40 



THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



BOW WE MANAGE OUR 

 BEES. 



Bv D. F. Lashiek. 



I SAY "we" because my wife helps 

 me when I get more than my hands 

 full. She rears canary birds to sell 

 and I make her cages and buy the 

 seed, so she says that it is no more 

 than fair that she helps me with the 

 bees, especially during the swarming 

 time. When tlie weather is fair 

 every day then I can manage them 

 (loo colonies) alone very well; but 

 when it is stormy and cloudy for a 

 few days and then clears up and the 

 sun comes out again, we know what 

 to look for. 



In the first place we have every- 

 thing in readiness which is one-half 

 of the victory ; hives all prepared 

 and sitting in the shade in the cen- 

 tre of the apiary. Then we have 

 some light swarming boxes that I 

 made in the winter. It makes no dif- 

 ference what the size is, so long as 

 they are about the capacity of a hive, 

 with large openings in each side cov- 

 ered with wire cloth as the bees need 

 considerable air after such violent 

 exercise. We have the covers well se- 

 cured with hinges and so arranged 

 that when we shut the cover down 

 it will stay there even if we should 

 let the box fall with the bees inside. 



In order to avoid the vexation and 

 trouble of climbing for swarms I 

 gather some of last year's mullein just 

 before swarming time and after tying 

 them in bunches (say ten stocks in a 

 bunch) I fasten them on the trees 

 where the bees will hang in the 

 shade when clustered and where I 

 can reach them easily. 



While this may be an ancient 

 practice yet, as I will show, it is a 

 more valuable one ; you see, these 

 little bunches of mullein resemT^le lit- 

 tle clusters of bees so much so that 

 two-thirds of our swarms alight on 

 these decoys. So you see we get 



large returns for a small amount of 

 labor. 



When a swarm issues we wait 

 quietly in the shade until the bees 

 have clustered and become quiet, all 

 the while keeping a sharp lookout 

 lest another swarm issue before we 

 can secure this one. If another 

 should chance to start we just sprin- 

 kle a little water on the bees to check 

 them for a while ; but mind, this 

 sprinkling must be done at the very 

 first start of the bees in order to 

 prove effectual. 



The swarm, left to cluster, is now 

 ready to be hived. By waiting until 

 the bees are quiet we are sure that 

 they have a queen with them and 

 will not leave the new hive to return 

 to the old colony. 



Our hives are side opening and if 

 the cluster is down near the ground 

 quite handy we just place the hive 

 so that the open side is just under 

 the cluster, give the limb a sudden 

 upward jar and usually hardly a doz- 

 en bees will be left to return to the 

 old colony. 



When they chance to alight higher 

 up we use the swarming box and af- 

 ter the bees have been secured there- 

 in set them in the shade for a few 

 moments until they are quiet, when 

 we give the box a sudden jar which 

 settles all the bees on the bottom ; 

 then we raise the cover and pour the 

 bees into the hive and adjust the 

 movable side. If this is done rap- 

 idly and skilfully, very few bees will 

 escape or be crushed during the op- 

 eration. 



We set the hive right side up with 

 the entrance closed and then let the 

 bees alone for a few moments until 

 they have had time to run up and 

 cluster at the top, then we open the 

 entrance and not one swarm in fifty 

 attempts to swarm out, this giving 

 them time to run up the sides and 

 cluster at the top is a matter of vital 

 importance. 



Hooper, N. V. 



