AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



211 



Both were run for extracted-honey, 

 and on July 18 the honey was extracted 

 from the upper story of each. The 

 iimount obtained from No. 4 was 35 

 pounds, and from No. 14, 15 pounds. 

 There remained in the lower story of the 

 hitter 8 or 4 pounds more than in No. 4. 

 As the building of queen-cells in No. 

 4 soon caused us to remove the queen for 

 a time and changed the conditions, the 

 colonies could no longer be compared, 

 and this ended the experiment. * * * 



Before such an application of artificial 

 heat can be generally recommended 

 further work should be done, with the 

 conditions more favorable for accurate 

 comparison, and on a more extensive 

 scale. In this case, apparently just 

 enough heat was given, and in such a 

 way as to increase the rearing of brood 

 without causing an abnormal condition 

 of the colony, a much larger amount of 

 surplus honey being thus secured. — 

 Experiment Station Record. 



Canse of Short CroB 111 CeiitralMissonri, 



G. P. NORTON. 



The question is asked me almost every 

 day, "Why is it that the bees are not 

 gathering honey ?" To understand and 

 answer this question correctly we must 

 go back and review the season and its 

 circuihstances. 



Bees in the hands of practical men 

 wintered well, bred rapidly in the Spring, 

 and the hives were overflowing with bees 

 at swarming time. So far, so good; but 

 they have no surplus yet, nor did we 

 expect any up to this time — we wanted 

 bees, and we have them. 



Some early swarms had issued by June 

 1, but at that date a season of rain 

 began which lasted, without abatement, 

 almost, for three or four weeks. This 

 long season of unfavorable weather 

 retarded swarming, demoralized the 

 bees, and destroyed many young queens, 

 that took advantage of the first glimpse 

 of sunshine to meet and mate with 

 drones. 



The swarms that issued exhausted 

 their energies in filling the new hives 

 with combs, under such unfavorable cir- 

 circumstances that, by the time the 

 weather cleared up, and the honey-flow 

 came, the new colonies were too w^eak in 

 numbers to store surplus, and before the 

 young bees were old enough to gather 

 honey the honey-flow had ceased. Hence, 

 our failure to obtain a good crop of 

 < omb-honev. 



The old colonies that were provided 

 with queens, and doubled and non- 

 swarming colonies run for extracted- 

 honey have done fairly well, considering; 

 the season. 



We may secure something from the 

 Fall honey-flow, but three years' experi- 

 ence will bear me out in regarding Fall 

 promises with suspicion and distrust. 



CLOSED-ENDS, OU SEI.F-SPACING FRAMES. 



On page 145 of the Bee Journal, 

 Mr. W. P. Faylor wrote very discour- 

 agingly about closed-end frames. If hr- 

 had the self-spacing frames, like I am 

 using, and would follow the direction. - 

 for their use, he would find that all th^ 

 objections which \v- mentions have been 

 removed. 



By using 9 or 10-frame hives, with a 

 division-board made like a regular fram." 

 (except that the self-spacing part is cut 

 off of one side of the frame of the boards 

 when you put in the division-board a> 

 the last frame, there is a half-inch play, 

 to allow it to slip easily into place. 



Those who prefer the 8-frame hive^ 

 can use them, but I will take the 9-framt^ 

 hive every time, and use a division-boaru 

 to assist in opening and closing the hiv*-. 



Prairie Home, Mo. 



DescriDtlon of My NewSwam-Catclier, 



BAENETT TAYLOR. 



In answering your request for a df- 

 scription of my method of using my 

 swarm-catcher, I will state the causi' 

 that inducedi me to experiment with 

 them : I have for some years beer: 

 handling about 200 colonies in onr 

 apiary, and I had so much trouble in 

 getting the swarms hived, that swarm- 

 ing time became the terror of the be^ 

 business. In 1888, I commenced atria! 

 of Alley's queen-traps, but they only 

 added to my difiiculties ; I could catcii 

 |;he queens, but from two to ten swarms 

 would come out at a time, all light in one 

 mass, and then return to other hives 

 than the right ones. I saw that nothing 

 but catching the v.hole swarm would 

 prevent this, and commenced to experi- 

 ment in that direction. 



My first catchers were made 16 inches 

 square and S}4 feet long, and with thes^^ 

 I could catch the bees, when I could gei 

 them adjusted to the hive tight enougl: 

 to prevent the bees from getting pas: 

 them; but this was difficult to accom- 

 plish, and it took too long. 



The next year I altered their shape 

 and 5ize, with decided improvement, but 



