542 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



the new hive, breaking off all queen- 

 cells, and again reversing the frames. 



I then filled in between these four 

 frames, four other frames (an eight- 

 frame hive is best), filled with founda- 

 tion, put on the honey-board and a new 

 super of sections filled with foundation, 

 and on this super I placed the super 

 from the parent colony (old hive), and 

 covered them up. By this time the 

 swarm was returning, when I released 

 the queen and let her run in with the 

 swarm. I had them swarmed and hived 

 at one operation, with very little labor, 

 and the result was more honey from the 

 swarm than under any previous man- 

 agement. 



The object in putting into the new hive 

 the four frames from the old one was 

 two-fold. First, to get the working bees 

 with the swarm ; and second, to so re- 

 duce the strength of the parent colony 

 that I would not be troubled with after- 

 swarms — swarms issuing with virgin 

 queens, the wings of which I could not 

 clip, as they had never mated. I then 

 carried the old hive to a new location, 

 taking care of the queens as they 

 hatched out, and giving frames as 

 needed, so that the old colony built up 

 strong and in good condition for Winter. 



Last season when my first swarm 

 issued I was away from home. My wife 

 moved the old hive to one side, put a 

 new one in its place, gave the swarm 

 four empty combs, and left them thus 

 until T could return and " fix " them. 



I returned about sunset, and when I 

 opened the hive I found a vast number 

 of the cells on all the combs pretty well 

 filled with the honey that the bees had 

 brought in their sacs from the parent 

 colony. Here was a valuable lesson 

 accidentally learned. "If those bees 

 had been given frames solidly filled with 

 young brood or sealed honey, and only 

 starters in the other frames, so that not 

 one empty cell could have been found in 

 the brood-nest, then they would have 

 been compelled to deposit the honey in 

 their sacs in the sections, and thus the 

 habit of going ' up-stairs ' would have 

 been induced, which would have been 

 kept up until the end of the honey flow." 



This was my reasoning. I then changed 

 my system to suit it. When my next 

 swarm issued, I hived it on the plan 

 given above, except that instead of 

 giving them the outside frames, and 

 frames of foundation, I selected four 

 frames containing eggs or very young 

 brood, or sealed solid with honey, and 

 placed between them four other frames 

 with 3^-inch starters. It would be sev- 

 eral days before any of the brood would 



hatch, and as fast as the bees built comb 

 from the starters the queen was ready 

 to deposit it full of eggs. 



In one hour the bees were working 

 lively in the sections, just as I had cal- 

 culated they would, and kept working in 

 the sections to the end of the season. 

 This plan works to my entire satisfac- 

 tion with the invertible, hanging frame. 

 In using the invertible and divisible hive, 

 with closed-end frames, a slight change 

 in the above plan would have to be 

 made. 



Now, why fuss with "swarming 

 boxes " and other expensive, unneces- 

 sary and annoying implements, and then 

 be mortified at having your surplus crop 

 cut short, and your best queens and most 

 valuable swarms abscond, when an 

 inexpensive and much better plan can 

 be adopted — one that will require much 

 less labor, save the climbing and cutting 

 of valuable trees, the loss of fine queens 

 and swarms of bees, and give more 

 honey f 



Concord, W. Va. 



ADicnltnral Notes from Alaliaiiia, 



EDWAKD CLARK. 



Drones were flying on April 7. 



The apple and peach trees have been 

 in bloom for several days. 



The bees are gathering pollen and 

 honey from maples, which have been in 

 bloom since the early part of March. 



The per&immon tree, which blooms from 

 the latter part of May until late in June, 

 is, I think, a very good honey-producer. 



After the persimmon, the sourwood 

 blooms, and continues in blossom until 

 the middle of July ; and following that 

 the poplar, or tulip, blossoms. 



There are numerous other trees and 

 plants, from which the bees can gather 

 honey and pollen, almost any time 

 through the summer. 



We have very little basswood or clover 

 but sumac and golden-rod are quite 

 plentiful, and there are many other flow- 

 ers that yield honey. 



I would like to ask, of what value is 

 the sourwood as a honey-producer ? 

 Nat, Ala. 



[Of the sourwood, or sorrel tree. Prof. 

 A. J. Cook says : As a honey tree, it is 

 very highly esteemed ; in fact, it is the 

 linden of the South.— Ed.] 



