AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Jan. 5, 1899. 



combs and honey at any time of the year because it is not 

 in shape for use. 



In connection with the I'egular size frame I would 

 always use the reg-ular size hive for nuclei. Why ? Because 

 in this way we have nothing- which will be a loss to us, and 

 by using the regular hive we are ready to unite for winter 

 on any stand we desire, without changing hives or any- 

 thing of the kind, or can build up anj- nucleus into a full 

 colony at anj' time. 



But, as I consider it, the greatest advantage in the full 

 reg^ular size hive comes in not having our nuclei robbed out 

 occasionally, as is almost sure to happen with some of the 

 weaker ones, where small hives are used. Such robbing 

 causes a general demoralization of the whole apiary, often 

 to such an extent that the bee-keeper almost wishes that he 

 had never known such a thing as a bee. By using the reg- 

 ular size hive, and placing the nucleus on one side of it, 

 while the entrance is at the other side no nucleus large 

 enough to hold a queen to advantage will ever be robbed 

 out, and smaller than these should not be used. 



To help the reader to understand better we will suppose 

 that the regular hive is 14 inches wide inside, and that the 

 entrance used is cut from the front board at the bottom, the 

 whole length of it, and that the hive fronts south. Form 

 your nucleus on the east side of tiie hive, using- two combs, 

 one of honej- and one of brood ; and next to these combs 

 draw up the division-board or dummy, which should allow 

 the bees to run under its bottom. Now close up all the en- 

 trance except one inch in length at the west side of the hive, 

 and you will have it as I use them, and I have not had a sin- 

 g-le nucleus robbed since I found out this plan. 



Now, suppose I wish a nucleus in the next hive on the 

 same row in the apiarj'. In this hive I place the two frames 

 and dummy next to the west side of the hive, while the en- 

 trance is on the east side, the conditions being- the same as 

 relating to the prevention of robbing-, while the doorwav 

 to each hive is not at all similar. The next hive is fixt like 

 the first, and the next like the second, and so on to the end 

 of the row. In this way the young bees do not mis ; and in 

 returning from their wedding-flight no queens are lost by 

 entering the wrong hive, as used to happen when I used aii 

 entrance in the same place with all the nuclei in the apiary. 

 I consider this far preferable to painting the fronts of tlie 

 hives containg nuclei, of different colors, or laying sticks of 

 wood about the hives, etc., as has been recommended so 

 inan3' times in the past. 



If the nucleus becomes stronger than is profitable on the 

 two frames, move out the division-board and give them an 

 empty frame with a starter of comb foundation, and see how 

 quickly they will fill it with beautiful worker-comb. If too 

 weak for the two combs, take away one and draw the divis- 

 ion-board up so that it is suited to the wants of the little 

 colony, thus always working to the best advantage, and 

 making everything done by any or all count on the right 

 side of the ledger page. Onondaga Co., N. Y. 



An Appeal for Co-operative Experimental Work 

 in the Apiary for 1899. 



BY K. C. ,\IKIN. 



MOST apiarists do more or less experimental work. We 

 might say that life, as it relates to our actions, is one 

 long list of experiments. Experiment and research 

 are necessary to advancement. He who is the most ad- 

 vanced is the man posse.ssing the greatest aggregation of 

 ideas. 



To progress it is neces.sary that we think and experi- 

 ment, and collective 'and extensive work carried on by many 

 men and minds will progress more rapidlv than if 'limited 

 to narrow channels, both as to scope and to minds directinf. 



I am a natural investigator. Tho inheriting the inquisi- 

 tive disposition, I did not inherit the filthv lucre to enable 

 me to prosecute investigation to advantage," hence my efforts 

 are, and always have been, very handicapt. The season I 

 plan to work out certain lines of thought, often proves to be 

 a very poor one for that line of work. Then, too, it takes 

 several different kinds of seasons, and a great variety of 

 conditions, to prove a theory. 



Suppose we plan certain work for the coming- season, 

 and to carry out the experiments 10 or 20 apiarists in as 

 many locations and under many and varied conditions, all 

 join in the work, then compare notes -how great progress 

 we might make in a single season ! The same work in the 

 hands of one man would be years in attaining the desired 

 result — often would be abandoned in despair. 



