324 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



not start in the supers as rapid- 

 ly as the other half, owing to the 

 queens not being so prolific and 

 the swarms not being strong when 

 the honey flow starts. 



We will start with a cold back- 

 Avard spring, which is the rule and 

 not the exception in our country. 

 The bees are not building up very 

 fast when the alfalfa begins to 

 bloom about June 10. One half of 

 the colonies have not over three 

 or four frames of brood, and the 

 queens are just starting to do 

 their best work. The flow comes on 

 with a rush and lasts about two 

 weeks, and in a week those light 

 swarms have the hive full of honey 

 and no room for the queen to 

 spread the brood nest, and when 

 the main flow comes on about Au- 

 gust first we still have a light 

 swarm. 



The way I do is to put extract- 

 ing bodies with drawn combs on 

 all light swarms as soon as the 

 honey flow starts. All the first 

 honey is carried above and the 

 queen has the lower hive all to 

 herself, wiiich she soon fills with 

 brood and by August first I have 

 good strong swarms. 



As soon as the first flow is over 

 I raise the extracting body, and 

 place a comb honey super under it, 

 and in a few days take off the 



extracting body and the bees go 

 right ahead at work in the super, 

 and I get one-half more comb 

 honey than I would if I had not 

 put on the extracting body. And I 

 have from twenty to thirty pounds 

 of extracted honey besides. 



Then toward the end of the seas- 

 on when I do not know how much 

 longer the flow will last,, and a 

 super is finished and I know they 

 will not have time to fill another, 

 put on the extracting body. In 

 this way I do not have so much 

 unfinished comb honey. 



Another time when extracting 

 bodies come handy, is when we 

 have a real warm spell in April and 

 early in May, when the bees are 

 getting a little honey from fruit 

 bioom and the strongest colonies 

 get ready to swarm early In May. 

 After fruit bloom there will be no 

 honey flow for three or four weeks 

 and I do not want any swarms at 

 that time. I put on an extracting 

 body with drawn combs and they 

 forget all about swarming, and if a 

 queen is a good one she will have 

 four or five frames of brood in tlie 

 upper story when the honey flow 

 starts, and I use this brood for 

 starting new swarms or for build- 

 ing up light ones. For these reasons, 

 I think it is profitable to run for 

 both extracted and comb honey, 

 when your specialty is comb honey. 



Cumberland, O., July 20, 1914 



Friend Townsend: — We have a 



little the completest failure here 



this year I have ever seen. I hav- 



n't taken a single section of honey 



and none to take. There isn't as 



much honey in the hives now as 



there was May 1st and nothing in 



prospect, I don't know how much 



honey was produced by others last 



year. I have the largest apiary 



within fifteen miles,, and goit a the 



largest crop ever produced in this 



locality last year. I would like to 



sell my bees and supplies on hand 



and quit the business. 



Yours, 



ED BLACKSTONE, 



Route 4, Cumbeilland, Ohio. 



My Dear Mr. Townsend: 



"Permit me to congratulate you 

 and your associates on the improve- 

 ment in the Review. It is "coming- 

 back." It is a tough job you have. 



much like trying to lift ones self 

 with ones boot straps." 



The above copy is the first para- 

 graph of a letter just received from 

 that noted writer and author, Ar- 

 thur C. Miller, Providence, R. I. 

 We would call Mr. Miller's atten- 

 tion to the fact that it is not so 

 much the Editorial management of 

 the Review, as it is the good sup- 

 port of its readers in ftirnishing so 

 many valuable articles for its 

 pages. Take this September num- 

 ber for an illustration: Two articles 

 on wintering of bees are likely as 

 good as ever printed upon the sub- 

 ject of indoor wintering. Then 

 there is more on the "Smoke 

 Method" of direct introduction of 

 queens by yotirself, likely the best 

 method ever given to the beekeep- 

 ing public. Then there is the 

 Wilder article setting forth what 

 can be done with bees on a large 

 scale. 



