1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



131 



made ttie bees take-it for young combs, 

 I think that the man who would change 

 to any other arrangement must see 

 something that I cannot. 



When the first twenty-four 4 l 4 sec- 

 tions are jjj full, or less, if the bees seem 

 anywise crowded, up they go and under 



foes another case of 24" more, so lixed 

 hat the labor is about one-half done to 

 begin with. Now we have 50 lbs. ca- 

 pacity on the hive, and the topmost 

 piece of comb in the whole arrange- 

 ment is less than 18 inches from the 

 lowest cell in the hive. How much 

 shorter is the distance from cell to cell 

 in Mr. Doolittle 's arrangement? If it 

 should happen, as it sometimes does, 

 that more room is needed before the 

 first ease is all complete, shove under 

 another, or two of them if you choose, 

 and take my word for it, all will go along 

 satisfactorily. 



Like Mr. Doolittle, I speak from ex- 

 perience. About 10 years ago I used a 

 40 lb. box. It was 15 inches square, 

 -and about 7 high, and contained top- 

 bars. It was used on a bar hive of its 

 own size and IS inches deep. I tiered 

 lip 4 of them on one hive at one time, 

 and had them all finished, and a fifth 

 one nearly half completed when the 

 season closed. I also tier up the 5x6 

 sections with about 15 colonies out of 

 100, each tier containing a capacity of 

 4-5 lbs., and the system works perfectly 

 here. There may be a difference in lo- 

 calities, but I feel sure that the 1 lb. 

 sections in the shallow cases will work 

 well tiered up anywhere. 



I hardly ever give my "experience" 

 to prove my opinions, as it is so very 

 •difficult to "prove the experience first, 

 but thinking that perhaps many readers 

 -will be as willing to take my word in 

 this controversy as I am that of my es- 

 teemed friend Mr. Doolittle, I will fur- 

 ther say that I once obtained 410 lbs. of 

 surplus honey from one colony in one 

 season, 48 of which was extracted from 

 the brood chamber, but 362 of which 

 was comb honey taken upon the tiering 

 tip system from the top of one of those 

 15 inch square hives, 13 inches deep, in 

 boxes about 7 inches high, and not a 

 particle of starter of any kind used at 

 all. Now, reader, if you had met with 

 the same experience with such fixtures 

 as the above described, would you be 

 afraid of the " tiering system" with the 

 modern appliances, as described further 

 back ? I agree with Mr. Doolittle, that 

 bees will'store honey faster above than 

 at the sides, and 1 also claim that where 

 they prefer to store nectar they prefer 

 to construct the receptacles to hold it. 

 Above is the heat and odor of the hive, 

 also is it further from the entrance 

 (where envious enemiescan come), and, 

 according to Mr. Langstroth, the very 

 place where bees could and would soon- 

 est put their surplus combs of honey. 



I wish to say to Mr. Doolittle, that 

 -when I find a queen that fails to fill 

 my 8 frames reasonably full of brood 

 ■(outside and over all), I supersede her 

 at once from my best stock. 



I have been talked to considerably 

 "because I did not use 10 Langstroth 

 frames instead of 8, but I do not care to 

 whip up my queens at all, so long as 

 they are normally prolific. Rather cut 

 ■down the number of frames, because, 

 recollect, the capital lies in the combs 

 and hive, and not in the queen. I have 

 no trouble with clogged brood chambers, 

 because my sections have perfectly free 

 •communication with the brood nest, 

 which is flat, and as they are well sup- 

 plied with that which is comb in 12 to 

 24 hours at the option of the bees, they 

 leave the cells below for the queen, 

 knowing that she will not want to com- 

 mence a brood nest in so small sections 

 of comb as 4 1 4 ' inches square. All these 

 points have been thought over and put 

 to test during the past 5 years. 