I am now g-oing to appeal to the fraternity to assist me 

 in some work for 1899. I will tell you some "things I want 

 demonstrated, how I propose doing it, and why. Others can 

 no doubt help me in planning the details of the experiments, 

 and can help in carrying them through. I do not want to 

 name those who shall help, preferring to get volunteers. I 

 do not know who can and will do the work, but you, reader, 

 know for yourself and can offer vour services. I think that 

 a volunteer will do better work than a drafted man. 



But you will want to know what we are to try to demon- 

 strate, what theories we want to prove or disprove. I will 

 name some of them : 



PRODUCTION OF COMB HOXEY VS. EXTR.-iCTED. 



It is said, and believed by many, that an apiarv run for 

 extracted honey, and with " ready-made store-combs, will 

 yield more surplus than will a similar apiary managed for 

 section honey and having to build combs. The proportion 

 of extracted over that of section honey is variouslv estimated 

 at from one-fourth more all the way "to three times as much. 

 My own belief is, that where intellig-ent management is 

 practiced, and in an average location, the surplus will not 

 exceed the proportion of four to five in favor of the ex- 

 tracted. 



I do admit that in basswood flows, or any flow that 

 comes on very abrupt and free, honey may be lost'where 

 comb has to be built to receive it ; but, "whileadmitting this, 

 I do think that to put out the unqualified statement that so 

 very much larger yields can be obtained by running for ex- 

 tracted, and placing such before the average reader, is not 

 doing the right thing. I am now nearing 25 years of quite 

 extensive apicultural experience, and scarcely a year that I 

 did not produce both comb and extracted honey, having very 

 little basswood, buckwheat and cleome, white clover, red 

 clover,<hearfs-ease, Spanish-needle, alfalfa and sweet clover 

 crops, and in all these years, and from the varied sources, 

 and both summer and fall flows, never did I obtain twice as 

 much extracted as of comb, per colony. Do you wonder that 

 I want more positive support of the popular belief ? 



- DIFFERENCE IN HONEY RESULTS BETWEEN COLONIES. 



Another thing I want to see demonstrated, is the differ- 

 ence in work accomplisht between a colony largelv of young 

 bees, and one whose bees are all of field-age. The reason 

 for this experiment is to demonstrate the necessity of a good 

 stock or supply of old bees in a colony to make it a good 

 honey-gatherer. I believe that herein lies much of the dif- 

 ference in amount of surplus put up by one colony as 

 against another that should apparently do equal work. ' 



UNOUKENING DURING THE HONEY-FLOW. 



A third experiment is to demonstrate the effect of re- 

 moving a queen from the colony during the honey-flow. 

 Many claim that a colony made queenless will not work 

 with the vigor of one retaining the queen in full laying. It 

 has been my practice for several years to unqueen about the 

 beg-inning of the flov\'. and for several reasons. I have for 

 nine years been running from three to five apiaries. All 

 these years I never pretended to remain in the vai-ious yards 

 to manipulate swarms, but visited each place as often as I 

 could at intervals of one to three weeks. I have larg-ely un- 

 queened to prevent swarming. 



A second object was to have only sealed brood, or nearly 

 so as possible during- the main harvest, that the colony 

 might give its whole attention to the work of gathering and 

 storing-. The advocates of natural swarming claim that the 

 colony without a queen — even the one retaining- its queen 

 but not swarming — will not store equal to one allowed to 

 swarm. Direct and comparative tests side by side, and date 

 for date, are necessary to thoroug^hly demonstrate the mat- 

 ter and show it in a clear light. 



OTHER IMPOKT.4NT QUESTIONS. 



Then there are the matters of big hives vs. little ones, 

 big colonies vs. little ones, and a whole lot of unsettled mat- 

 ters. One question that is a factor in nearly all of the 

 others, is the one of wax-secretion. We are taught, and the 

 teaching- has been generallj' accepted as correct, that for 

 each pound of wax built into comb we have lost from 15 to 

 25 pounds of honey. Some put the loss of honey much 

 higher than this. 



It is arg-ued that the production of wax costs directly 

 the consumption of not less than 15 pounds of honey for one 

 of wax produced; that the bees secreting- this wax and 

 binlding- the comb, if not thus eng-aged would be in the 

 fields after nectar; thus we have not only lost directly the 

 15 pounds of honey necessary to the secretion of the wax 



