187G. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 



tuithfiil, hard work, that we can attain success 

 in bce-keepniji-. If your colony is not large, it 

 is a very good plan to allow them to go into 

 <nily a lew sections at first, covering the open- 

 ings thus lett, wilh the quilt ; for if the weath- 

 er sliouUi l)e cool, you may give them a serious 

 check Ijy opening tlie whole top of the hive 

 into the sectiou« at once. When they have 

 conuaenced work in all the boxes, give them 

 room as fast as they will use it; and if j'ou 

 have bees enough to begin work in 64 sections 

 at once, give them a chance by all means; and 

 if that is not enough, give them still more. Be 

 sure 3-ou (\<j your part. 



If you are going to use the extractor, you 

 need no /wither directions than chose given 

 with our price list of extractors, unless it be to 

 avoid robbing your bees, .ifier yon have had 

 a fi'W staive in consequence, you will know all 

 about it, better than "lora anything we could 

 U'U you. When honey is coming in rapidly, is 

 loiir you keep it out of their way. You can do 

 your extracting with only a one story hive if 

 you choose, but we think you will jjct less, 

 llian if a two story hive be usetl, and your hon- 

 *.y will be of an inferior quality. With the lat- 

 ter we would endeavor lo have them keep all, 

 or neaily all the bro^Kl below, and store their 

 >urp'us above, making thcin build thick combs 

 above, liy using only i) or 10 in the space that 

 iiolds 11 ordinarily. If they start a lot of brood 

 above, sw^ap it for some comb below that con- 

 tains n(nie. If the upper story is left on until 

 iate, they are very apt to move "up stairs,'" 

 (jueen and all. A beginner cau get a good 

 yield of extracted honey, where he would not 

 get a pound in the boxes, and at present wc 

 rtgard it as the easier of the two ways. 



(il'EF.X IIE.4.UIKG AND AUTTFICI.\L SWAKMIXO. 



Do not commence any such work lieforeyour 

 hives are are ail full of bees, and are getting 

 honey, and we really feel like atlvising you 

 tiot to do it then. It will be much the more 

 iirotitable way for you to build them all up 

 strong, and then, if they will "pitch right in" 

 and gather honey let them do it by all means ; 

 and don't ruiu both yourself and bees, by un- 

 timely "tinkering:," even if the books do say it 

 can be done without injury. If j'ou tind a col- 

 ony that is determined to swarm, it may do to 

 divide them. During tiie lioney season we 

 want all hands at work ; after it is passed and 

 our hives are full of bees with nothing partic- 

 ular to do, we can set them to rearing queens. 

 One "rousing big" colony, will then furnish 

 bees enough for a dozen nuclei, if you really 

 ini(.-it fuss V, ith little swarms of bees; but if 

 you will be guided by us, j'ou will if possi!>'e, 

 have only strong stocks, and you can always 

 ■iiuike it possible in warm weather. In tlie 

 spring we are obliged to use division boards, 

 and to nurse up weak stocks, but if wc always 

 had strong ones in the fall, there might be less 

 of this. 



Dooiittle says in regard to comb hontw, "if 

 •A colony sw<irins. it does well; if it don't 

 swaru), it does better." The l)tst way we know 

 <tf to get aloni; with the swarm, is to shake it 

 in front of the hive it came from, after it (the 

 hive) has been carried to a new location. This 

 will satisfy tiicm, and they will work in boxes 

 or for the extractor prodigiously. Even if your 

 f-.')ject is increase of stock, we Avould advise 



keeping them in their old Lives as long as you 

 can during the honey season ; but instead of 

 the extractor or boxes, put on an upper story, 

 and secure as many combs T'dl or partly full of 

 honey as you can. When the yield begins to 

 slacken, make j'our colonies, and give them a 

 house well furnished to start with. 



now TO GET GOOD QUKFN CF.LI.S. 

