iso 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



fall. Choose out from six to nine of the 

 best combs in three colonies, put them a lit- 

 tle farther apart than for summer use, shake 

 in the bees of all three colonies, and put the 

 rest of the combs away in the comb closet. 

 In tliis way we can yet the chamljer pretty 

 full of bees, and the communication pretty 

 close and direct with the outer air. I have 

 practiced somewhat the plan of uniting six 

 or eight of the later swarms in one liuge col- 

 ony, then dividing it early in the spi-ing. I 

 rather like this way of doing. Such a huge 

 aggregation can make itself comfortable un- 

 der almost any circumstances, unless allowed 

 to get out of honey : and they are not usually 

 exhorbitaut in their demands about that. 

 Queens from dwindled and worthless colo- 

 nies can often be had to make the heavy lot 

 into two colonies very early. 



The scheme I think of most longingly and 

 most frequently is neither cellar wintering 

 nor out-door wintering, nor yet a compro- 

 mise of the two — but, until I find out whether 

 or not it is merely a fool's vision, I am dis- 

 inclined to trot it out. Don't you wish you 

 knew, now? 



By the way, can't somebody devise a way 

 to make Byron W^alker and H. R. Boardman 

 swap locations, and enlighten us as to 

 whether winter results inhere in the apiarist 

 or in the location? You know the former 

 gets famous crops of honey, but resigns 

 himself to buy a good part of his bees afresh 

 every sjjring, while the latter sports the 

 rather tall title of "The man who always 

 winters his bees." If we could condemn 

 them to exchange placfes we should have a 

 most interesting experiment at tlieir ex- 

 pense. As for myself ( as well becomes the 

 man who usually loses a lot of bees) I believe 

 it's the location. 



Richards, Ohio, 



Aug. il, 1S89. 



The Outs and Ins of Migratory Bee-Keeping, 

 From Tennesee to Wisconsin. 



(Continued from Aug. No.) 



BYBON WALKER. 



I HERE is one more point in this con- 

 nection that deserves attention. While 

 but few will question tlie soundness of 

 the opinion you have expressed in 

 your opening remarks on this subject, rela- 

 tive to the comparative advantages of 

 planting for honey or moving to new pas- 

 tures, I fancy some will say : "Why all this 

 ado about moving bees, are there not plenty 

 of locations one may choose combining all 

 the advantages you speak of?" Possibly, 

 yet is it commonly the case that a iirst rate 

 location for clover and basswood, for in- 

 stance, is also equally good for fall flowers? 

 And does not a permanent change of loca- 

 tion often imply sacrifices — social, financial 

 and otherwise — that few are willing to make 

 for the sake of uncertain gains? Remem- 

 ber, also, the better your permanent loca- 

 tion the more willing will others be to share 

 it with you. Will not the majority prefer to 

 watch closely tlie indications of a iiow within 

 reach and hold themselves in readiness to 



take advantage of it on short notice? Again, 

 is not the season too short in any given lo- 

 cation, even the best, for obtaining the best 

 possible i-esults? This brings me to the con- 

 sideration of the second part of our subject, 

 that of moving bees from the South, keeping 

 pace with the season. 



From previous statements made in these 

 columns, it is probable that most of your 

 readers are aware tluit I have been in the 

 habit of sliiiiping bees from the South. 

 From the same source they have become ac- 

 quainted with some of the advantages and 

 drawbacks of this plan of securing bees; and 

 as many of the conditions of success are the 

 same as those of following up the season, 

 repetition may be avoided. It is obvious, 

 however, that sliippiug bees from the South 

 during the spring months is one thing, while 

 their delivery North i)i. fiiiic and /u shape to 

 take the flow from clover, after waiting to 

 secure the yield from poplar, and hot weath- 

 er has set in, is quite another. The interval 

 marking the closing of the one harvest, in 

 Tennesee, for instance, and tlie opening of 

 the other in Wisconsin, is usually only about 

 two weeks. Now, su[)posing that KK) or more 

 colonies are to be handled, at least one week 

 of this time will be reiiuired to extract the 

 bulk of the stores from the brood nests and 

 several days more to complete shipping ar- 

 rangements. Allowing forty-eight hours to 

 make the trip, saying nothing of delays 

 likely to occur because of unfavorable weath- 

 er or failures to connect at junction points, 

 and this interval is well nigh exhausted. 

 Then, too, as everyone knows who has had 

 experience in shipping bees long distances 

 by rail, the worry of long confinement tells 

 upon the working force of strong colonies ; 

 so much so that, even when the apparent loss 

 in bees and brood is but trifling, such colo- 

 nies are seldom in good condition for tak- 

 ing an immediate harvest. 



Right here theory steps in to bolster up a 

 rather limited experience in shipping bees 

 by water, and says that, notwithstanding the 

 time lost in shipping long distances by boat, 

 other things being' equal, far better results 

 can be reached by this plan. It tells me 

 that extracting before shipping would be 

 scarcely needed; that there would be less dan- 

 ger of over-heating during hot weather ; that 

 entrances need not be closed at night during 

 ordinary weather, nor in the daytime if the 

 weather is cool ; hence the worry of 

 confinement and jarring incident to ship- 

 ping by i-ail would be in a great measure 

 avoided. Then, the boat lines ( on the Mis- 

 sissippi at least) will grant what railroads 

 will not — the i)rivilege of stopping off a 

 week or more at any landing. It was my 

 intention last year, when shipping bees from 

 Arkansas, and again this season, to test my 

 belief on these points, but adverse condi- 

 tions prevented. 



Should fortune favor in the future, I ex- 

 pect to take the flow from willow in La., 

 during Feb. and March ; that from poj)lar in 

 Ark. or Tenn., during April and the fore 

 part of May ; the clover harvest in 111., the 

 latter part of May and first .) une ; the bass- 

 wood flow in Wis., during -luly, and also the 

 late yield in Aug. and Sep. ; returning to the 



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