I am aware that different localities 

 demand different systems of manage- 

 ment ; also, that these different systems 

 Suggest different forms and sizes of 

 hives and other fixtures. Nevertheless, 

 J hope some good may grow out of the 

 earnest and pleasant discussion of all 

 subjects pertaining to our favorite pur- 

 suit. 



I am at present much hurried with 

 home labors, besides 6 regular commu- 

 nications promised- each month, and I 

 -will not be able to reply to Mr. Doolit- 

 tle's friendly criticism upon my ideas of 



bee disease till the first issue in May 

 next, when I will do so with pleasure. 

 I feel sure of my premises, and of my 

 ability to make them clear to the read- 

 ers ot the Bee Journal. 

 Dowagiac, Mich., April 11, 1881. 



For the American Be© Journal. 



Artificial Swarming. 



HENRY ALLEY. 



Hundreds of bee-keepers will make 

 an effort during the coming season to 

 build up their apiaries destroyed the 

 past winter by the severe cold weather. 

 How can the old combs be best utilized 

 and colonies increased in the most eco- 

 nomical way ? I will give my views on 

 this point as I have had some experience 

 in this part of the business. Artificial 

 swarming will have to be resorted to 

 for rapid increase of colonies. It should 

 not be attempted too early in the sea- 

 son. Old colonies should not be dis- 

 turbed until they are full of bees and 

 honey, or, in other words, till they are 

 ready to swarm. 



Then if the new colonies are to have 

 the old combs only a moderate quantity 

 of bees should be taken out and at the 

 proper time a queen gives them. Three 

 quarts of bees will make a fair sized 

 colony. The parent colony should then 

 be left 10 days at least (14 days is much 

 better) before it is disturbed again, for 

 this purpose this can be done as often 

 as every 2 weeks, provided the old col- 

 ony retains the queen. Do not remove 

 the queen and bees too; artificial swarm- 

 ing in that way would soon ruin the 

 best apiary. If the parent colony is 

 forced to rear queens and bees, too, ar- 

 tificial swarming would not be a suc- 

 cess. A good queen is worth $2 on an 

 occasion like this. 



The reader will readily see that if 

 the bees and queen are removed 

 from a hive the remaining bees will 

 have up-hill work to build up again. 

 What bees remained could not rear a 

 vigorous and strong queen, especially 

 if the old colony is removed from the 

 stand and the new hive put in its place. 



If queens are given the new colony, 3 

 times as many colonies can be made in 

 the course of the season as could be 

 done if the old colony is forced to rear 

 queens every time. 



Artificial swarming can be practiced 

 up to August 10. I would not advise it 

 done later than that date, because the 

 colony would not have time to rear a 

 sufficient quantity of bees to insure 

 safe wintering. Old bees cannot stand 

 the rigors of winter, and in fact their 

 lease of life would run out before spring 

 opens, in any event. 



Natural swarming cannot be de- 

 pended upon for rapid increase. With 

 liberal feeding and supplying the new 

 colonies with queens 5 good strong col- 

 onies could be made from one, between 

 June 1 and Aug. 10. I do not advocate 

 too rapid increase. If forage is not 

 abundant feeding must be resorted to. 

 Do not let the feeding go till too late in 

 the season, trusting the bees to get their 

 living. Commence to feed as soon as 

 the colony is ready for business, and 

 that will be the next day after they are 

 put into the hive. If you would make 

 this whole arrangement successful do 

 all the feeding not later than Sept. 20. 

 A little food might be given later to 

 stimulate breeding. All the syrup 

 given them should be sealed up before 

 cold weather sets in or it would sour 

 before spring, and dysentery might be 

 the result. 



My plan for feeding is this : To 6 lbs. 

 of coffee or granulated sugar add 2 qts. 

 of water. Dissolve in hot or cold water. 



The best feeder for general use is a 

 pint "improved Mason fruit jar." These 

 jars have glass tops. Remove that and 

 substitute a tin one. With a brad-awl 

 make from 4 to 20 holes ; for slow feed- 

 ing make from 4 to 6. When a honey 

 board is used make a hole 1% inch in 

 diameter and place the jar over it. If 

 feeding at the entrance is desired make 

 a box large enough to take in the jar, 

 and raise it from the bottom so that the 

 bees can pass from the entrance of the 

 hive under it. 



