1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEK (ULTURF. 



\v2n 



FKi. IT. — MACHINE A8 ISED IX THE SIB- 

 HALl) METHOD OF SVVAKM COXTItOL. 



the sections are full. This does away with 

 halt-tilled seetions, and seeures through these 

 deviees praetieally all fancy comb honey, 

 and the amount that wcmld be otherwise is 

 in the extracted form. 



With bees of a decided temperament to 

 swarm, or when conditions are especially 

 favorable to induce it. .such as excessive heat 

 or s:>me other known or unknown cause, it 

 often bet-(jmes very necessary to have some 

 easy way to i-ontrol them absolutely, even 

 after the fever has Iteeii already contracted. 



For this alone the hive-handling machine 

 will ])ay for itself in a very short time. By 

 goiuii through the yard and tipping the hives 

 as shown in Figs. 14 and \~i. we are able to 

 examine 2o or more tive or six story colonies 

 an hour, without other help. When one is 

 fouml preparing to swarm, simply remove 

 the brood-nest and place it on another bot- 

 tom, as shown in Figs. 16 and IT. If the 

 colony has contracted the fever for lack of 

 room, simply give it a story prepared as de- 

 scribed in Fig. 11. using a clean coml) of 

 brood on either side of the attachment, and 

 by keeping some frames of foundation in the 

 i)i-ood-nest these will always l)e available: or 

 a story of frames with startei's or extracting- 

 combs can be given instead, and one frame 

 of brood from the lirood-nest. lu this way 

 the large colony can not s.varrii, as they have 

 no (jueen and ijut little brood, and soon 



lose the fever. The large hive is returned so 

 that it looks just the same as before. All 

 the tield-l)ee-;. together with quite a large 

 number of the nurse-bees and comb-liuildei-s. 

 will return: and as there is practically no 

 nursing iirood they soon l)ecome fielders. 

 On the other hand, the brood-nest and queen 

 b>ing tleprived of all tielders. and ha^-ing no 

 honey coining in. soon lose the swarm fever. 

 In a week or ten days this story can be re- 

 turned to its old place with both parts cured. 

 Only the cells on the combs of brood in 

 the "large hive must be torn down, as they 

 will have them on aci-ount of being (pieen- 

 less. The bees in the lirood-nest division 

 will have torn down their cells, as they have 

 already concluded that, as no honey is com- 

 ing in, it is no time to swarm. 



This has been de.scril)ed by others: but as 

 I consider it a very ert'ective way of destroy- 

 ing the fever after it has once lieen contract- 

 tNl. and it is so easily accomplished ))y this 

 device, I feel it deserves being menticneil for 

 those who have not happened to know i . 



FIG. b'- 



>[.v( iiixi: A- rsEi) IN riTriNi; 



BEE-E.SCAl'E BOARDS. 



