T-mm mimmmicRm mMW jo'^mnmi^. 



427 



and it is not lu'oljlcmatical, luit real, 

 and not a particle of theory about it. 



As soon as there are frames that 

 really need reversing, the bees will at 

 oiiee empty the eonibs of all unsealed 

 honey and convey it to the sections, 

 tlius givinj; the ijuecn more room. At 

 the seeonil reversing, uncap all the 

 honey in the brood-frames ; that also 

 will be conveyed to the sections. 



I know there are many who have 

 condemned reversible comb-frames, 

 because. 1 think, they do not under- 

 stand how to use them.' Could they 

 have seen my brood-combs after the 

 third reversal, with no honey in them, 

 (there were 8 frames of brood in each 

 hive, but the Hi frames of comli built 

 full from end to end, and from top to 

 bottom — one .solid mass of brood), 

 they would have seen that there was 

 no falsity about it. They would have 

 "reversed " tlieir opinion, the same as 

 several old bee-keepers have done, who 

 have examined my bees. They were 

 amazed, astonished, and delighted ! 



By reversing the brood-frames, my 

 bees put the honey where 1 want it. 

 I get tlie brood-frames full of brood 

 without being obliged to cut combs 

 7-16 of an ini-h thick ; the bees do the 

 cutting of eoml) better than I could 

 possiblj- do it. I do not have to space 

 the frames just bee-space apart. All 

 of my frames are IJ inches wide, and 

 space themselves. 



In practice I find that it is an advan- 

 tage, as well as natural and economi- 

 cal, to be able to control the bees so 

 as to have tliem put the honej' where 

 I can sell it. The time it takes is a 

 small item for the bees. 



If the brood-combs contain any un- 

 sealed honey, reverse them late in the 

 day, and the next morning you will 

 find that honey in the sections, and 

 the queen in possession of the empty 

 cells. It seems to give new life, and 

 more energy to the whole colony. The 

 brood-nest is in better shape, the col- 

 ony is stronger in bees, and there are 

 more tield-workers, which means more 

 honey I It gets them in splendid con- 

 dition to withstand any inclement 

 weather, and just so long as there is 

 sufticient room all around the brood- 

 nest (except at the bottom), the bees 

 will not crowd the queen by clogging 

 the brood-combs with honey. I rarelj' 

 reverse the outside comb that contains 

 honey, as that comb is reversed for 

 winter use. Neither do I.reverse those 

 combs with hatching bees, but only 

 those combs that contain freshly laid 

 eggs, or those with queen-cells, to 

 prevent swarming. 



Had I left the Circassian bees on 

 suspended frames, in accordance to 

 nature's laws, as a native writer ex- 

 presses it, 1 should or would have de- 

 stroyed them as being of no value. To 



test them, I g'a\ e them extra woi'k to 

 do, and they performed it splendidly ; 

 it was just fiui for them to re-convey 

 the honey into the sections. 



I care nothing for the natural laws 

 of the hees, so long as I give them just 

 room enough for them to store the 

 himey. I do ea.re to study the natural 

 laws of my i[Ueen,s. and see that they 

 have proper accommodatrons to dis- 

 play natural laws. She is the one I 

 look after, not the bees — the bees will 

 always do their duty, but the queen 

 will not always do hers. 



When you neglect to reverse the 

 brood-combs, swarming is the result. 

 To have the fiehl workers broken up 

 in small squads is liad, for from them 

 vou can get nothing but small returns. 

 i want from 100,000 to 150,000 field 

 workers in each hive at the height of 

 the honey-flow. 



The reversible frame is too good a 

 thing for me to abandon, no matter 

 what others maj' say against it. They 

 have come to stay in my apiarj-. If 

 they are objectionable to others, it is 

 simpl}- owing to their letting prejudice 

 run away with their good judgment. 

 Why, I have departed from the an- 

 cient practice of nature's laws in ma- 

 nipulating bees ! Prof. Drummond re- 

 marks thus : 



"The laws of nature are simply 

 statements of the orderly conditions of 

 things in nature — what is found in na- 

 ture, by a sufficient number of com- 

 petent observers. What these laws are 

 in themselves, is not agreed. That 

 they have any absolute existence, even, 

 is far from certain. They are relative 

 to man in his many limitations, and 

 represent for him the con.stant expres- 

 sion of what he may always expect to 

 see in the world around him. But 

 that thej- have any casual connection 

 with things around him is not con- 

 ceived. The natiu-al laws originate 

 nothing, sustain nothing. Thej- are 

 merely responsible for uniformity in 

 sustaining what has been originated, 

 and what is being sustained. There 

 are modes of operation, therefore, not 

 operators ; processes, not powers." 



For one thing, we do not demand of 

 nature, directly, to prove bee-keeping. 

 That was never its function. Its func- 

 tion is to interpret, and this, after all, 

 is possibly the most faithful proof. The 

 best proof of a thing is that we see it. 

 If we do not see it, perhaps proof will 

 not convince us of it. 



The Circassian bees on suspended or 

 hanging frames are worthless ; on re- 

 versible combs, with proper manage- 

 ment, they are wonderfully successful. 

 Had I transferred them the first thing, 

 I know they would have outstripped 

 any other bees in my yard ; as it was, 

 they did not show what they coidd do 

 until the drought began — from July 6 



to Aug. 10. The Italian bees lost, and 

 could not make a living; the Circas- 

 sians gained, l)oth in brood and honey, 

 clear up to the close of the season on 

 Nov. 2. 



In recapitulation, I must say that I 

 now like the Circassian bees. The re- 

 versible frame-combs is what did it. 

 The bees prove to be very hardy, great 

 workers, lieing out in rain or sun- 

 shine, when other bees are quiet. They 

 are out in the morning very earlj-, lly 

 later at night, and gather honey when 

 other bees do not. The queens are 

 very 2)rolific. They are the most gen- 

 tle bees to handle without smoke. 

 Smoke will raaki; them as mean as can 

 be, and if abused they will sting fear- 

 fully. 



They build straight combs, and not 

 thick ones. I see no honey-bulged 

 combs, but all being so even and clean 

 looking. I worked the two old queens 

 all summer on 8 frames each, and 

 there was not one pound of honey in 

 the whole lot, but the comb was com- 

 pletely filled with brood. I think they 

 are magnificent bees, and a verj' val- 

 uable race for crossing with other 

 races. 



The one and only objectionable fea- 

 ture that I see to the Circassian bee, is 

 the tendency to build brace-combs. 

 They draw out the comb from the sec- 

 tions, and attach it to the separators, 

 which, when taking ofi' the sections, de- 

 faces the most beautiful cappings that 

 I ever have seen. I am now sorry that 

 I did not test them without separators ; 

 but this season I expect to give them a ^ 

 fair trial. 



Their propensity to swarm is not 

 desirable, as they oast such small 

 swarms ; but by reversing the comics 

 as needed, and at the proper time, will 

 break up their desire to swarm. 



Collamer, N. Y. 



INCREASE. 



The Prevention of Inerease by 

 the Removal of Quecnsi. 



Written for the American ApicuUurist 



BY r. H. ELWOOD. 



He who allows his bees to increase 

 by natural swarming at their own good 

 pleasure, may be called a bee-keeper ; 

 but it is only he who has learned to 

 control increase, making it much, or 

 little, or none at all, as circumstances 

 may direct, that has earned the title 

 of bee-master. 



It is often well to know how to run 

 a yard of bees without making any in- 

 crease. When the bee-keeper has 

 already more colonies than he can 

 manage, it would seem foolish to make 

 more, unless he has a good market for 



