AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



427 



they secreted wax faster and capped 

 whiter, using more wax in capping the 

 honey. 



Another member stated that the black 

 bee either raised the capping, or did not 

 fil) the cells so full as did the Italians, 

 thus giving the capping a whiter ap- 

 pearance. 



A member stated that Italians made 

 as white wax as did the black bees. 



" Bees and the Farm," an essay by 

 W. M. Bomberger was called for, but 

 that gentleman not being present, it 

 was laid over for the next day's meeting. 



" Is Bee-Keeping a Suitable Occupa- 

 tion for Women," an essay by Miss O. 

 F. Jackson, was next on the programme, 

 but the lady not being present, and 

 subject not presented, it was stricken 

 out. 



Adjourned to meet next morning. 



WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1891. 



Meeting called to order at 9:30 a.m., 

 by the President. 



Treasurer's report was received, stat- 

 ing that all expenses were paid, and that 

 $12.55 remained in the treasury. 



Next in order was the following essay 

 by C. P. Dadant, but Mr. Dadant not 

 being present, the essay was read by the 

 President: 



Prevention of Swarming. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Oentlemen : 



The subject of " Prevention of Swarm- 

 ing," is one of those which have tried 

 the patience of bee-keepers for many 

 years. The prevention of swarming in 

 any case would be a very desirable 

 attainment, but up to this date it has 

 been found impossible to achieve any- 

 thing towards this purpose when using 

 small sized hives, especially when the 

 production of comb-honey is desired. 



There is, however, a method by which 

 the production of natural swarms is 

 almost entirely stopped, but in order to 

 explain this method in an intelligible 

 manner, it is necessary to state the main 

 causes of natural swarming. 



Swarming is a natural impulse which 

 causes the l)ees of an overcrowded hive 

 to separate and emigrate from their 

 home, exactly as the first children of a 

 large family leave home to seek their 

 fortunes elsewhere. In a state of 

 nature, a certain amount of swarming 

 is necessary to make up for the colonies 

 that become extinct by starvation, cold, 

 accidents, or other causes. In domesti- 

 cation, with the modern inventions, 

 artificial swarming, or the dividina: of 



colonies, proves much more economical 

 and safe. There is, therefore, no reason 

 why the propensity of the bees to swarm 

 should not be checked whenever desired. 

 An experimental practice of some 25 

 years on this subject, enables us to state 

 that swarming may be prevented alto- 

 gether with the following precautions : 



1. The hive must be large enough to 

 accommodate the most prolific queen. 

 We may give our bees any amount of 

 surplus room, but if the brood-chamber 

 is so small, that a good queen will be 

 compelled to drop her eggs when 

 mature, for want of cells to lay them in, 

 the bees will at once understand that 

 their hive is no longer adequate to their 

 wants. The size of the brood-chamber 

 is thus of the utmost importance, es- 

 pecially if the bee-keeper is using queen- 

 excluders, which will compel the queen 

 to remain in a certain apartment. 



2. The upper stories, as well as the 

 brood-chamber, must be large enough to 

 accommodate the largest population, 

 and they must also be easy of access, 

 so that the bees may ventilate every 

 part of them. Many bee-keepers do not 

 realize the fact that it is at the expense 

 of a great amount of exertion that the 

 bees succeed in keeping the tempera- 

 ture down to blood-heat during the hot 

 days of Summer. It is not to be won- 

 dered at, if bees desert their hives rather 

 than carry honey up into a super which 

 is connected with their main apartment 

 by only a very small aperture, through 

 which it is well-nigh impossible to send 

 any fresh air, in spite of the indefatiga- 

 ble energy of the fanning workers, who 

 take upon themselves the task of send- 

 ing a current through the whole hive, 

 and who keep at work night and day, 

 for this purpose. 



Another requisite for success in the 

 prevention of natural swarming, is to 

 have the supers on the hive in time, a 

 little ahead of the crop ; but if the bees 

 find themselves crowded, were it but for 

 a few hours, they will at once make 

 preparations for swarming, and after 

 they have contracted what is called the 

 swarming fever, no amount of coaxing 

 can appease them, and they will swarm, 

 in spite of all the room that may be 

 given them. 



Again, to succeed in preventing nat- 

 ural swarming, it is necessary to remove 

 the drone-comb in early Spring (or at 

 least the excess of it), and replace it by 

 worker-comb. A great number of those 

 big, burly, noisy fellows is sure to annoy 

 the bees enough to induce them to leave 

 their home for more pleasant quarters, 

 and in most cases where the first swarm 



