 

 again; and as soon as they were ready they 

 would swarm a week or so later, coming out 

 as a prime swarm, the same as they did at 

 first. I have gone all over this ground, and 

 much more like it or very similar to it, and 

 have found that there is always danger 

 from swarming by any plan that returns the 

 old queen back to the brood again, together 

 with the bees that went with her in the 

 swarm. But whenever the queen is kept 

 away from brood till all the brood is sealed 

 over, or all the bees which went with the 

 swarm are kept away from the old hive, and 

 their queen returned, we can be quite posi- 

 tive that no more swarms will issue that 

 season, unless the same is long drawn out 

 by a moderate flow' of nectar." 



"Well, what shall I do?" 



" I have overcome the difl^iculty you seem 

 to be in by putting on the sections quite 

 early, so as to retard swarming as much as 

 possible; then when the time for swarming 

 came, set the hive from its stand, and put 

 an empty one in its place, having dummies 

 in it to take the place of four of the frames, 

 if the hive used is a ten- frame Langstroth, 

 which is as small a hive as I should use if I 

 were working on any of the plans which 

 contemplated no increase in the apiary. 

 Now set the super of sections from the old 

 hive and look over the brood-combs, and all 

 that you find that are not more than one- 

 fourth full of brood, and all that do not 

 have any brood in them, put in your new 

 hive. In an ordinary season, and with the 

 ordinary queen, you will find from two to 

 four such combs; and these, together with 

 the needed frames filled with worker foun- 

 dation in wired frames, will make you six 



combs now in the hive, which, with the 

 dummies, fill the same. Over this hive put 

 a queen- excluder, and top of the excluder 

 set the super of sections. If the sections 

 are of the open-top kind, put a sheet of 

 enameled cloth over the whole top of the 

 super, except a little place large enough to 

 allow two or three bees to pass at a time, 

 and this place should be in the center of the 

 end over the entrance to the hive. Having 

 things thus fixed, shake the larger part of 

 the bees off the combs remaining in the old 

 hive, making sure that the queen is in the 

 lower hive, when the frames of brood are to 

 be arranged in the old hive, next one side, a 

 bee- space apart, and a dummy or division- 

 board drawn up next to them, when this 

 hive of six or seven combs of brood, with 

 the few adhering bees, is to be set on top of 

 the enameled cloth and left for ten days." 



"Don't you look for queen-cells, and only 

 make colonies in this way that have cells 

 started?" 



' ' No. I can make the change almost as 

 soon as I can look for the cells, and it makes 

 no difference with the plan whether queen- 

 cells are started or not. This going over 

 all colonies once every week looking for 

 queen-cells, as many advise, is an endless 

 job. When you and the bees are ready, 

 you just go right on and do the work, and 

 you will find that such as have queen-cells 

 started will do no better than those which 

 have not. By going right ahead when you 

 and the bees and the harvest are all ready, 

 you have your swarming all done up at once, 

 and you are ready to go at other work. If, 

 in shaking, you find any queen-cells with 

 larvae in them, or those which are sealed, 

 you will want to tear them off, else they 

 may hatch before your next manipulation, 

 and bother you in your work." 



" What is the next operation or manipula- 

 tion?" 



"Ten days after making the colonies 

 swarm, you will look over these combs of 

 brood in the upper hive, and take off all 

 queen-cells that you find on them. Some of 

 the colonies will build cells, and some will 

 not; but it is best to be on the safe side, 

 and look all over. It will not take long; and 

 as the bees will be mostly below, all queen- 

 cells will be easily seen." 



"If I am right, that fixes the upper hive 

 so the bees can not get any queen there, 

 does it not?" 



"Yes; and at this time you will want to 

 see about the super room. If the sections 

 are getting full, put another super on top of 

 them, raising the sheet of enameled cloth to 

 the top of the super last put on. In this 

 way all the young bees which emerge from 

 these upper combs of brood will be run be- 

 low, thus helping in the sections, while 

 enough will stay at all times to care for the 

 brood properly. ' ' 



"Then you keep all the bees together in 

 this way the same as I would by my plan?" 



" Yes." 



"Well, what next?" 



"Keep on putting supers between the 