 These should be on hana I'rom ./laic until Oct.. anrl 

 to secure them, you are to [Kit once hi ten days or ol- 

 tener, a clean worker comb in the niitlst of llie colony 

 containing your imported or best queen, when it con- 

 tains larva' just large enougli to be visible, place it in 

 a queenless colony, and in 15 days irom ttie lime tlie 

 tirst eggs were laid in this comb — look sharp — you an' 

 to cut out the queen cells, or place the whole c<^mi) in 

 the lamp nursery— iiage 75, Vol. III. Ii the iornu't- 

 plan, insert the cells in comhs ot hntching bees. ;Uoiii 

 other hives) one in each, and tViese are ready to be put 

 into <iueenless colonies or nuclei. If you wish lo Ix; 

 sure the bees will not tear them down", cut them out 

 two days earlier, and leave them, combs ol' brood and 

 all. in the hive in which the cells were built until llie 

 15th day, as mentioned : you can then quietly carry 

 the comb, bees, queen cell and all, wliere yon'wish it. 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING 

 is simply collecting combs covered with bees and 

 brood, one each from several hives, and putting them 

 in a new hive, with one of our combs containing a 

 queen cell. It we get the beeslrom several hives, Uiey 

 seem to bo so bewildered that they all join peaceably, 

 and we have no lighting at all. After tlie queen is 

 hatched and commenced laying, your colony is made. 



ROBBIKG 



will rarely trouble you unless you carelessly leave 

 l;oney scattered about the apiary, or luss with 

 weal; stocks or nuclei tliat are unable to protect them- 

 selves. If you tind a colonj^ being robbed, stop up the 

 entrance as quiclily as possible, and if everything else 

 about tlie apiary in liie shape of sweets is secure, they 

 will soon t'orgei about it and stop. Just before dark 

 let the robbers go home, and if your colony does not 

 take care of itself next day, cither break it lip, or give 

 it bees from some ('thcr. It may at timia be best to 

 close tlie hive for several days until some of the young 

 bees are old enough lo standguard. As a general rule, 

 robbers, moth millers, and airao.«t all other troubles, 

 are th-e result of trying to nurse up weak colonies. 

 For all these evils a pint of Italians are worth more 

 than two quarts of common bees. Speaking of shiii- 

 ting the hive, reminds us of 



Ji^TKANCES, 

 and after piving the matter much eluity, we have de- 

 ci<led lo follow Quinby, in having nothing but a slot, 

 jx.'i inches, omitting all blocks,' slides, etc. If your 

 colonies are strong, you are not likely to need to close 

 the entrance once in live years, and wlij' should wc 

 encumber each hive with some complicated rigging 

 that we are verj* likely to never use ? If it is necessa- 

 ry to close a hiCe. wccan do it quickly with a piece of 

 newspiiper, and if we vvit-h it very seciire, we can bank 

 the sawdust up over It. if a colony has two entran- 

 ces, tliey are sure to use the one toward the top of the 

 hive, and it saves travel during the honey season to 

 have it near the top; the hoop containing the en- 

 trance can be readily placed where we choose, and it 

 is a very simple matter to arrange two entrances iu 

 the Lame manner. 



WINTERING, 

 may Ijc sumnif d up nearlv, by saying that when the 

 bees iiave jjlenty of well ri[!en"ed sealed stores of lioney 

 or loaf sugar, and are put in eillier a good house or 

 cellar, or even left on tlieir .-ummer stands, and let 

 alone, they genei-ally do well enough. We believe 

 more bees are killed by tiuKcring with them in the 

 tall or winter, tlian from any other cause, aside from 

 unwholesome iood. If you can not agree with us, try 

 some other way until you are satisfied. If a liive is 

 made of solid boards and covered wilh a tight honey 

 board with all the joints gumiaed close, they will 

 probably die from lack of v(-ntilation; Imt if a quilt is 

 used, this can not well hajjpen. The strijia that com- 

 pose the Universal hive riOt only insure ventilation, 

 but allow the hive to dry out much in the way that 

 olil straw hives do ; in fact, a good colony of bees will 

 by their animal heat alone, dry out the J inch pine, as 

 a horse diie« oiT his hairy coat alter a rain— if full of 

 bees, the moisture sliould fairly steam out after a rain 

 and tills quality is better secured by leaving the hoops 

 unpainted. liees need a lilve that w'ih allow them to 

 dry out, almost as much as corn needs a corn crib. 



