164 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



ed by Mr. J. E. Chambers on page 

 266. But as far as I can see. there 

 is the same objection, that is loss 

 of work in supers during several 

 days. 



Size of Entrances 



On page 225 Mr. Menhall claims 

 that with small entrances, less 

 swarming will take place and more 

 surplus will be obtained. No doubt 

 this has looked like rank heresy 

 to nearly all the readers of the 

 Review. As a matter of fact, this 

 is merely a question not exactly of 

 locality but of conditions. With sin- 

 ;,'le walled hives exposed to the hot 

 summer sun, a large entrance and 

 plenty of ventilation are an absolute 

 necessity, otherwise the interior 

 (f the hive would get entirely too 

 hot. But with double-walled hives 

 properly shaded, the case is alto- 

 gether different, a much smaller 

 entrance is better. 



Home Raising of Queens 



This was written by me several 

 years ago when Hutchinson was 

 editor of the Review. I had forgot- 

 ten it entirely and was quite sur- 

 ■-.rised to see it. Page 226. The pro- 

 cess briefly described is simply 

 this. Dequeen a colony and give her 

 a comb of eggs from your selected 

 iiueen to raise the queen cells 

 wanted. At the present time I do 

 no longer cut holes in the comb. 

 I found out that all what is neces- 

 sary is to spread the combs apart so 



as to leave between the comb of 

 eggs and the next one, a space suf- 

 ficient to accommodate good big 

 queen cells and room for the bees 

 to work around them. A day or 

 two before the queens emerge, the 

 cells are placed in queen cages 

 hung in the hive. As soon as possi- 

 ble after the queens are out, they 

 should be introduced in the colon- 

 ies where they are to stay. No need 

 I f taking the trouble of making 

 nucleus. 



Variation in Color of Honey 

 On page 467 the question is rais- 

 ed whether the honey from a cer- 

 tain source has always the same 

 color or not. It is possible that the 

 season, climate, soil, etc. may have 

 an influence. But it is certain, 

 that the honey of a given origin is 

 rarely pure. Some wild flowers in 

 small quantities, some insect ex- 

 cretions or honey dues alter it 

 more or less and in most cases at 

 least are really the cause of the 

 variation in color and taste. 



Short Cuts in Finding Queens 

 Quite a number of more or less 

 easy (?) ways of finding queens 

 are given on page 357. I will add 

 one more. Move the hive to a 

 new stand not too near. Do that 

 when so many bees as possible are 

 out. Put a new hive on the old 

 .stand with a comb of brood to re- 

 gain the bees. In three days the 

 (Concluded on page 191) 



Management of Three Thousand Colonies Bees in 



Fifty Yards 



By J. J. WILDER^ 



On account of labor problems 

 the Thousand-colony mark is one of 

 the most serious points in extensive 

 bee-keeping. But if the Apiarist is 

 able properly to solve the problems 

 that face him at this stage, and to 

 plan wisely, he will move forward at 

 a much more rapid rate than be- 

 fore; otherwise there will be a 

 halt in his progress. I reached the 

 Thousand-colony mark by the usual 

 method of making increase, viz. by 

 dividing the strongest colonies into 

 two equal parts at the beginning of 

 the first light honey flow in early 

 spring. Then, in the fall, during the 



Cordelia, Ga. 



last, light-honey flow, from golden- 

 rod, the heaviest colonies were 

 again divided in the same manner 

 and all well prepared for winter. 

 But the losses were heavier than 

 in previous years, as the weaker 

 colonies could not be looked after 

 as closely as we had been doing, 

 and hence more uniting had to be 

 done. 



The home yard set ai^art for mak- 

 ing increase and Queen rearing 



The Home yard, consisting of 

 a hundred colonies, more or les? 

 varying with the season, had been 



