1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



749 



CHAPTER V. 



A SIMPLE AND RELIABLE PLAN FOR MAKING 

 INCREASE. 



Just ten days have elapsed since I started 

 on my fourth visit to the out-apiary, and I 

 am getting ready to go again; but this time 

 I am obliged to go with the horse, on account 

 of its raining seven days out of the ten. So 

 much rain has caused the roads to become 

 almost impassable on account of the mud; 

 and the almost constant rain at this time 

 has caused the bright prospects of an abun- 

 dant harvest of honey from white clover, 

 which has been more plentiful than usual, to 

 fade nearly out of sight. It does not rain 

 this morning; but it is cool and cloudy, with 

 a fine mist in the air. Such a day is not 

 adapted to working with the bees to the 

 best advantage; but it is necessary to go to- 

 day, if 1 am to save those nice queen-cells, 

 which are of much advantage to me just at 

 this time. After a steady splash, splash, 

 splash of the horse's feet in the mud for 

 nearly an hour (as I can not drive "off a 

 walk "), we arrive at the apiary. 



Having put the horse 

 in the farmer's barn I 

 now proceed to place nine 

 of the reserved bottom- 

 boards, and as many cov- 

 ers on as many unoccu- 

 pied stands, when I go to 

 the hive having the brood 

 from the best breeding 

 queen that had the queen- 

 cells with the little larvae 

 in them at the last visit, 

 and, upon examination, I 

 very luckily find that six 

 of the ten combs have one 

 or more fine, nearly ripe, 

 cells on them. From one 

 frame having four cells 

 on, and two others hav- 

 ing five, I cut two cells 

 from each, and "graft" 

 them into three of the 

 frames having none, putting the frames 

 back in place again. The clouds are now 

 "breaking" in the sky, with the sun peer- 

 ing occasionally through the mist, which 

 tells me I am to have a fairly good day 

 for my work, after ail— far better than 

 I had even hoped for. I now take one of 

 the frames having queen-cells on it, togeth- 

 er with the bees on the same, and carry it 

 to one of the hives having the tiered-up 

 brood, taking from this a frame (bees and 

 all) and putting the one with the cells in its 



place. In all this work with tiered up brood, 

 when changing the same from vne hive to 

 another I do nut disturb the bees on them, 

 as bees above a queen-excluder are, to all 

 intents and purposes, queenless. so make no 

 trouble by puttmg them in different hives. 

 It is best generally to put the frame having 

 queen-eel s on it near the renter of the hive, 

 as this seems to give the better results. 



Having the frame with queen-cells in the 

 hive, I next take the frame of brood and go 

 back to the hive having the cells, when it is 

 put in tne place left vacant there. In this 

 way I teep on until the five colonies having 

 upper stories of brood have a frame with 

 queen-cells on it from the best breeder. 



I now take off these five prepared upper 

 stories, setting each on one of the bottom- 

 boards previously placed where they are to 

 stand, putting on the covers and adjusting 

 the entrance to about three inches in length. 

 The setting-off of these hives paves the way 

 for using the other four frames having 

 queen- cells on them in four more hives of 

 brood, following the same plan in treating 

 them which was used with the five now fix- 

 ed on new stands, for the making of that 

 many new colonies, so I have nine more 

 colonies than I did when I entered the 

 apiary an hour or so before. As the brood 

 in these combs is all sealed now, and the 

 bees on them are nearly all young bees, 

 with more emerging every minute, there 

 will be no setback to this colony from the 

 bees returning to the colony theycame from, 

 as is generally the case with the most of 

 -the ways used in making colonies by the 



ENTRANCE CONTRACTED TO THREE INCHES. 



' ' setoff ' ' plan. And this is the best, quick- 

 est, and easiest way of making colonies with 

 which I am familiar; and this I say after us- 

 ing it for more than ten years, and after 

 having tried nearly all the plans given by 

 others. 



If for any reason I wish a greater number 

 of colonies than can be made as here given, 

 and wish them for the purpose of taking care 

 of beeless brood, I make as many as I think 

 I shall need, during my third visit to the 

 apiary, in the following manner: I take two 



