600 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. 19. 



time. Of course, she flios more than the five rods, for she 

 circles about and hovers in the air, but I suspect it is iual<ing 

 full allowance to say that the average undipped queen does 

 not fly after she commences to lay, more than one-tenth as 

 much as she does before commencing to lay. 



If clipping queens' wings has any effect in reducing the 

 power of flight in her progeny, it is important we should 

 know it, but as yet I see little proof. Marengo, 111. 



A Different Management of Bees Needed. 



BY JAMES CORMAC. 



Now that the season has passed — the period when the 

 hoped-for surplus is secured — we are left to reflect what might 

 have been had a different procedure obtained with regard to 

 our manipulations during the season of section honey expecta- 

 tions, for, the language of one eminent author, "Expecta- 

 tion now stands on stilts," is as expressive of the feelings of 

 the average apiarist during the advance of summer, as upon 

 the occasion to which the quotation applied. 



In reviewing our efforts to secure a surplus of section 

 honey, when we were warned of the probable failure of clover 

 to produce much nectar, and to those favorably situated to 

 avail themselves of the basswood yield, can you charge your- 

 selves with any fault wherein you have not secured the almost 

 entire quantity obtained by your bees, and had it deposited in 

 the sections 7 



It is well for one to take a retrospective view of his efforts 

 to accomplish any given object he has had in view, more es- 

 pecially when a failure has occurred than when he feels him- 

 self amply rewarded, as failure is more apt to stimulate one 

 to study cause and effect, especially when one knows he is not 

 master of all the environments. 



Experts, or those of large experience in apiculture, have 

 given directions as to the course of procedure to obtain the 

 best results, and all interested have given them credit for the 

 great progress having been made in recent years by all those 

 following their prescribed methods, yet those methods are 

 various. Some contend that success depends upon a certain 

 form and size of hive, to insure the best results ; others claim 

 that the hive does not in itself warrant their conclusions, but 

 a certain course of management of the colony, or the swarm, 

 must obtain if much surplus is to be expected ; and in ac- 

 cordance with the instructions, most apiarists have concluded 

 to adopt the practice set forth by these brighter lights of the 

 apicultural fraternity. My reading of the general custom 

 now practiced in case of a swarm is to hive it in a hive to oc- 

 cupy the place of the colony from which it came, removing at 

 once, or in a short time, the mother colony to a different 

 stand, thus securing all the field-bees with the swarm, and 

 strengthening the working force to the utmost. Thus, after 

 careful management during the early part of the season to in- 

 crease the strength or number of bees, if a swarm comes out 

 it may be as strong as to the number of bees as can possibly 

 be brought about, and different methods are practiced to ac- 

 complish this, all of which are familiar to those who read our 

 excellent journals, and one procedure or the other is doubtless 

 practiced. 



But, at the same time, all admit that if swarming could be 

 prevented entirely, much more honey could be obtained from 

 a given number of colonies, and much has been written, and 

 many have reasoned themselves to conclude that we can effect 

 a non-swarming condition. Should each live to the age as- 

 cribed to Methuselah, perhaps somewhat of this coudition 

 might be brought about; but as our object is for more imme- 

 diate returns, and swarming has been practiced by bees from 

 Methuselah up to date, it seems a considerable undertaking, 

 considering the average length of life in the present age. 



Swarming seems to be a stimulative incident in the life 

 and habits of the bees, and ought to be encouraged. Clipping 

 the queen's wings gives one control over the swarm to such an 

 extent that perfect — yes, perfect — control of the swarm is ob- 

 tained. If so, why should one deprecate swarming whilst we 

 have it in our power to continue the normal condition of the 

 colony instead of taking the non-usual practice of placing it 

 in an abnormal condition ? 



Some claim that we sacrifice from 10 to 20 pounds of 

 honey to every pound of comb constructed by the bees. If 

 such be the case, why waste your expected surplus in such a 

 course of procedure, as to cause you that great loss ? For if 

 your sections were built full of comb, a great part of this loss 

 would be obviated. I do not attempt to claim that sections 

 can be built full to receive the honey as gathered, because 

 some bees gather and store almost from the base, as building 

 goes forward. In a flow of nectar like that obtained from 



linden or basswood, being of short duration, the efforts of the 

 bees must be conserved to the greatest possible extent, and 

 the present methods do not seem well calculated to insure this 

 saving of waste, which is forced upon the colony by our pres- 

 ent methods of management of swarms. Therefore, this idea 

 of educating the bees, or changing a vital law of their being, 

 has forced itself upon the thoughts of many. Experimenta- 

 tion upon various matters, to the more successful management 

 to accomplish a saving in honey-production, is now, and has 

 been, a careful study of late years. The fact of a constant 

 decline in the amount to be obtained, because of various 

 causes not within the control of the apiarist, ought to inspire 

 earnest thought, whether it is possible to continue year after 

 year depending upon the sugar-barrel to support a large api- 

 ary, when a change in management promises to advert such a 

 course of procedure. 



Many of us are so situated that we can alleviate this con- 

 dition, to a considerable extent, without much loss. Those 

 having fields of their own can take advantage of adverse con- 

 ditions by seeding ground to honey-producing plants, which 

 will produce crops of forage and hay nearly equal in value to 

 those now produced, and the added honey obtained from 

 them by the bees will often more than balance any loss other- 

 wise. That a course of manipulation can be practiced I be- 

 lieve can be fully and successfully argued in a common-sense 

 light. From my view, the consideration of this matter should 

 receive the fullest discussion, as it seems to be the one ques- 

 tion pertinent. Des Moines, Iowa. 



Crimson Clover for Forage and Honey. 



BY L. STAPLES. 



Crimson clover is an annual, and should be sown in Au- 

 gust, September and October. It germinates very quickly, 

 grows very rapidly through the fall and winter, and blossoms 

 about May 1 in this latitude. This clover can be sown after 



Crimson Clover — Roots and Blossoms. 



other crops have been removed from the ground, and this way 

 it will be of inestimable value in holding valuable nitrates in 

 the soil that are otherwise washed out of the bare ground. It 

 furnishes fall, winter, and early spring pasture, and enriches 

 and stores up plant food for the next crop. 



A field of crimson clover in bloom is strikingly beautiful ; 

 its marvelous beauty surpasses anything ever seen in a field 

 crop. It is good for hay, will yield from two to three tons per 

 acre, and from six to ten bushels of seed. About eight bushels 

 of seed is an average yield. The plant seems to flourish 

 and do well in all soils, in a heavy clay as well as a light 

 sand. 



Crimson clover makes good bee-pasture, and as a honey- 

 plant it is not excelled. Every bee-keeper will sow a field of 

 crimson clover as soon as he understands its value as a honey- 

 plant. The seed being cheap, I predict, when farmers see 



