16 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



bars. This is the time to put on sections 

 with either comb starters or foundation, 

 and the V)ees will make a rush for them, and 

 honey will be stored rapidly. If left in this 

 condition swarming would be the result. We 

 are to watch the super, however, and before 

 it is quite full, raise it up and place another 

 under it, and the bees will continue to till the 

 upper one, and, at the same time, be filling 

 the lower one. When this one is ready to 

 raise up, the upper one will be ready to come 

 ott, and a third placed on the hive with the 

 second raised up, always giving extra room 

 before it is quite needed. If the hive is 

 standing in the sun, a shade board should be 

 placed upon it. Managed in this way 

 throughout the season, swarming is hardly 

 thought of, not one colony in a dozen cast- 

 ing a swarm, as all their energy is bent upon 

 honey gathering, and the working force is 

 being worn out about as fast as the young 

 bees hatch. The queen is kept busy, the 

 brood combs are full of brood, and all the 

 white honey goes into the sections. 



But, should a swarm issue, as it will be 

 sure to do if hot weather with rain continues, 

 we proceed at once to jn-ofit by it by hiving 

 it in such a manner that no time is lost. 

 This we accomplish as follows: As soon as 

 all the bees are in the air we turn the hive 

 clear around so that it faces in the opposite 

 direction from which it did, setting it just off 

 the stand. We now place a new hive on the 

 same stand the old one occupied, and put in 

 five frames, with starters in them, then take 

 three combs of brood and larvae (selecting 

 the youngest) from the old hive and put in, 

 and fill up with a division board on each side. 

 The supers are then ti-ansferred to the new 

 hive, and the swarm hived in it. The old 

 hive is allowed to remain till evening, by 

 which time the flying force will be back in 

 the hive on the old stand. We then open old 

 hive and shake and brush all remaining bees 

 down in front of new hive, when they will all 

 run in. W^e now have all the bees of the 

 swarm, and all those left in old hive, back 

 on the old stand. This colony is now done 

 swarming for the season. There is a strong 

 field force; the bees have gained a new im- 

 petus by swarming; the work goes on rapid- 

 ly; no loss of time; no increase; and a double 

 surplus will be taken. 



We now return to the old hive and extract 

 all the honey in combs without brood, and 

 also in those with sealed brood, saving those 

 without brood for other swarms and giving 

 those with brood, after cutting out queen 

 cells, to colonies not overflowing with bees, 

 or else removing frames of honey in others 

 and giving frames of brood in their place. 

 Or, they may be given to nucleus colonies, 

 that are being built up: for every bee-keeper 

 ought to have a few nuclei in which he can 

 save queen cells from choice strains, and 

 thereby have extra queens at any time. 



We proceed in this manner with every 

 swarm that issues. At the end of the season 

 we find many colonies have not swarmed, 

 while all have given an extra large surplus 

 in comb honey. After July 10th, the supers 

 can be contracted to close the white honey 

 crop, leaving few unfinished sections. These 

 can be extracted and kept for the next 



season, or saved for the fall crop. Anyone 

 wishing increase can manage an apairy as 

 above until .July 2,5th, then divide or increase 

 by the nucleus system and let them fill up on 

 fall flowers. 



Chippewa Falls, Wis. 



April 24, 188<J. 



Accompanying the above was a kind, en- 

 couraging letter, and we feel sure that our 

 Wis. friend will not object to our giving the 

 following extract: 



" Since following this plan I liave made 

 money easily at bee-keeping; before, I barely 

 paid expenses. In Sept. last, I moved from 

 Columbus, Wis., to this place, and settled 

 permanently. I now have <;0 swarms of bees 

 in the strongest shape at this date I ever had. 

 I look for a grand honey season. I am now 

 within the great Basswood belt of Wis., and 

 intend to make it count. 



By the way, I have twenty hives marked 

 H., which my record book explains as Hutch- 

 inson queens, or strains, and I want to say 

 here that they are the best bees I ever owned. 



I like the Review, and my wish is that you 

 may receive the support you so richly de- 

 serve. Resp. yours, 



E. A. Morgan. 



Pj eventing Increase by Kemoving Queens, 

 Requires Judgment. 



E. FRANCE. 



'^OiRIEND HUTCHINSON.— Your card 

 ip^ of May 1st, is received. I have read 

 ^i^l all of the -Tune Review for 188S, and I 

 don't see as I can add anything to my 

 article, or make any suggestions. I will say, 

 however, that we CHged 150 queens last year, 

 a few days before the t)asswood honey flow, 

 and the results were no swarming, and a 

 much larger amount of surplus honey. In 

 fact, nearly all of the 11,000 lbs. of honey 

 that we did get; were the result of caging 

 those ir>0 queens. 



The profits of this caging, or taking away 

 of the queens, depends altogether upon cir- 

 cumstances. In one case it would be an 

 advantage; in another, a decided loss. A bee- 

 keeper must have a thorough knowledge of 

 his honey resources; must know just when 

 and where his honey i^ coming from; and 

 then he mnst know just vvlmt the bees will 

 be likely to do under diti'erent circumstances. 

 Two years ago, our bees liad a large amount 

 of winter stores, enougli to lust them until 

 the basswood harvest. Tiioy used tlie honey 

 to raise brood, and by the time that the bass- 

 wood honey was ready to be gathered, the 

 hives were full of bees, and their combs full 

 of brood, with no room to store liouey. in 

 tliis case, the (pieans ought to have been 

 caged ten days before the basswood harvest 

 commenced. Then there v/oiild liave been 

 room for honey, in the combs, where the 

 brood had hatched out. Ihe year of 1888 we 

 had to feed some in the spnng to get the 

 bees through to clover. Then they got jnst 

 about honey eiioui/h from the clover to keep 

 them in good breeding conditinn, and again 

 our hives were running over with bees. \\'<' 



