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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 16, 



colonies in box-hives. A very long article could be written 

 about the disadvantages of this plan. I would advise those 

 thinking of trying it, to try it in a small way at first, and if 

 you get large returns from It for a year or two, do not get ex- 

 cited. In keeping bees in box-hives a great deal depends upon 

 luck. You have not much control of the business. It was 

 hard luck for bees in box-hives around here the past winter — 

 the loss will average fully 50 per cent. This was on account 

 of honey-dew that was gathered last fall. Of course this does 

 not happen every year, but my experience has been that, taking 

 a series or years, there is more profit in a frame hive of some 

 kind. 



I promised in my last to say something about swarming. 

 From what some write, although I do not think they mean 

 that, it would be easy to infer that the bees that swarmed the 

 most were the best. Some of the most worthless bees I have 

 ever had, as far as surplus honey was concerned, were great 

 swarmers. Of course the queens were prolific, and the bees 

 good honey-gatherers ; but most of what they got was used 

 to rear more bees. 



A good many seem to think we cannot do anything to 

 breed out the swarming trait; or, if we do, the bees will not 

 be as good. My opinion is that we can do a good deal to breed 

 out the swarming trait, and in doing so also secure a better 

 strain of bees. As long as we cannot control the mating of 

 queens, it will be slow work, but I feel confident that I have 

 done considerable in this line in the last few years. 



I will now give the plan of dividing, or artificial swarm- 

 ing, that I have practiced for a number of years with all colo- 

 nies in single brood-story hives, by which I can secure more 

 white honey in sections than by natural swarming, or any 

 other plan I have ever tried, and I have tried a good many. 



First, perhaps I should say that when there is no honey 

 to be had in the fields, and bees are fed to enable them to keep 

 brood-rearing up, they do not contract the swarming-fever as 

 soon as they do if they are securing their supply from natural 

 sources. Why this is, I do not know, unless the prospect does 

 not look as bright when they have to take their supply from a 

 feeder. 



In this locality, as a general thing, bees do not get the 

 swarming-fever before the beginning of the white honey 

 harvest. Some of them will, but by taking frames of brood 

 from them and exchanging them with some from a weak col- 

 ony, all can be held back until clover or basswood begins to 

 yield, and at this time, if they prepare to swarm, all the brood 

 is taken from them, and they are given empty frames with 

 only narrow starters of foundation. The sections are put on 

 them, or very soon after. As soon as comb is built below, the 

 queen fills it with eggs, so that the honey has to be stored in 

 the sections. Removing the brood in this way cures the 

 swarming-fever at once, and they go to work with all the vim 

 and energy they would if they had been allowed to idle around 

 five or six days and then swarm themselves. 



From strong colonies that do not get the swarming-fever 

 at the commencement of the flow, the two middle combs are 

 removed, and two empty ones put in their place ; then the 

 two outside ones are put next to these. Colonies thus treated 

 are not apt to swarm, if they have not the swarming-fever at 

 the commencement of the main flow. vSome years it is neces- 

 sary to remove but very little brood. In this way, last year, 

 less than half of my colonies tried to swarm, and nothing was 

 done to prevent them, except to put the two outside combs in 

 the centre. 



The brood that is removed is used in various ways. If there 

 are any weak colonies at this time, they are built up. Each 

 year I rear a good many queens from some of my choice stock, 

 and a good deal of it is used to form nuclei, etc. What is left, 

 is put in 8-frame hives ; two of these are put together, one on 

 top of the other, and if they are given a queen soon after, they 

 make strong colonies for the fall flow, if there is any. I 

 leave but a very few bees on these frames of brood. There 

 is always some honey on them, and the hatching bees will 

 take care of themselves. Some of the larvae will die, but this 

 is a very small loss at this time. 



By this plan there are no after-swarms. Some of the old 

 colonies may try to swarm, but this is seldom. But I am 

 always glad to have them, /or it is a good season when they 

 do, and if any of them do get the swarming-fever again, the 

 same process is repeated. 



From reading this, you may think my plan is more work 

 than to allow them to swarm ; but in actual practice it is not 

 one-half the work. Besides, I can go through the swarming 

 season with less increase. One of the main things with me is 

 to prevent increase. There is no sale for bees here, and I 

 have enough colonies in the spring for each yard to gather all 

 there is to be had from the same. In fact, I think I have had 

 too many, the way the seasons have been the last few years. 