To introduce queens and make new, 

 colonies at the same time proceed thus: 

 From a strong colony take one full comb 

 and place it in the new hive, rilling up 



the hives with empty combs ; then 

 shake about 3 qts. of -bees in front of it. 

 When they have all run in close the en- 

 trance with wire cloth. If the hive has 

 a portico nail the wire on front, or bet- 

 ter stilLhave a screen made for the pur- 

 pose. The idea is to give the bees 

 plenty of air. Leave room between 

 the entrance and wire cloth for the bees 

 to fly or run about. Keep the bees shut 

 in 36 hours. Keep a wet sponge against 

 the wire screen and they will not suffer 

 for water. If this is done towards 

 night they can be let out the second 

 morning after, and being few will re- 

 turn to the old place, as they will be- 

 come reconciled to the loss of the queen. 

 Let the old hive remain in its place and 

 put the new one 5 or 6 rods away. At 

 the end of 2 or 3 days give the bees a 

 few puffs of tobacco smoke and let the 

 new queen run in. Do not put her 

 near the hive till she is introduced. In 

 the course of 8 days examine the brood 

 given them and if they have any queen 

 cells destroy them. Combs taken from 

 the hives where bees have died with 

 dysentery can be used without danger. 

 I have tried it. 

 Wenham, Mass., April 5, 1881. 



Rock River Valley. 



The Rock River Valley Bee-Keepers' 

 Association met in Monroe, 111., March 

 29,1881. Few members being present 

 (owing to the impassable condition of 

 the roads) the forenoon was spent in 

 general consultation concerning the 

 welfare of the bees. At 1 p. m. the 

 Convention was called to order and the 

 following officers were elected for the 

 ensuing year : 



President, A. Rice, Byron ; Vice- 

 President, H. Everton, Monroe ; Secre- 

 tary, D. A. Cipperly, Monroe ; Treas- 

 urer, J. J. Crill, Monroe. 



The Treasurer's report was read and 

 approved. Members reported as follows: 



Number of colonies in the fall 207 ; 

 number of colonies at above date 44. 

 Two reported surplus : H. Everton, 

 300 lbs.; E. Lucas, 600 lbs. 



E. Lucas reported no loss from 38 col- 

 onies, with plenty of honey and brood. 



The cause of bees dying with plenty 

 of stores, both in cellar and on summer 

 stands, was requested to be answered 

 in the American Bee Journal. 



[For answer see next page.— Ed.] 

 The President's address is as follows: 

 President's Address. 



Ladies and Gentlemen : — We meet to- 

 day at the close of one year's existence 

 of our Association, to discuss questions 

 of interest pertaining to bee-culture. 



Our meetings have been attended 

 with a good degree of interest, not- 

 withstanding the unfavorable season 

 for bees. Our interests have been one, 

 our actions harmonious — " United we 

 stand, divided we fall." I believe we 

 shall find it not only pleasant but prof- 

 itable to meet occasionally to impart 

 what we know, be it much or little, 

 about the management of bees. When 

 each of us comes to get,and none to im- 

 part our knowledge (which I trust will 

 never be), it would be advisable to in- 

 definitely postpone our meetings. 



The different races and grades of bees, 

 the different ways devised to secure the 

 largest income for the smallest outlay, 

 is what we have all been striving for 

 until it would seem impossible to more 

 than repeat the words that have been 

 spoken many times before ; therefore 

 nothing new will be expected of me at 

 this time. 



