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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



of large size (4x8 inches) with a space 

 behind, and I thought that would be 

 sufBcient. The trouble is, that in hot 

 days some cf the workers, and whatever 

 drones are in the hives, cluster on the 

 zinc and cone, and thereby obstruct the 

 holes, and not only interfere with the 

 ventilation, but also with the going and 

 coming of the honey-gatherers. The 

 drones live in the hives several days, 

 being fed there by the workers. This 

 particularity may sometimes be turned 

 to advantage. They can be easily de- 

 stroyed, except those that may be 

 wanted for fertilization of young queens. 

 When the queens are out, the front zinc 

 of the hiver can be removed, and the 

 select drones permitted to come out. 

 Closing the cone will 'effectually prevent 

 the loss of a swarm while the front zinc 

 is open. 



About June 25th some of the colonies 

 were so large, and the weather so hot, 

 that I had to remove most of the zincs 

 (between the hive and hivers) to insure 

 better ventilation. I left the zincs in 

 front of the hivers. Even thus reduced, 

 the hiver was yet very useful, as no 

 swarm could go off. As a general rule, 

 any swarm going out and returning will 

 try again very early the next day, if the 

 weather is favorable. As a returning 

 swarm hangs more or less outside the 

 hiver for an hour or two after returning, 

 by visiting the apiary between 10 a.m. 

 and 12 o'clock, the apiarist can tell 

 which hives have swarmed, and need 

 attention. 



After this experience, I doubt very 

 much if the Langdon and Aikin devices 

 to prevent swarming will work satisfac- 

 torily. I can only repeat what I said 

 before, that it depends upon the circum- 

 stances ; as to work always, I doubt it. 

 The change of one hive to another 

 where the bees are equally crowded 

 could not abate the swarming fever. 

 Mine swarmed from the hiver as well as 

 they did from the old hive. 



The revolving stand of B. Taylor was 

 also a failure. The destruction of the 

 queen-cells by the queens cannot do any 

 more good than when done by the api- 

 arist. It seems very difficult to prevent 

 the swarming fever entirely. We can 

 give plenty empty room, but not plenty 

 empty comb as those who produce ex- 

 tracted honey do. Non-swarming colo- 

 nies get to be very strong, and therefore 

 more or less crowded. 



Summing up, I see three points which 

 conform to the teachings of our leading 

 writers, viz. : 



1st. The impossibility of preventing 



the swarming fever entirely, when pro- 

 ducing comb honey. Of course the actual 

 swarming could be prevented. 



2nd. As long as the swarming-fever 

 lasts, the colony is " no good," so far 

 as gathering surplus is concerned. 



3rd. The only ways to overcome the 

 swarming fever are these : 



a. Allowing swarming, or an equiva- 

 lent, dividing. That is what Doolittle, 

 Hutchinson, Heddon, etc., are doing. 

 To obtain a surplus, they turn over to 

 the swarm as much of 'the old force as 

 possible, and whatever surplus is gath- 

 ered already. This does not work very 

 well here, for reasons that I will explain 

 some other time. The old colony — well, I 

 don't know, but by their reports, I sup- 

 pose that most of the time the old colony 

 is so weak that it dies the following win- 

 ter or spring. 



b. Removing the queen and cells, and 

 not returning the queen (or another 

 one) until the colony has been hopelessly 

 queenless for some time. This is prac- 

 ticed by our most extensive and most 

 successful comb honey producers, such 

 as Manum, Aikin, Hetherington, El- 

 wood, etc. 



This will be my next year's experi- 

 ment — as a help similar to the self- 

 hiver, I want to try the following ar- 

 rangement : 



Have the hive so constructed that the 

 entrance can lead either to the brood- 

 nest or to the supers. Add to the hive, 

 or rather to the brood-nest, a cone giving 

 the necessary ventilation and permitting 

 the bees to come out, but not to go back. 

 At the opening of the honey-flow close 

 the brood-nest, place a solid board be- 

 tween the brood-nest and the supers, so 

 as to cut off entirely the communica- 

 tion between the two, and fix the en- 

 trance so as to send the whole force into 

 the supers. Of course, the bees in the 

 supers having neither queen nor brood 

 will be hopelessly queenless and give up 

 (?) any notion to swarm they may have. 

 (Perhaps they will, and perhaps they 

 won't.) The queen in the brood-nest 

 with only young bees will destroy what- 

 ever queen-ooUs may be started. Three 

 or four days later the board between the 

 supers and brood-nest can be removed, 

 and the usual brood-nest entrance opened 

 again. The operation can be repeated 

 again during the honey-flow, whenever 

 swarming may occur. 



I'll let you know in a year from now 

 whether the above scheme will work or 

 not. At any rate, I think if it fails as a 

 non-swarmer, it will be splendid to start 



