44 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



new hive. A few of the older bees will work 

 back into the parent hive, but the bulk of 

 the swarm will remain with the queeu. If 

 empty frames have been inserted they will 

 start at once to Ijuild comb and set up house- 



arrangement over that of placing the new 

 hive in front is that only one bottom board 

 is required and there is less difficulty in ad- 

 justing the hives so that they will be perfect- 



THE PRATT SELF - HIVEK. 



keeping in the new hive. If left in this posi- 

 tion eight or ten days, a large number of 

 young bees that have hatched from the pa- 

 rent colony will work out into the new hive. 

 If the supers were shifted on the new hive, 

 a considerable quantity of honey would be 

 carried there. The bee-keeper now has the 

 option of increase or not, for there are thir- 

 teen days before more swarming, which 

 gives him a chance to manipulate the old 

 colony as he sees fit. Tf he desires increase 

 he can set the new swarm back on the old 

 stand and place the old colony on a new 

 stand, after shaking the bees off one or two 

 combs to give the swarm suflicient strength 

 to store box honey. If he does not desire in- 

 crease it will do no harm to allow the hives 

 to stand as they are a few days, when he can 

 either cut out all the cells or place the old 

 hive on top of the new one, with a bee-escape 

 or zinc honey-board between, or leave them 

 until a day or two before the young queens 

 hatch, when he can shake ofif all the bees and 

 place the extra combs around on other 

 hives." 



It might be well to add thj^t Mr. Alley now 

 places }iis hiver in front of the old hive. 



Last season, Mr. Pratt, somewhat at the 

 suggestion of Mr. E. R. Root, placed the new 

 hive mider the old one. Between the two 

 hives is placed a thin board, having a rim 

 around the edges to give it a " bee-space." 

 This board is perforated with two or three 

 holes in its center. ( )u its under side and com- 

 municating with the openings, is a triangular, 

 zinc, bee-escape. This is so arranged that 

 the bees can pass up and down very readily, 

 but the queen can pass only one way — down- 

 ward. ^Yhen at work, the bees pass through 

 this hive just the same as they do throu . h a 

 hive when it is placed in front of the old col- 

 ony. It has been advised that one or two 

 combs be placed in the lower hive to furnish 

 the bees with a sort of ladder upon which to 

 ascend and descend. The advantage of this 



ly bee-tight. \Vhen the bees swarm they 

 pass down through the new hive, the queen 

 going with them, she finding her way through 

 the apex of the triangular bee-escape that is 

 made of perforated zinc. She is unable to 

 find the entrance to return, remains in the 

 lower hive, the bees return and find her, re- 

 main in the lower hive and begin their labors 

 there. It will be seen that, wonderful as it 

 may seem, the bees — the whole swarm — hive 

 themselves. But they require some attention 

 afterwards. The whole arrangement of the 

 hives and supers is not what it would be if 

 the bee-keeper had been at hand when the 



SKLF-HIVEB WITH NEW HIVE UNDEK OLD. 



swarm issued. But this much is accom- 

 plished, the apiary can be left alone not only 

 during the middle of the day, but it can be 

 left alone several days. One great item in 



