250 



AMERICAN BEK JOURNAL. 



Topics of Interest. 



Do Soie TMiiling for Yonrself. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



"How can I best manage my bees so 

 as to secure the most honey, in a locality 

 where the bees are prone to swarm right 

 in the height of the honey harvest, the 

 harvest being from white clover, and 

 lasting from 6 to 9 weeks ?" is some- 

 thing a correspondent wishes to know. 



In reply, I would say that there can 

 be no set rule given to work by, with 

 bees in any locality, inasmuch as sea- 

 sons vary from year to year. Again, 

 what would apply to me during seasons 

 very nearly alike, would not apply to 

 another in a different locality, for his 

 seasons could not possibly be like mine. 

 Then, again, the condition of the . bees 

 during different seasons has very much 

 to do with how they should be managed. 



As a rule, I prefer to hive all swarms 

 on the old stand, removing the old colony 

 to a new stand, thereby throwing all of 

 the working force into the new hive on 

 the old stand, removing the surplus de- 

 partment from the old hive to the new. 



This, in most years, works well, and 

 is very near the plan advised by Messrs. 

 Heddon, Hutchinson, and many others. 

 All the difference there is, lies in the 

 fact that the two gentlemen above named 

 leave the old hive near the new one for 

 about six days, when the old hive is car- 

 ried to a new stand, thus throwing all 

 of the flying bees from the old hive in 

 with the new swarm, at the time the old 

 hive is removed. This gives added 

 strength to the new swarm, but all of 

 this added strength is in the shape of 

 bees old enough to go to the fields, so 

 that none of them are what would really 

 be termed young bees. 



Instead of getting this added force of 

 field bees, I do it on the start by shaking 

 all of the bees from about one-half 

 of the combs remaining in the old hive 

 after the swarm has issued, thus giving 

 the new swarm bees of all ages, down to 

 those which have just hatched from the 

 cells, so weak and downy that they can 

 hardly crawl into the hive. 



To those that fully understand the 

 laws governing bees, it will become ap- 

 parent, that on the morning of the six- 

 teenth day, there will still be bees with 

 the swarm that have never yet gone to 

 the field to labor, so that the bees origi- 

 nally hived in the new hive will hold out 



much longer than they would by adopt- 

 ing the other plan of moving the old hive 

 on the six or seventh day. 



Either one of the plans are more favor- 

 able toward a good yield of nice comb- 

 honey, than is the old plan of hiving the 

 swarm on a separate stand and leaving 

 the partly-filled boxes on the old hive. 

 But there are times and seasons, when 

 from cold and nnpropitious weather, 

 coming from 4 to 6 weeks previous to 

 the honey harvest, few if any bees will 

 be hatching at the time of swarming, for 

 it frequently happens that cold and wet 

 weather during fruit-bloom keeps the 

 bees at home, so that no new honey is 

 gathered, and after this bloom there is no 

 honey to be had, for there are no flowers 

 to bloom soon after the fruit blossoms 

 are gone ; hence, the queen is not fed by 

 the workers sufificiently to keep her lay- 

 ing as she should, and for this reason 

 there will be but very little brood in the 

 hives just when there should be the most. 

 This can be obviated to a large extent 

 by feeding, but if the weather is very 

 un2y)'opitio\is, 1 find that the bees cannot 

 be coaxed to rear brood of any account, 

 do what we will. 



Well, supposing that we have not suc- 

 seeded in getting the brood that we need 

 during the time there should be the 

 most, and that the swarming and honey 

 season arrives just when there are very 

 few if any young bees hatching, what 

 are we to do then ? 



Any one having just a little sense 

 would know that the plans as given 

 above would not be of the most value at 

 such times, for were they used, neither 

 the old nor new swarm could do anything 

 to advantage. The thing to be done 

 under such circumstances, is to either 

 keep the bees together in their old hives, 

 or else hive two or more swarms together 

 in a new hive on a separate stand (from 

 which we should obtain our surplus 

 honey), allowing the old hives to remain 

 on their old stands, in order to retain 

 sufficient bees with the young brood to 

 hold it until the second lot, as it were, 

 hatched out. 



If the colonies can be kept from 

 swarming (or the brood raised above the 

 sections while the swarm is out, giving 

 the swarm a new hive under the sections 

 with a queen-excluder between the two, 

 as I advised some two or thfree years 

 ago), then the bees can be kept all to- 

 gether, and considerable of a crop of 

 honey obtained, even under the most 

 unfavorable circumstances. If you do 

 not chose to do this, then hive two or 

 more swarms together, and you will not 

 be far out of the way. Not as much 



