436 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



July 13, 1899. 



find that hybrid bees, showing about as many black bees a,s 

 those with yellow bands, will build and complete nearly 

 double the number of cells as will pure Italians, and seem 

 to take to this line of work better than any other. I usually 

 bring several queens of this class to take the place of those 

 sold, and then select tbe strongest colony having one of 

 these queens. As soon as the selection is made the rest are 

 used in the out-apiary again. I tell this only as I wish to 

 give everything just as I do it. 



As soon as the colony is strong enough to go into the 

 upper story, I take two combs from below, having mostly 

 eggs and unsealed larva" in them (don't take any drone- 

 larva;, as drones above a queen-excluder are always a nui- 

 sance), and in their places put two combs of sealed brood 

 from other hives, as we wish all the bees possible thus early 

 in the season. 



I now put on top of the hive a hive having a queen-ex- 

 cluder nailed to its bottom (if thus nailed we never have to 

 touch the excluder if we wish to remove the upper hive dur- 

 ing the season), as it always comes off with the upper hive, 

 and in the center of this upper hive put the two combs of 

 brood, four frames well filled with honey, a division-board 

 feeder, and two dummies made from inch or % lumber. 



When about two days have elapst for the colony to ad- 

 just itself to the new conditions, it being fed about a pint of 

 thi)! sweet every night, if honey is not coming in from the 

 field, they are ready for a batch of prepared cell-cups, as 

 given in my book. To tell all about ho%v to prepare these 

 would be too long for this place ; but all can find all about 

 the matter by turning to chapter 7 of the book, and I could 

 not tell that part any better were I to try it over again. 



Before going for the royal jelly and the larv;E to trans- 

 fer into it, I stop at the hive, take out one of the dummies, 

 shove the frames that way till I leave a frame's space be- 

 tween the combs of brood, when the cover is put on. As a 

 rule it takes me from 15 to 20 minutes to get the royal jelly, 

 the larvae, put the jelly and larva; into the cell-cups, and get 

 the now prepared frame to the prepared hive. I now re- 

 move the covering- (which is a quilt, with a 4-inch sawdust 

 cushion over it, and a hood or cap 8 inches deep over all), 

 when I find the space left for the prepared frame completely 

 filled with bees — so much so that I have to work the frame 

 slowly up and down in lowering it, so as to cause the bees 

 to run out of the way. I don't know that causing the bees 

 to cluster in this vacant space between the frames of brood 

 has anything to do with the matter, but it has always 

 seemed to me that they are better prepared with royal jelly 

 and for queen-rearing by doing so. 



Three days later I go to the hive again, take out the 

 other dummy, draw the frames to the side of the hive until 

 I come to the first frame having brood in it, when I lift the 

 frame of cells, take off" one or two of them, for the royal 

 jelly needed to start the next " batch," when the frame of 

 cells is placed in the vacant space behind the frame of 

 brood, caused by taking out the dummy and drawing the 

 others along, thus preparing the same place for the next 

 frame of prepared cell-cups which the first one occupied, 

 and when all ready it is placed there as was the first. Three 

 days later a frame of honey is taken out from the opposite 

 side from which the last dummy was taken, the frames 

 again drawn along till we come to the frame of brood, when 

 the last prepared frame of cells is taken out, one or two 

 taken off for royal jelly, and the frame " jumpt " to the out- 

 side of the frame of brood, which gives room for the third 

 prepared frame between the frames of brood again, where 

 it is placed as soon as prepared. 



As I do no work with the bees on Sunday, I time it so 

 that no cells have to come off that day, and so four days 

 now elapse before I put in another prepared frame, which 

 makes ten days from the time we started, so that we really 

 have only three prepared frames every ten days. 



I now take out the frame of " ripe " cells, or the first 

 one prepared, and distribute them where wanted, getting 

 the bees off, etc., as given in chapters 8 and 9 of the book, 

 when I lift out the two frames of brood, look them over to 

 make sure that the bees started no queen-cells on these 

 frames (unless this is done we })iay have a queen hatch 

 when we least expect, and destroy all of the cells on the 

 other prepared frames), when these two frames of now 

 sealed brood are •• jumpt " over behind the two frames of 

 cells now remaining-. I now take out a frame of honej' on 

 each side, and all the frames along to%vard either side of 

 the hive, so as to make room for two frames containing 

 eggs and larva; taken from any hives in the yard (generally 

 from nuclei when under full headway later on), which are 

 placed in the center of the hive again, as the first two were. 



being left apart for the fourth prepared frame, which is 

 now fixt as was the others, and put in. 



