190^ 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



233 



partly inserted, while the other one, leaning- 

 ag-ainst the main cover to the whole hive, 

 shows strips nailed across the ends. 



These strips fit against one partition wall 

 while the smooth side of the board covers 

 the opening in the other, but does not reach 

 the bottom of the space between the walls, 

 which allows anj' bees to escape that may 

 be in the space at the time the board is in- 

 serted. 



The one with the rings, which are bee- 

 escapes, fits the same waj', the escapes be- 

 ing used when cells are being built t)y bees 

 made queenless to supply additional force 

 from brood and laying queen to the cell- 

 builders, while those made of bars, one of 

 which is also partlj' inserted, are bridges 

 to assist the bees in passing from one cham- 

 ber to another when communication is given, 

 and also to prevent the filling of the spaces 

 with comb. 



Double zincs are wanted everywhere to 

 prevent attempts of attacks by queens in 

 adjoining apartments, when communication 

 is allowed between two or more having 

 queens, as well as to insure more satisfac- 

 tory work in cell-building, and hence the 

 necessit}' of double zincs in these partitions 

 as well as between upper and lower stories 

 under similar circumstances. 



The entrances at each end of every cham- 

 ber, below the queen-excluding sheets of 

 zinc, are the full width of the chambers, 

 while those above them are only about two- 

 thirds of their width, the most of which are 

 shown plugged up in the pictures. 



The necessity of so many can be better 

 understood when the point of manipulation 

 is reached. 



One of the \ery necessary things not 

 shown in the illustrations is the provision 

 for feeding without opening the hive. For 

 instance, the two sectional covers shown in 

 place, on Fig. 4, have holes near the cor- 

 ners, to correspond with the holes bored in- 

 to the top-bars of Doolittle feeders, through 

 which the latter are filled, wire-cloth cones 

 being attached to the holes in the covers, 

 that extend down into those in the feeders, 

 through which feeding is done, and not a 

 bee can escape, a piece of section or small 

 block being used as a cover for the hole in 

 ■each one. 



While the above descriptions do not cover 

 all of the little details, yet no doubt with 

 the pictures as helps, and an understand- 

 ing of the objects in view, any one with a 

 mechanical turn of mind can construct a 

 hive embodying the same principles, and 

 that will work in a satisfactory manner. 



[In the subsequent articles Mr. Pridgen 

 will tell something about his methods; how 

 he gets drones out of season ; how he suc- 

 ceeds in rearing good queens after the 

 honey-flow ; how, in short, he is enabled to 

 overcome many of the obstacles that present 

 themselves, either to the ciueen-rearcr or to 

 the practical bee-keeper who desires to rear 

 a few queens from some good stock he hap- 

 pens to have in his yard. — Ed.] 



FORCED SWARMS. 



A Note of Warning ; the Practice of Using Starters 



"Pernicious in the Extreme;" Full Sheets 



of Combs Advocated. 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



My experience with brushed swarms has 

 been considerable and satisfactory, but I 

 wish to warn some of your readers against 

 one or two errors in connection with this 

 practice, with particular reference to tropi- 

 cal bee-keeping. 



First, it has been proposed to use " stiirt- 

 ers " of foundation when hiving the brush- 

 ed swarms — a practice which I feel justi- 

 fied in stating is pernicious in the extreme. 

 I know of no one error that afflicts tropical 

 bee-masters more than this bad habit of 

 putting bees to work in a brood-chamber 

 fitted out with starters. Times almost 

 without number I have seen the folly of it, 

 hence I feel like uttering a note of warning. 

 It has often pained me to see large masses 

 of brood-comb occupied with drone-cells — a 

 sheer waste. This is invariably due to the 

 use of "starters." The man who uses 

 starters, instead of producing large yields 

 of honey has large numbers of drones fly- 

 ing about which eat the honey as fast as 

 the busy bees can collect it. The beginners 

 particularly should never on any account 

 use starters, no matter what the text-books 

 may say. 



If combs are not available, use full sheets 

 of foundation. If the bees are troublesome, 

 and will not enter the sections, use a shal- 

 lower frame. Either the Ideal or the Dan- 

 zenbaker will answer. Any thing is bet- 

 ter than starters. There is another serious 

 objection to starters. The queen is restrict- 

 ed for room to lay her eggs. This is some- 

 thing serious, as the swarm rapidly dwin- 

 dles in size, and after a lapse of four weeks 

 becomes weak, and usually makes no head- 

 way after that. The main advantage in 

 brush swarming is in providing the queen 

 with plenty of room to lay in bright clean 

 combs having neither brood, honey, nor pol- 

 len in them. Such a colony never dwindles, 

 for the obvious reason that plenty of young 

 bees are coming forward the while to take 

 the place of workers dying in the harvest- 

 field. If combs are given to the newly form- 

 ed swarm it is evident the queen will not at- 

 tempt to go upstairs where there is only 

 foundation. Where full sheets are used it 

 is better to wait 24 to 48 hours before put- 

 ting on the sections to allow the queen to 

 settle herself in the brood-chamber. It 

 stands to reason that, if the bees have no 

 combs to build below, they will all the more 

 readily build the sections above, as they 

 are anxious to build combs. But it simpli- 

 fies matters very much if a shallow brood- 

 chatnber is used. At the same time it is bad 

 policy to use a brood-chamber that is too 

 small. The Ideal is quite small enough. 



I believe in large hives to get large yields, 

 and had Mr. Dadant advocated a hive com- 

 posed of three stories the same size as his 



