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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL-. 



in place. But it will be noticed that the 

 very next day, June 27th, No. 4 cast a 

 swarm, and No. 3 cast a swarm on the 

 30th, indicating that when other condi- 

 tions are favorable very little if any 

 preparation at all in the way of queen- 

 cells is required before the bees feel at 

 liberty to swarm. 



One hive of No. 2 lost its queen, which 

 was replaced by a fine young queen 

 which had been laying but a few days, 

 yet this young queen came out with a 

 swarm within four days, and within a 

 week was lost, apparently destroyed by 

 the bees. 



As might have been expected under 

 such circumstances the bees of these 

 colonies did not do very good work, but 

 those that did the most swarming did 

 fully as well as the others. As I esti- 

 mate it, these bees yielded about 65 to 75 

 per cent, of the surplus they would have 

 yielded had they been managed in the 

 ordinary way. What especially sur- 

 prised me was the remarkable slow- 

 ness shown by these strong colonies in 

 capping their surplus honey. 



It was always very evident that the 

 desire to swarm was thoroughly eradi- 

 cated from the colony from which the 

 bees had been thrown — this was "fre- 

 quently very soon shown by the casting 

 out of immature drones. I could not 

 see that worker-brood suffered materi- 

 ally. 



Why was it that the inclination to 

 swarm was not also removed for a time 

 from the working force of the two col- 

 onies thrown together into a hive in 

 which there was no beginning of prepar- 

 ations for swarming ? 



I have hereinbefore remarked that it 

 appears that the larger the hive the 

 longer the bees are able to resist the in- 

 clination to swarm. But the size of a 

 hive is a relative matter and the largest 

 one becomes small if too many colonies 

 are united and put into it. 



The theory of the Langdon attach- 

 ment is that the prevention of the com- 

 pletion of the usual course of prepara- 

 tion for swarming common in normal 

 cases will prevent swarming in all cases. 

 The mere statement reveals the fault in 

 the reasoning. The attachment answers 

 completely to the theory, but the theory 

 is wrong. It is not an infrequent occur- 

 rence that swarms issue without leaving 

 a sign that there had been a thought of 

 preparation, and this is only on the line 

 between the normal and the abnormal. 

 If several swarms are out at once and 

 unite and are hived after an unequal 

 division, the colony having an unduly 



large proportion of the bees will gener- 

 ally persist in the desire to swarm. 

 That condition is abnormal and creates 

 dissatisfaction. To unite the working 

 force of two colonies when the swarming 

 fever is in the air is highly abnormal, 

 and if this is done, this abnormal condi- 

 tion must be provided against if swarm- 

 ing is to be prevented. At least the 

 result of the experiments thus far seems 

 to point that way. 



If a course of operations creates ab- 

 normal conditions it should be required 

 to make eflScient provision to cope with 

 those conditions. 



Lapeer, Mich., July 27, 1893. 



Honey from Button . Willow, 

 Transferrins, Etc. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY Vf. A. FEE. 



I have read the reports of the honey- 

 flow in the Bee Journal each week. 

 As for this part of the country, it has 

 been very poor, so far ; very little sur- 

 plus, mostly from white clover. Bees 

 are now working on button-willow. I 

 have 35 colonies which are working 

 across the Ohio river, the willow being 

 about two miles from my apiary. The 

 honey they are getting is very clear — I 

 think it is equal to white clover. 



SUGAK SYBUP FOK WINTERING. 



I wintered my bees on granulated 

 sugar syrup last winter, and did not lose 

 a colony. I gave them 20 pounds each, 

 and made a syrup of five parts sugar 

 and two parts water mixed in a tub and 

 boiled with a steam jet for a boiler, thus 

 melting a large quantity in a few min- 

 utes, and no danger of burnt syrup. 



TRANSFERRING BEES. 



I have done a good deal of transferring 

 from box-hives in the last year, and 

 have found a way that beats "drum- 

 ming," every time. 



To get the bees out of the box, I use a 

 forcing-box made with wire-screen at 

 the top, and open at the bottom except 

 some strips across for the bees to crawl 

 up on. I next lake the box-hive and 

 make an opening in the top for the bees 

 to come out of, fasten the forcing-box 

 on, screen up, stop up cracks around 

 the box, and then I am ready to oust the 

 bees. 



I set the hive up on something, lettinj? 

 the edge project a little ; then I take a 