Onondaga Co., N. Y. G. M. DOOLITTLE, 



[We mail Mr. Doolittle's book, " Scientific Queen-Rear- 

 ing," for $1.00 ; or we club it with the American Bee Jour- 

 nal one year — both for SI. 70. Every bee-keeper who gets it 

 will be fascinated with the way in which Mr. Doolittle tells 

 his story of rearing queens. And, besides, the reader will 

 learn just how the '" king of queen-breeders" does it. — Ed. J 



Queen Insensible by Cold Still Valuable. 



BY W. W. m'NEAL. 



NOW here is to those who say a queen-bee is " no good" 

 after having been rendered insensible by cold : 



Last winter, a little time previous to the cold spell 

 that began in the latter part of January and closed Feb. 15, 

 I had a number of nuclei containing choice queens to be 

 used in cases of emergency, and for replacing inferior 

 queens in full colonies when the bee-season opened. Well, 

 upon passing thru the apiary one cold day toward evening, 

 I tapt on several of the small hives to see if the bees were 

 still alive ; they all responded but one. I did not open the 

 hive then, but waited until in the afternoon of the next day. 

 When I opened it the sun was shining, but the wind was 

 blowing and the air cold. The bees were apparently as 

 dead as they could be. I lifted the combs from the hive 

 and stood them in a sheltered place from the wind where 

 the sun could shine directly on them and the bees. In a 

 short while I saw signs of life, and most of the bees with 

 the queen were soon able to crawl about on the combs. 

 Many of the bees, as I have often before wituest. had 

 crawled into the cells in a compact mass, whether in a vain 

 endeavor to keep warm or in sheer desperation from hunger 

 I do not know. But upon becoming sufficiently warmed 

 they backt out of the cells and partook of honey ravenously. 

 If I mistake not, a bee that dies solely from starvation 

 always has the tongue extended. 



I constructed a still smaller hive for the remaining bees, 

 and after getting them into it, I carried it into the house, 

 where it remained for several days on the mantle-piece 

 close by the fire in the grate. Then it was I noticed a queen 

 lying at the entrance of a hive containing one of my best 

 colonies. I waited till dark, when by the aid of a lantern 

 and a smoker I made an effort to get the little colony into. 

 the large hive by waj' of the entrance. I might add that 

 the weather at this time had moderated somewhat, tho I 

 did not care to break the covering to the hive. 



The bees of both colonies fought till I believe every bee 

 belonging to the smaller one — excepting- the queen — was 

 killed. I also feared that possibly the large colony con- 

 tained a young queen and it was the old one I had found at 

 the entrance. But if they did I was never able to find her, 

 tho I took special care to clear the g-round in front of the 

 hive that I might see a queen, if she were carried out by the 

 bees. And, besides, the queen introduced was so markt as 

 not to be mistaken for another. This queen is now the 

 mother of a powerful colony of bees — worker-bees. I be- 

 lieve it has been claimed that such queens lay only drone- 

 eggs. Scioto Co., Ohio. 



York's Honey Almanac is a neat little 32-page pamph- 

 let especially gotten up with a view to create a demand for 

 honey among should-be consumers. Aside from the Alma- 

 nac pag-es, the forepart of the pamphlet was written by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, and is devoted to general information concern- 

 ing honey. The latter part consists of recipes for use in 

 cooking and as a medicine. It will be found to be a very 

 effective helper in working up a home market for honey. 

 We furnish them, postpaid, at these prices : A sample for 

 a stamp ; 25 copies for 50 cents ; SO for 70 cents ; 100 for 

 $1.25 ; 250 for $2.75 ; 500 for $4.50. For 25 cents extra we 

 will print your name and address on the front page, when- 

 ordering 100 or more copies at these prices. 



Queenie Jeanette is the title of a pretty song in sheet 

 music size, written by J. C. Wallenmever, a musical bee- 

 keeper. The regular price is 40 cents, but to close out the 

 copies we have left, we will mail them at 20 cents each, as. 

 long as they last. Better order at once, if you want a copy 

 of this -song. 



