February, 1909. 



American Hee JoarnaJj 



in one is too big and too wide, and a 6 

 would be too narrow, and the 8 being 

 standard we may as well use 2 of this 

 size in a 2-story hive. When the colony 

 has built up and the flow is on, one may 

 be removed and the super put on, using 

 the removed one for a new colony or 

 for strengthening weak ones, or for ex- 

 tracting. 



I discovered several years ago that 

 the double-story hive was excellent for 

 wintering and springing, and was also 

 fine for dividing and other manipula- 

 tions, giving a control and satisfaction 

 not to be obtained in single-story hives 

 of any number of frames. The testi- 

 mony of other users puts the double- 

 story hive far in the lead. 



For those producing extracted honey, 

 I am sure the 2-story hive is most ex- 

 cellent. The combs containing the most 

 brood can be put in one body, and those 

 with least brood and stores in the other, 

 the latter put at the bottom, on this an 

 excluder, then a set of dry combs, and 

 on top of all the one heavy in brood and 

 stores. For comb Honey the same ar- 

 rangement may be made, except that the 

 chamber put above the dry extracting 

 combs should be put on a new stand, if 

 the queen be left in the old location on 

 the combs containing little brood and 

 honey. But a plan that is more certain 

 to control swarming, and puts the mat- 

 ter under absolute control, and in such 

 condition that one may know just what 

 will result is the following : 



From the two sets of brood-combs, 

 mass into one the combs containing most 

 brood and honey, and put this on the old 

 stand with super' on it, leaving them 

 queenless; the other body with the queen 

 being set in a new location. This puts 

 the old location queenless, but with its 

 hive well stocked with brood, and the 

 fielders and most of the forces of all 

 ages there, they will build cells and are 

 safe from swarming until the cells ma- 

 ture ; these cells should all be cut out 

 the 9th or loth day, except one of the 

 best. 



.A.nother plan that works well is to 

 take away all the brood from the old 

 stand except just one comb, leaving this 

 in one of the original chambers which 

 the colony has been occupying, putting 

 it in the center and filling out with start- 

 ers ; and on this put the super, and leave 

 here all the bees that can be spared from 

 the other combs, making a new colony 

 with the queen and her brood on a new 

 stand. You now have a queenless col- 

 ony with but one comb of brood on the 

 old stand with starters only in the other 

 frames. With full sheets of foundation 

 (or the same and one or more bait- 

 combs) in the super, they will build 

 nicely in it. They will also build some 

 fine cells on that one comb, all but one 

 of which should be removed or 10 

 days later. They will also build some 

 drone-comb, but not as much as most 

 people think; this can be removed either 

 about the time the young queen begins 

 laying or the next spring; the young 

 queen will avoid laying in the drone- 

 comb that season, except a very little 

 amount. This plan gives one perfect 

 control of swarming, and will give good 

 results in honey if intelligently handled. 

 And what is more, and a very impor- 

 tant matter in most Colorado locations, 



that old queen put on the new stand and, 

 robbed of her fielders, will get a great 

 mass of brood in old combs and be 

 soon a tremendous colony, and give the 

 best of super work in the later or sweet 

 clover flow, and usually luay be trusted 

 for very little swarming. 



During the spring when manipulating, 

 as fast as the queens are found they 

 should be clipped ; for this purpose I 

 carry a pair of little scissors in my vest 

 pocket. A queen found clipped, if the 

 clipping was done the previous year, is 

 marked on the hive record "O. Q." ; but 

 if not clipped I clip her and mark record 

 "clpd.," with date. 



The next article will detail more on 

 some of these points. 



Loveland, Colo. 



Should Bee-Keepers Special- 

 ize? 



BY LEO E. C.1TELEV. 



Knowing that in all lines of endeavor 

 the highest success has been reached only 

 through a close concentration of pur- 

 pose, and because, personally, this has 



tive as any business of similar nature. 

 It requires, however, a steady hand and 

 a complete knowledge of every feature 

 of the work. Being qualified for the 

 business, if the locality proves good, the 

 remuneration is sure after a sufficient 

 number of colonies have been acquired. 



The number of colonies necessary to 

 insure the bee-keeper a living income, 

 depends upon the man, upon the meth- 

 ods employed, and upon the location. 

 Though during the past season the man 

 having 50 colonies in his back yard has 

 realized as much as the average farmer, 

 such years are the exception, and on ac- 

 count of off years, it would be safer 

 to double that number before depend- 

 ing upon them wholly. Again, these 

 figures relate to the comb-honey pro- 

 ducers. Run for extracted, something 

 above 100 colonies might possibly be 

 needed. 



While there is small question but that 

 a few colonies kept as a side line usually 

 pay well for the small amount of labor 

 their care demands, the profits from 

 such apiaries are extremely small, com- 

 pared to what the same bees would do 

 in the hands of an expert, and under in- 

 tensive methods. In a small apiary there 



Apiarv of J, E. Klein, Indiana, Pa. 



been found best policy, I have always, at 

 the risk of being deemed an inconsider- 

 ate enthusiast, urgently recommended 

 specialty for all so situated as to be able 

 to avail themselves of the advantages 

 such a procedure afifords. 



Not unlike, perhaps, the majority of 

 those now entering the business, I was 

 at the time when my interest in bees be- 

 came aroused, engaged in general farm- 

 ing. Only after the bees began making 

 a more satisfactory showirg than the 

 other branches of my work, did th;; pro- 

 duction of honey become my specialty. 

 Considering this fact, it is hard for me 

 to believe that I am making any momi- 

 mental mistake in becoming optimistic 

 regarding the future of apiculture as a 

 vocation. 



Though this is hardly a suitable occu- 

 pation for those seeking unnaturally 

 large and immediate financial profits, 

 still, if intelligently followed, it will in 

 manv localities be found as remunera- 



is never the chance to put in use many 

 of the economic practices the extensive 

 bee-keeper generally finds lying close at 

 hand. Certain it is that the need for 

 specialization has been discovered by a 

 few, and its efficiency demonstrated. 



In a recent issue of one of the bee- 

 papers, the editor speaks highly of poul- 

 try-keeping being admirably adapted as 

 a side-issue for honey-producers. Un- 

 less raising fancy stock, the annual profit 

 from a hen is usually estimated at about 

 $1.00. For comparison, let us say that 

 the labor required to care for a hen is 

 equal to that for a colony of bees, al- 

 though, in reality, it is about six times 

 as great. At this rate, in our locality, 

 a colony of bees kept in a log-gum, will 

 return a profit five times that of the hen, 

 or if in a modern hive with skillful man- 

 agement, the bees will hold their own if 

 a crop is secured once in 20 years. 



Few there are who have urged special- 

 ization but have pointed out the fact that 



