1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



969 



2, 3, and the stands as A, B, C. Nos, 1 and 

 3 are hives that are preparing to issue a 

 swarm. I found upon examination that No. 

 1 had queen-cells started, although not so 

 populous as No. 3. I took an empty hive 

 (eight frames all of them) with foundation 

 starters, and set it on stand B. I also took 

 a comb of brood and bees with a queen-cell 

 from No. 1, and set it in the center of hive 

 No. 2, on stand B. A little before sundown 

 I set No. 1 on top of No. 2, with the en- 

 trance turned in the opposite direction. By 

 removing the hive at this time of day I did 

 not get the full force of workers in No. 2, 

 as might be expected, but what I did catch 

 were ready for work the next morning, 

 seemingly satisfied with the change. I will 

 say that I had previously brought these two 

 colonies of bees close together by moving 

 each every few days until I had them within 

 about three feet of each other. The bees 

 were not molested so very much after the 

 third day. On the fifth day I set No. 1 back 

 on its old stand, and put No. 3 on top of a 

 super on No. 2, with the entrance turned 

 the same way as No. 2. Most of the bees 

 entered No. 2. I had also raised the hive of 

 No. 2 at the rear, so the bees from No. 1 

 could more easily find their way in. 



After another five days I set No. 1 on 

 stand C, and five days later I put No. 3 on 

 stand A, and in five days more I put No. 1 

 on top of No. 2 again. All of these changes 

 were made abouc sundown. This was done 

 to keep so many bees from entering at once. 

 The returning field bees, loaded with nectar 

 and pollen, are always accepted, and will 

 not ball the queen when they are in the 

 minority, as they will always be when ma- 

 nipulated at or just before sunset. They 

 will also acquire the scent of the colony dur- 

 ing the night, and will go to work the next 

 morning as though they had kept house with 

 their mother the previous night. 



The honey-flow (horsemint) was light, but 

 this worked very well with those two colo- 

 nies. The brood- combs were all well built, 

 and the 24 sections nearly all well filled. 

 This was so much better than any other 

 three colonies that did not issue a swarm 

 that I decided it a success. 



The two old colonies did not issue a swarm. 

 I suppose No. 1 must have destroyed their 

 queen-cells and given up the idea of swarm- 

 ing. This is reasonable, as they were losing 

 their field forces every five days. They 

 could only think a dearth of honey was on 

 hand, and not bees enough left to swarm out. 



I believe the above plan infinitely superior 

 to the brush-swarm plan, as it saves han- 

 dling combs so much; besides, the brush- 

 shook plan entails numerous stings at times, 

 besides almost depopulating the parent col- 

 onies. With eight-frame hives I think my 

 plan will work more satisfactorily; but with 

 a ten-frame hive and a very populous colony 

 the Sibbald plan may work all right. 



To introduce a prolific queen to the new- 

 made colony I fear would take up too much 

 time with the bees in rearing brood to get 

 the best results in the super. However, 



this would work satisfactorily in some local- 

 ities where the honey-flow lasts all day and 

 for a few weeks. In fact, bees will do well 

 in any locality under almost any system of 

 management where there is a continuous 

 flow of nectar. As I understand the Sibbald 

 idea he wants to curtail the swarming im- 

 pulse and get honey instead. 



In conclusion I will recommend to those 

 who wish to try to keep two hives from 

 issuing swarms to arrange your two nearest 

 strong colonies in pairs about three feet 

 apart. Bring them together gradually a 

 few inches every three or four days. After 

 the made swarm begins to hatch its own 

 brood, and is equal to the other two in num- 

 bers, you need not exchange places any 

 more, but, instead, put supers on the old 

 colonies, and in a long honey-flow you may 

 raise the super on the new hive and set a 

 new one under it. I like the idea of putting 

 shallow extracting combs at the sides of the 

 sections. This I will try soon. 



Levita, Texas. 



CRATING HONEY. 



" Get much honey this year, Doolittle? " 



"Not an average crop of white honey. 

 In fact, the season has been the poorest for 

 some years all through this section, so far 

 as I can find out. We may get some buck- 

 wheat honey, if the weather turns good 

 soon, though the acreage is not up to the 

 usual amount." 



' ' I find that is about the case with the 

 most of the bee-keepers in Central New 

 York; at least I have heard of no yields 

 above the average. I have a crop of about 

 fifty pounds to the colony, spring count, and 

 I came to have a little talk with you about 

 how I shall put up this honey for market." 



' ' You wish to know how I sort honey or 

 grade it, I suppose. I use the X plan, put- 

 ting XXX for fancy, XX for No. 1, and one 

 X for the rest, unless quite poor." 



' ' Yes, I have read what you have written 

 regarding the using of X's in sorting honey, 

 and it is not just that which I wish to know 

 about. It is whether you put any thing but 

 fancy in a crate. In other words, do you 

 mix fancy and No. 1 in the same case?" 



"No, I do not. Why do you ask this? " 



"Because an old bee-keeper told me that 

 I could not get any more for my fancy hon- 

 ey crated by itself than I could for the 

 whole were I to crate fancy and No. 1 to- 

 gether. He says that, after the commission 

 merchant has sold the fancy, he will sell the 

 No. 1 at a less figure." 



"That is just my experience, where both 



