276 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



August 



three-fourths of an inch by putting a 

 block under each corner. But no 

 amount of ventilation under the hive 

 will suffice, we must have ventilation 

 above as well. Let the first super be 

 slid forward so as to leave at the 

 back end a crack of one-fourth to 

 one-half an inch. Then if the supers 

 be extracting-supers — and it is better 

 they should be — let the second super 

 be slid back upon the first, so as to 

 make a ventilating space in front; the 

 remaining supers being slid alternate- 

 ly back and forth, so as to "stagger" 

 the pile, as it is called. For years we 

 have had one or more piles thus stag- 

 gered each year, no excluder being 

 used, the queen generally occupying 

 more or less of two stories, and in no 

 case has a swarm issued. 



Of late years it is coming to be 

 considered that there is less swarm- 

 ing if the frames are spaced V/ 2 

 inches from center to center than 

 where the usual U/z spacing is used. 

 The Dadants use that spacing, and it 

 is thought that it may be an import- 

 ant factor in their being so remark- 

 ably free from swarming. 

 It is doubtful, however, that any 

 advice can be more important than 

 the advice to use the Demaree plan 

 to prevent swarming. In a nutshell, 

 the plan is to have one frame of 

 brood with the queen in the lower 

 story under an excluder, and the rest 

 of the brood above the excluder. The 

 lower story may be filled out with 

 frames filled with foundation, or bet- 

 ter still, with fully drawn combs. At 

 the time the brood is put up, all 

 queen-cells found on the combs 

 should be killed, and in eight days all 

 cells above the excluder should be 

 killed, if any are started there. 



Enough supers of extracting-combs 

 may be put on at the start to make 

 sure there shall be room enough for 

 all the white-clover harvest, and this 

 should be taken off and extracted as 

 soon as there is any danger that the 

 darker fall honey might be mixed 

 with it. 



In an exceptionally fine article by 

 Miss Iona Fowls, in June Gleanings 

 she tells just what the practice has 



been in the Fowls apiary for the past 

 ars. giving the following dia- 

 gram, which makes the matter very 

 clear : 



This she gives as the best plan for 

 outapiaries, but there is no reason 

 why it may not be used equally well 

 in a home apiary. It has had a five- 

 years' trial in the Fowls management. 

 Miss Fowls says in explanation : 



"This plan is: As soon as danger 

 of swarming arises, every seven or 

 eight days carefully examine the 

 colonies, keep them always supplied 

 with plenty of room, and destroying 

 whatever queen-cells are found, pro- 

 viding they contain only eggs or 

 young larvse. When more advanced 

 cells are found, place on the old 

 stand a hive of drawn combs, one of 

 which contains the queen, a few bees, 

 and a few young larva;. (If no combs 

 are available, most of the frames may 

 contain foundation; but there should 

 always be at least three drawn 

 combs, and a whole set, if possible). 

 Above this place the queen-excluder; 

 then two or three empty supers; and 

 at the very top the hive of brood, 



tearing down only the capped queen- 

 cells. At the end of seven or eight 

 days, if no increase is desired, tear 

 down all queen-cells again. It in- 

 crease is wanted, simply place the 

 upper story on a new stand and leave 

 their to raise their own queen, or in- 

 troduce a good queen or choice cell 

 in a protector. It is not even neces- 

 sary to remove any queen-cells ; for 

 when the new queen hatches, either 

 she or the bees will attend to that. If 

 one desires no increase, then the 

 queen-cells may be destroyed and the 

 brood distributed to other colonies or 

 left to increase the original colony. 

 That is the entire plan, and it has for 

 years been used by many of the best 

 beekeepers." 



It may not be advisable in all cases 

 to give as much super-room as the 

 Fowls give ; indeed, in some cases all 

 that may be necessary is to have 

 only the one-story of brood above 

 the excluder, for that will allow for a 

 harvest of one story of extracting- 

 combs. In case, however, that in- 

 crease is desired, and it is desired 

 that cells may be started above the 

 excluder, the higher the story of 

 brood is raised above the queen, the 

 more sure the bees will be to start 

 queen-cells. 



Denmark beekeepers in attendance at a short course in the apiary of Anna Sommer 



Denmark Beekeeping 



In spite of the slow postage— It 

 now takes two months — I have re- 

 ceived every number of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal sent except the 

 February one, which went down with 

 the steamer. 



I will send you a picture of my 

 place and bees.it was taken last year 

 during a bee course. The course 

 lasted four days and was attended by 

 26. The man holding the frame is 

 the teacher, beside him is an open 

 hive (we usually have the roof 

 hinged on; it is held in place 

 by a roof-holder, so it does not 

 tip over.) Behind the next hive you 

 find me. I am holding a queen-ex- 

 cluder, of the kind we use between 

 the frames. Our hives are long, hold- 

 ing 18 frames; when the time comes, 

 the excluder is put down between the 

 10th and 11th frames and those be- 

 hind it are used to store honey in. 

 My experience is that the bees pre- 

 fer to carry the honey up rather than 

 behind; but it gives plenty of room. 

 Last year's honey harvest was quite 

 fair, in spite of everything drying 

 out, as no rain fell from May to Aug- 

 ust. 



I enjoyed to read, in the November 

 issue of the Journal, about those 

 three succesful women beekeepers. I 

 am sure I am the only one on our 

 island keeping bees for a living, and 

 I don't know of any other in Den- 

 mark, either. 



It may surprise you that I can 

 make a living on 1,000 pounds sur- 

 plus; but the prices of honey have 

 just doubled. The price in the fall 

 of 1914 was 20 to 22 cents; in the fall 

 of 1917 it was 40 to 44 cents. All my 

 honey was sold on the local market, 

 and had I had 1,000 pounds more it 

 would have been sold right here on 

 the island. No honey is used for 

 cooking— it is too dear;— it is used 



