436 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



About four weeks before the storing- of the 

 first surplus honey may be expected to com- 

 mence, which will be from white clover, in 

 regions where that is an important honey- 

 plant, but not earlier than the time when, 

 if the bees swarmed naturally, the brood 

 in the hive from which the swarm may have 

 issued would not chill, remove the lower 

 body of the double brood-chamber, placing- 

 it on a stand by the side of (and as close as 

 possible to)the hive from which it was remov- 

 ed with the entrance in the same direction, 

 being- sure to have the queen in this remov- 

 ed body. In place of the body so removed, 

 substitute one containing- clean frames with 

 narrow foundation starters, not more than 

 two inches in width. Now all the field- 

 working- bees will return to the hive on the 

 old stand, the upper body of which contains 

 abundance of brood and young bees. Oueen- 

 cells will be immediately started, usually 

 along- the lower margin of the combs in the 

 upper body, and in due course of time the 

 colony will contain a young queen. If the 

 precaution is taken of removing all but one 

 selt cted queen-cell, there will be no dis- 

 appointing division of the colony by one of 

 the several queens, which would otherwise 

 develop, swarming out with part of the bees. 



In anticipation of making the division of 

 the colony, as here described, queen-cells 

 may be reared from our choice queens, and 

 supplied, one each, to the colonies under 

 preparation, thus improving the stock of 

 the whole apiary, and at the same time 

 very materially forwarding the work of 

 preparation. 



If some honey is coming in, work will 

 progress in the lower body; and by the time 

 for putting on the supers the brood- comb 

 starters will be sufficiently drawn out for 

 the queen's use, and she will not be likely 

 to enter the sections when the super is sub- 

 stituted for the upper body. If the manip- 

 ulations have been performed at the prop- 

 er time, the brood in the upper body will 

 be about all hatched at the time when the 

 main honey-flow commences in earnest. 



It is advantageous to the apiarist to know 

 the condition of his colonies as to queens, 

 and it is advisable to proceed with the work 

 of preparation with the aim of bringing the 

 young queen to the laying age at the time 

 of putting on the supers, that he may as- 

 certain whether or not she is laying. When 

 the supers are needed they should be put on 

 if the queen has not commenced to lay. 



At this time, just as hone}' commences to 

 come in rapidly, remove the hive contain- 

 ing the old queen, from the side of the hive 

 under preparation for comb-honey produc- 

 tion, to a new stand, somewhat removed 

 from the comb-honey colony. The field- 

 worker bees from the old colony will now 

 return to the new one, adding greatl}' to its 

 strength. Now shake the bees from the 

 frames of the upper body of the comb-honey 

 colony into its lower body, or in front of it, 

 and u%e this upper body and its combs as 

 an extracting-super for the hive with the 

 old queen. 



If no increase is desired, when the colony 

 on the old stand is prepared for the comb- 

 honey super, and honey is being gathered, 

 remove the colony containing the old queen 

 to the opposite side of (and as near as pos- 

 sible to) the hive prepared for comb-honej' 

 supers, with the entrance in the same di- 

 rection. In a week remove it to the now 

 opposite side in the position it formerly oc- 

 cupied, and continue these weekly move- 

 ments from side to opposite side throughout 

 the honey harvest, after which the queen 

 may be disposed of and the remaining brood 

 used to strengthen the weaker colonies, and 

 the combs extracted. By this method the 

 comb-honey colony is kept supplied with 

 worker bees sufficient to keep the hive and 

 super crowded with a strong working force. 



This method of keeping the comb-honey 

 colony full of bees throughout the honey 

 harvest, when no increase is desired, may 

 also be used in connection with the manage- 

 ment of natural swarms as described under 

 that head, making the first move of the par- 

 ent colony to the opposite side of the comb- 

 honey hive at the end of one week after the 

 swarm issues, and proceeding thereafter 

 according to the above description. It is 

 not advised to strengthen colonies in this 

 manner when honey is not being gathered. 



The greatest obstacle to success in exten- 

 sive commercial apiculture, especially in 

 comb-honey production, has been the in- 

 ability of the apiarist to bring swarming 

 under control, and hence the lack of system- 

 atic work in the apiaries. A perfect, re- 

 liable, and practical non-swarming system 

 has been frequently sought, with commend- 

 able zeal by numerous experimenters, but 

 the coveted prize has often "eluded their ea- 

 ger grasp;" but if it is true, as has been 

 alleged by some of the savants of apiculture, 

 that a colony with a young queen will not 

 swarm during the season she is reared, and 

 if this rule may be depended upon to be 

 reasonably certain, this fact, in addition to 

 the safeguard against swarming found in 

 the use of a brood-chamber with narrow 

 starters in the brood-frames, furnishes the 

 essential framework of such a system. 

 Moreover, by this system we obtain colo- 

 nies of great strength, especially if no in- 

 crease is made, in which case we practi- 

 cally have the use of two queens in the 

 comb-honej' hive, resulting in an increased 

 amount of fancy comb honey with a mini- 

 mum amount of labor. Such a system will 

 make it possible to manage out-apiaries 

 with the assurance that the working force 

 is not absconding in the absence of the 

 apiarist at the only season of the year 

 when it is of value to him, and the work of 

 the several out-apiaries may be perfectly 

 sj'stematized. 



Other methods of making forced swarms, 

 which have been technically designated by 

 the terms "shook," "brushed," or "driv- 

 en" swarms, and the system of manage- 

 ment in reference to them, have been so 

 thoroughly described during the past two 

 or three years as to require no further 