Of the different races of bees in ex- 

 istence there is one that has not had 

 its share of attention, although it 

 has associated itself intimately with 

 the whole human family from our first 

 parents to the present time, and that is 

 the " may be." Did not mother Eve 

 say to her husband, " take and eat of 

 this fruit (although forbidden) ; may be 

 it will not hurt us. may be it will do us 

 good ? "- 



At the National Convention, at Chi- 

 cago, we understood from an able bee- 

 master that we might take a colony ever 

 so carefully in our arms from the apiary 

 to the cellar, may be it will die. Take 

 another colony on a barrow, however 

 roughly we handle it, may be it will 

 live. We further understood from the 

 same gentleman that one colony might 

 go South and may be gather healthful 

 honey aud live. Another colony go 

 North and may be gather poisonous 

 honey and die. 



Have not most of us had too much to 

 do with that may be ? Do we not too 

 many of us too often say may be the 

 winter will be warm and the bees need 

 no care; maybe it will be as well to 

 pack or cellar the bees in December as 

 November ; may be they have honey 

 enough or will gather enough, etc., in 

 ways almost without number ? That 

 may be proves fatal to our bees. I 

 will leave the may be, only saying that 

 it is not and never was a scientific bee. 



Our attention is often called to the 

 differences of opinion about the man- 

 agement of bees. One gentleman at 

 the Convention in Chicago said in win- 

 tering bees in the cellar it is of first im- 

 portance to keep the cellar dark ; an- 

 other said that light does not disturb 

 his bees in the cellar, that he does not 

 darken his windows and leaves the door 

 open in the daytime, as occasion may 

 require, with no injurious results. We 

 have all noticed that with the shades of 

 evening our bees return to their hives, 

 and go forth to their labor with the 

 light of day, except it is stormy or too 

 cold for them to fly, and I have found 

 bees improving the first opportunity to 

 leave the cellar after opening the door, 

 when the atmosphere was sufficiently 

 warm for them to fly, and I think it 

 would be impossible for us to educate 

 them otherwise. 



The relative value of the imported to 

 the home-bred bees has, of late, been 

 somewhat discussed. The resolutions 

 of the National Convention, at Cincin- 

 nati, are as follows : 



1. Resolved, That the importation of 

 pure Italian, Cyprian, and Palestine 

 bees into North America ought to be 

 encouraged for the sole purpose of add- 

 ing new and different strains of blood 

 to that which we already have. 



2. That the strains of Italian blood 

 which we now have has reached a higher 

 standard of excellence than is to be 

 found in the native home of the Italian. 



3. That queens reared from pure, se- 

 lected, home-bred Italian mothers, 

 should command at least as high a 

 price as those bred from imported 

 mothers, where pure Italian stock is the 

 sole object desired. 



I think the 2d and 3d resolutions 

 are rather in conflict with the 1st, for 

 how can we import and sell at the same 

 price as those that are only bred from 

 home stock ? The question for us to 

 decide is, which will we patronize — the 

 price being equal— those who breed 

 from imported or those who breed from 

 home stock ? Most of us will always 

 pay the importer the higher price. 



The past year has been a failure with 

 bees and honey to nearly all in this vi- 

 cinity. Very few report any surplus, 

 therefore the question to solve is, what 

 shall we do ? Snail we give up the busi- 

 ness or shall we try more and better 

 care for our bees in winter, spring and 

 summer, giving the little attention they 

 need when it is required, carrying our 

 bees through to the time when flowers 

 give them a bountiful supply of the best 

 of all sweets ; when they in return will 

 reward us by filling our surplus boxes? 

 How we shall care care for, and how 

 and what we shall do for the bees I 

 must leave for the convention to solve. 



A general discussion followed. 



The Convention will meet at Monroe 

 Hall, on Tuesday, May 24, 1881. A gen- 

 eral invitation is extended to all that 

 are interested in the management of 

 the apiary. D. A. Cipperly, Sec. 



^- The Eastern New York Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold a Con- 

 vention in the Court House at Schoharie, 

 N. Y.,May lOand 11. All interested in 

 bee-keeping are cordially invited to at- 

 tend. • W. S. Ward, itec.. 

 Fuller's Station, N. Y. 



