522 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



with the least possible labor. But, to re- 

 turn: 



Having decided that 13 colonies are now 

 ready for "treatment" I go to No. 1 and 

 take out the two outside frames, containing 

 mostly honey and pollen, putting two empty 

 combs from the reserve pile in their place. 

 I now put on a queen-excluder, and on top 

 of this I set another ten-frame hive, having 

 eight combs in it, the same being more or 

 less filled with honey, just in accord with 

 the way these reserve combs come off the 

 colonies the fall previous. Perhaps I'd best 

 tell right here how I get these reserve or 

 extra combs. Wired frames were filled with 

 foundation and given to colonies to draw 

 out into combs, till I had an extra set of ten 

 combs, or twenty nice worker combs for 

 each colony I expected to work at the out- 

 apiary for section honey, each year. To re- 

 turn again. 



Having the hive with eight combs in it, 

 set over colony No. 1, prepared as given, I 

 take the two combs of honey taken out, and 

 shake the bees from them so as to be sure 

 the queen is not gotten above, when two of 

 the eight combs in the upper hive are placed 

 a bee-space apart, toward one side of the 

 hive, when one of the combs of honey is put 

 in. Four more of the eight combs are now 

 drawn toward the frame of honey just put 

 in, properly spacing them, when the other 

 comb of honey is put in, the other two 

 combs spaced, and the hive cbsed. The di- 

 agram show the arrangement. 



I now fix the other twelve colonies in the 

 same way, when all are ready to do the best 

 work possible in every way till white clover 

 dooms. Taking the years as they average, 

 and fixing each upper hive with an average 

 of the reserve combs, as to honey for each 

 colony, each will have from 15 to 30 pounds, 

 and this amount together with the way their 

 "riches " are fixed, and the bees straighten- 

 ing things up to their liking, gives a zest to 

 brood- rear ine which soon very nearly or 

 completely fills the ten combs below, and 

 that in time to give the maximum amount 

 of bees in the clover and bas swood flow. If 

 the bees do not secure honey to any amount 

 from the fruit-bloom, mustard, or locust, on 

 account of bad weather, as is often the case 

 in this locality, they go right on with their 



brood just the same, as the amount of hon- 

 ey they have demands no retrenching. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING THE COLONIES 



IN THE SPRING IN TBE BEST POSSIBLE 



CONDITION FOR THE HARVEST. 



Again, I wish to quote from W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson: "Can you bring your bees through 

 the spring and have them in the best possible 

 condition for the harvest when it comes? 

 Are you sure there is nothing you can do in 

 this period to increase your crop? I came 

 across a bee-keeper a short time ago who 

 secured a crop far in advance of his neigh- 

 bors ; and the pnly difference in his manage- 

 ment, so far as I could discover, was that 

 he fed his bees between fruit bloom and clo- 

 ver; and when the latter came the combs 

 were full of brood and food, and the surplus 

 went into the supers at once; besides, there 

 were more bees to gather it." This is just 

 what this plan, as here given, accomplishes. 

 The bees are abundantly fed, so there is no 

 slack in brood- rearing; the combs in the 

 lower hive (ten in number) are full of brood. 

 There are nearly double the bees to gather 

 hjney when the harvest comes that there 

 are when working by the old plans; and 

 about the honey going into the supers at 

 once— I will let the worked- out plan tell you 

 further on. 



If a good yield happens to be obtained 

 from fruit- bloom, wild mustard, and black 

 locust, the brood- nest or lower hive is not 

 crowded with honey, as would have been 

 the case had not this upper hive of combs 

 been given, for the combs of honey raised 

 from below and put above tell the bees from 

 the start, "This is our storehouse," and 

 there is room enough in it to hold from 60 

 to 75 pounds of surplus, above what was in 

 the hive when I closed it. With a good flow 

 from fruit-bloom or any other source, just 

 at this time, together with the honey that 

 we had allowed them at our former visit, 

 had they been kept in the lower hive, with 

 no sections put on, would come a material 

 lessening of our prospect of a surplus from 

 clover and basswood, either from forcing 

 them to swarm prematurely or the crowding 

 of the queen, by filling the cells with honey, 

 which should be occupied with brood. Elisha 

 Gallup was right when he told us, years ago, 

 that such would be the case where a large 

 surplus was obtained early in the season, 

 from robbing or any other source, which 

 filled the combs with honey before they were 

 fully occupied with brood. 



As now fixed, brood- rearing goes on 

 "swimmingly," with no desire for swarm- 

 ing, and this is just what is desirable at any 

 out-apiary (or home yard also) worked for 

 comb honey. The entrances to all hives but 

 the weaker ones are "thrown wide open," 

 while these are given as large an entrance 

 as the stronger ones had at the last visit be- 

 fore this. The ' ' dooryard ' ' boards are fix- 

 td so that the grass will not "swamp" the 

 hives or hinder the bees' flight before my 

 next visit, and I am off for home. The 

 work part, as given here, is what I did at 

 the third visit. 