But in following this plan, if one desires increase, three or 

 four frames of brood can be put into a hive, and as soon as the 

 boos begin to hatch, by giving them a laying queen, we can 

 have a strong colony for winter. In this way we can, if we 

 have say 10 colonies in the spring, increase them to 30 for 

 winter; and in this locality the 10 old colonies will gather 

 from 50 to 150 pounds of surplus each. Of course, if it was 

 a poor season those young colonies would have to be fed some, 

 and we would have to give them full sheets of foundation in 

 brood-frames. One year I increased an out-yard of 40 colo- 

 nies to 130, and secured about 150 pounds of choice white 

 comb honey from each of the old colonies ; but I had to do 

 considerable feeding to get all the young colonies in good con- 

 dition for winter. 



Now I will tell something that is very simple, and perhaps 

 many have found it out for themselves, but I handled bees 

 quite awhile before I thought of it. Such of you as have not 

 known it, will, if you try it, find it will save you a good deal 

 of hard work. It is this : 



If you wish to know if a colony is preparing to swarm by 

 buildiug queen-cells, or if you wish to cut out cells from a 

 colony that has swarmed, instead of taking out each frame, 

 set the hive up on end, and kneel down in front of it. Most 

 of the cells are on the bottom of the combs. You can drive 

 the bees back with a very little smoke, and easily see two- 

 thirds of the way up between the combs. It is very seldom 

 that a queen-cell is further up than this. If one is, you can 

 see it by looking down from the top. If you wish to cut them 

 out, you can do it in this way with less than one-fourth the 

 the work and time when taking out each frame ; and, also 

 make a sure job of it, for in handling the frames the bees, 

 unless we brush or shake them ofiE, are in our way, especially 

 on the bottoms of the combs where most of the cells are. This 

 plan also disturbs the bees less. Any one with a little prac- 

 tice can, in a hive with frames not deeper than the standard, 

 and having a narrow bottom-bar, tell for a certainty whether 

 there is a queen-cell or not, without removing a frame. This 

 cannot be done with loose frames, unless they are held by 

 spacing strips. Southern Minnesota. 



Chaff Hives and Out-Door Wintering. 



Tir J. p. SMITH. 



But a few years ago I used none but single-walled hives. 

 At length I procured two or three chaff hives. They proved 

 so satisfactory that I increased their number from time to 

 time, so that at the present time I have a majority of them, 

 or which is the same thing, an outer case over a single-walled 

 hive. 



My outer cases are cut away in front, making a sort of 

 portico, so that the bees alight just as near their combs as 

 they do in single-walled hives, so they have no extra crawling 

 to do. I have observed very carefully in regard to their work. 

 I have been unable to see any difference in regard to their 

 work, either in swarming or collecting honey. But I do find 

 a difference in my work in caring for them. 



I winter my bees on the summer stands. I let the outside 

 case remain on summer and winter. I do not remove the 

 chaff unless it becomes damp. In the fall, when preparing 

 for winter, when I come to a chaff hive all I have to do is to 

 pass right along by it, marking in my memorandum, " Packed 

 for winter." When I come to a single-walled hive, I have to 

 hunt up an outer-case, adjust it, procure the packing and 

 pack it. Under this management my bees are protected 

 through the cold, changeable weather of spring and fall. 



For the last three years I have wintered without loss, ex- 

 cept one or two colonies that became queenless. Neither have 

 my bees suffered from spring dwindling. I have just now (my 

 fourth experimental year) been examining my bees. I take 

 out every frame, so that I know just the condition of each 

 colony. In my examinations I assist them in "house-clean- 

 ing," in every way possible. 



In preparing my bees last fall for winter, I made sure 

 that every colony had 30 pounds of stores and plenty of bees. 

 In case my colony had short of 30 pounds, I made up the 

 deficiency by feeding sugar syrup (not percolated). Prepared 

 in this way, and packed as above, I have again wintered my 

 bees without loss. I prepared 26 colonies, and have at this 

 date 26 colonies, all good and strong. Isn't this a pretty 

 good record for latitude 433^'3, on the bleak hills of New 

 Hampshire ? Sunapee, N. H., April 22. 



Ten wcek§ for ten cents. Sec page 316. 



