582 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



harvest; while if a general change is made, 

 many colonies are likely to lose thousands 

 of eggs at best, and, not only this, the 

 young queen is often very liable to bring a 

 lot of workers on the stage of action in time 

 to become consumers rather than produc- 

 ers." 



" Would it have been better to change in 

 early spring? " 



"No. A change at that time would have 

 been worse yet, as it would have resulted 

 in a loss of bees at just the time when each 

 bee is of the greatest value to push forward 

 the rearing of others for the honey har- 

 vest. " 



"When would you change queens then?" 

 "If queens must be changed I would ad- 

 vise waiting till the harvest of white honey 

 is over, for the loss of eggs usually sustain- 

 ed through a change of queens will then be 

 little or no loss, as they are generally 

 hatched into larvas at a time when said 

 larvae have to be fed out of honey stored in 

 the hive, while the mature bees generally 

 consume more of the stores already laid 

 aside than they add to them." 



" What is your opinion in this matter?" 

 "With one exception, I pay very little at- 

 tention to the matter of changing queens, 

 where the colonies are worked for honey 

 instead of queen-rearing, for I find that 

 , nineteen colonies out of twenty will super- 

 sede their own queens as soon as they need 

 changing; therefore, with the one exception 

 it is a waste of time for me to be worrying 

 about this matter, keeping track of the ages 

 of all queens, etc., when the bees will look 

 after the matter at the proper time." 



"Then you think I better not undertake 

 these things?" 



"That would be my idea. The bees will 

 attend to the changing, and make fewer 

 mistakes than you are likelj^ to make, no 

 matter how careful and wise you may be. 

 If you think I am wrong in this matter, set 

 apart a certain number of colonies to try 

 ■each way, and a term of years will tell 

 you which will pay you better." 



"You spoke of an exception in this mat- 

 ter. What did you mean by that?" 



"1 find that more queens are superseded 

 during the month of August than at any 

 other time of the year; and so by a little 

 forethought, and a little work, I fix it so 

 that the bees will attend to this matter, if 

 the queen is failing, and at the same time 

 accept queens from my very best stock to 

 do it with, instead of supplanting their 

 queen with inferior stock, as they would do 

 if left to themselves, providing their mother 

 was not of the best breed obtainable." 



"How can you accomplish such a thing 

 as that?" 



" It is very simple. Just before the close 

 of the white-honey harvest, at a time when 

 the bees will rear as good queens as at any 

 time during the season, I start queen-cells 

 in proportion to the number I consider I 

 wish, starting them from brood from the 

 queen which has given me the best results 

 during the past; and if I have chosen the 



right time these cells will be 'ripe ' at just 

 the time the bees will be most likely to 

 start cells for supersedure. " 



"How do you know the colonies which 

 are starting supersedure cells?" 



"I do not know this, nor do I think it 

 worth the trouble to find out. I judge from 

 outside appearances, and the amount of 

 white honey stored, which colonies may be 

 liable to supersede their queens, and those 

 I would desire to have do so; and when I 

 have decided this matter, I give one of 

 these ripe cells to each of such colonies." 



" How do you give these ripe cells?" 



"Always by putting them in queen-cell 

 protectors. You know what they are?" 



"Yes, but that was not what I meant. 

 Tell me how you put them in the hive." 



"That part is very simple. Having the 

 ripe cells all in cell-protectors, I go to the 

 hives designed for them; and if the bees are 

 still in the sections, I put one of these pro- 

 tected cells in any section where I think 

 the bees will be likely to care for it till the 

 queen emerges. If no sections are on, or 

 the bees have left the sections, then I lift 

 the cover, spread the frames a little, suffi- 

 cient to allow the cell-protector to go just 

 below the top-bar of the frames, when the 

 frames are brought back in place again, 

 which crowds the protector into the comb 

 so that it is held in place as in a vise." 



"Any certain place between the frames 

 where you put them?" 



"I have had the best results where the 

 cells were placed the furthest away from 

 the brood, consistent with the bees' caring 

 for them, which is generally near the back 

 upper corners where the most sealed honey 

 is allowed." 



"What about the protector? Do you take 

 that out as soon as the young queen has 

 come out?" 



"No. The simplicity of this matter is 

 the little work required in accord with the 

 results obtained. I pay no attention fur- 

 ther than what I have told you, not opening 

 the brood-chamber to the hive again till 

 the next season arrives, when the cage is 

 found and taken out, usually when clipping 

 the queen's wings during fruit-bloom." 



"Oh! I begin to see. You can tell the 

 number you succeed with by the cage be- 

 tween the combs, and the queens not having 

 their wings clipped?" 



" Exactly." 



"About what proportion do you find with 

 undipped wings?" 



"That depends somewhat on years. 

 Some years the bees do not allow their 

 queens to rear as much brood as others, 

 and in cases of the maximum amount of 

 brood not being reared, not so many are 

 accepted. But generally I find that from 

 one-half to two-thirds of these cells are ac- 

 cepted and a young queen from my best 

 mother is reigning the next spring in place 

 of the old one of the summer before." 



"And in this wa3' your stock is growing 

 better with each year?" 



"Exactly. And herein a gain is made 



