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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



in Gleanings. You know of this matter, 

 don't you ? " 



"Yes, I remember about it; and if I have 

 forgotten any of it I can turn to the matter, 

 as I have the back numbers of that paper 

 for some years, loaned from a friend. But 

 will not this hinder me from using this col- 

 ony for increase ? ' ' 



"Not after you get under way, for by 

 this time the weather will become warm 

 enough so you can take bees from it the 

 same as from the rest. As soon as any of 

 the colonies are full of bees, so they can 

 spare bees from two frames, or from half a 

 pound to a pound, and you have ripe queen- 

 cells, take the cells out and put them into a 

 queen-nursery to hatch. Then as soon as 

 these queens are from one to two days old, 

 go to any hive which can spare bees and 

 take out two frames, being very careful 

 that you do not get the old queen on either 

 of them, and shake the bees from them 

 down through the funnel into the box, doing 

 this about ten o'clock. Now close the box 

 and set it in some dark room till near night, 

 when you will get one of the virgin queens 

 in a cage having a stopper in it filled with 

 'queen candy,' so that it will take the bees 

 about fifteen hours to eat out the candy and 

 liberate her. ' ' 



"How am I to get this cage in with the 

 caged bees ?" 



' ' Pick up the box of bees and set it down 

 suddenly, hard enough so that all of the bees 

 in the box will fall to the bottom, when you 

 will quickly open the funnel-hole, put in the 

 queen-cage, and secure it there, an inch or 

 two from the top of the box, by means of a 

 bent wire. Having the caged queen in, set 

 the box away again, leaving it till near sun- 

 set the next day, when you will find the 

 bees all clustered about their new queen, 

 and hanging like a swarm from the top of 

 the box, or about the section of honey." 



"This is new to me. All the bees I ever 

 caged kept trying to get out, but I presume 

 the reason is because I caged them without 

 a queen. ' ' 



' ' Yes, queenless bees will always worry 

 to get out of a cage, and vou will find these 

 bees will, till they have tne queen given to 

 them. But we will talk on. You will now 

 go to any hive that can spare a frame having 

 brood in it, and, after taking it, replace the 

 same with one of your empty combs you 

 wish to use, when you will brush all the 

 bees off the frame of brood, at the entrance 

 of their hive, and put this frame of brood in 

 a hive where you wish your new colony to 

 stand, having in the same three or four of 

 your old combs, some of which should have 

 honey enough in them to keep the little col- 

 ony from starving, should there be a scarc- 

 ity of honey from the fields. Put the frame 

 of brood in the center of the old combs used, 

 and use a division-board or dummy to con- 

 tract the size of the hive to the number of 

 combs used. Having your hive fixed as I 

 have just outlined, take your box of bees to 

 it and open the door, and poke out a few in 

 front of the entrance, when they will imme- 



diately run in with fanning wings. As soon 

 as they begin to do this, poke or shake out 

 more, or, in other words, proceed to hive 

 them the same as you would a swarm. When 

 all have run in, adjust the entrance to suit 

 the size of the little colony, making it not 

 very large if it is at a time of scarcity, when 

 they will be likely to be troubled with rob- 

 bers. " 



' ' That sounds well. But is there not lots 

 of work to it ? " 



"It does look like considerable work when 

 telling it ; but after practicing all the plans 

 given I do not see that it takes more time 

 than the easiest of the others, and has the 

 advantage that you can take bees from any 

 colony you wish, and they will stay where put, 

 and work as well as any swarm of like size." 



" Well, if they will stay I shall be glad I 

 came to see you, for the trouble I have 

 always had with all artificial increase has 

 been that the bees would almost all return 

 to their old home and leave the brood to 

 die." 



' ' That is apt to be the case, I know ; but 

 with this plan they do not. What is applic- 

 able to one little artificial colony will work 

 the same with all, so all you have to do is to 

 keep on in the same way till you have all 

 your combs covered with bees. And you 

 will do this before you hardly know it ; for 

 as soon as the young queen goes to laying 

 you can keep adding combs from your old 

 store till eventually your hive is full. ' ' 



"Can I secure any surplus honey from 

 these little made colonies ? ' ' 



"If you can commence your work quite 

 early in the season you will doubtless secure 

 some surplus from fall flowers. But don't 

 try to hurry too fast. The whole secret of 

 success, in this stocking of combs, lies in not 

 commencing operations till the colonies are 

 strong, nearly enough so to swarm, and then 

 not robbing them of bees till they are too 

 weak to work to the best advantage, using 

 few bees for each little colony early in the 

 season, and more and more as the season 

 advances, thus having all come up to full 

 colonies by the time the fall flow comes on. " 



A. I. R. NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS A 

 CABIN IN THE WOODS. 



[Two very pretty pictures were received a 

 few days ago which we take pleasure in sub- 

 mitting to you. All we have in regard to 

 them is the following on a postal card:] 



I inclose two photos to show Mr. A. I. R. 

 that he has not the only cabin in the woods 

 in beedom; also of a house-apiary that is a 



