652 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



CHAPTER IV. 



Continued from last issue. 



Perhaps I better say a few words regard- 

 ing this shaking-off part, for very many do 

 not seem to be handy at shaking the bees 

 off their combs, some of our best bee-keep- 

 ers telling me that it could not be done to 

 any advantage till I had shown them how. 

 Let me see if I can tell the reader so he 

 can do it with ease. Let the projecting 

 ends of the top-bar to the frame rest mainly 

 on the big finger of each hand; then, with a 

 quick upward motion, toss these ends against 

 the ball of the hands at the base of the 

 thumb, and at just the jnstant the ends of 



DOWN 



the frame strike the ball of the hands give 

 the hands a quick downward motion. This 

 takes the bee off its guard, as it is holding 

 on to keep from falling off the comb down- 

 ward, having no idea that there is any dan- 

 ger from falling off upward. But this 

 " falling upward " is exactly what it does, 

 as three-fourths the bees, when I shake the 

 combs, are tossed up in the air as they are 

 dislodged. The instant the ends of the 

 frame strike the fingers again, toss it up 

 against the ball a second time, and then 

 back to the fingers, when, if you get the 

 ' ' hang ' ' of the matter, as you will after a 

 few trials, you will find that 990 out of 



every 1000 bees are off the comb; and if you 

 have that proportion off you will have no 

 need of the brush, for it is not necessary to 

 get each and every bee off the combs of 

 brood. Only ten to fifteen bees left on each 

 comb will be but from 100 to 150 bees for 

 the whole, which will make little difference 

 with the swarm. However, I like to get as 

 many as is consistent with quick work, with 

 the shook colony, for the more bees there 

 are here the better the results in honey. 

 Then, I wish to say that there are times 

 when thin nectar is coming in bountifully, 

 when I can not shake all the bees off thus, 

 or by any other plan; for if I do the bees 

 will be so nearly drowned in this thin nectar 

 which shakes out of the combs that they 

 will not go in the hive. During such a flow 

 of nectar I shake the combs the same way, 

 only do it so gently that no nectar is shaken 

 out. when the bees which still hold to the 

 combs must be brushed off. I have always 

 declared it a nuisance to have thin nectar com- 

 ing in at a time when I am obliged to free 

 combs from bees, but have always been 

 consoled by the thought that this thin nec- 

 tar is what is to be turned into cash by and 

 by, when the bees have it evaporated into 

 nice honey, so enjoyable to the consumer 

 later on. Where I am obliged to use a 

 brush I greatly prefer the "Dixie," as sold 

 by The A. L Root Company, to any other I 

 have ever tried, and I have used all which 

 have been advertised, and many besides, 

 which have been sent me for my approval 

 and recommendation. This brush is soft, so 

 that it does not injure the bees, and yet is 

 firm enough to take all the bees off one side 

 of the comb with only one stroke over the 

 same. In the absence of any brush, through 

 oversight or something of the kind, a bunch 

 of five or six tops of goldenrod. or even of 

 grass, will do very well — in fact, better 

 than some of the brushes which have been 

 sent me. 



As the hive into which this ' ' shook ' ' colony 

 is to go is really their own home, and con- 

 tains more than an abundance of honey, 

 this plan does entirely away with all the 

 labor and time used in drumming and pound- 

 ing the hives, as well as waiting for the 

 bees to fill themselves with honey- some- 

 thing which has been considered as a thing 

 of vital importance with all of the other 

 plans of ' ' shook swarming. ' ' Nothing of the 

 kind is required to make the swarm stay, 

 or for any other purpose, for the bees are 

 still on their own combs, with sufficient 

 brood, and room enough for the queen to 

 lay right along. All of this, together with 

 the carrying of the honey from the combs 

 into the sections, keeps them contented, and 

 brings great results in honey to their keep- 

 er. As a prolific queen in the height of her 

 egg-laying always falls off the comb she is 

 on at the first shake, she being so heavy 

 with eggs, I hold each comb as low as possi- 

 ble in front of the entrance in shaking, so 

 she shall not be injured by the fall. I have 

 reason to believe that many queens have 

 been seriously injured by the ' ' shook swarm- 



