22 A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT- API ART 



kept out of the hive of beeless brood, and used to go in No. 2 when it is 

 prepared the same as No. 1 has been, instead of a comb taken from a 

 weaker colony, as was done when fixing No. 1. As this saves time, can 

 be found in very many of the colonies, and answers the purpose just as 

 well, I am constantly on the lookout for such during the time I am 

 "swarming" the colonies. 



Returning to No. 1 the bees that still adhere to the empty hive and 

 bottom-board are dislodged, so as to fall with the rest of the "shook" 

 colony, when the hive and bottom-board are carried to No. 2, which is 

 to go through the same process as has No. 1, and so on till the whole 

 13 have all been "swarmed," which takes far less time for each one than 

 the telling how it is done. By this plan I do not have to look for the 

 queen nor overhaul the combs, nor by any other plan look for queen- 

 cells, as is generally the case with most of the other ways of artificial 

 swarming. In all the other plans of "shook" swarming it is recommended 

 to wait about the "swarming" till queen-cells are sealed, or have eggs 

 or larvas in them. In my practice I have found that this is all a myth, 

 and it is also something that is not applicable to the work in an out- 

 apiary, with only a few visits to the same each year. Yea, further: I 

 find it an absolute detriment to have the bees prepare to swarm before 

 this "shook swarming" Is done. About the middle of June, 1906, I was 

 taken sick, as before spoken of, so that only about half of the "swarm- 

 ing" was done at the time it should have been, the rest of the colonies 

 being left till nearly July before I was able to finish. During this time 

 more than half of those not "swarmed" contracted the swarming fever, 

 built queen-cells, and swarmed; but as the queen's wings were clipped 

 they could not get away. This was the condition I found them in when 

 I was able to get to the out-apiary to finish the swarming that year. 

 Now for the result: The queen in such colonies that had swarmed, or 

 gotten queen-cells sealed, or nearly ready for sealing, had nearly or quite 

 stopped laying, as queens always do at the time of natural swarming; 

 and when "shook" they did not go to laying prolifically at once, as do 

 those shaken just at the commencement of the white-honey harvest; con- 

 sequently such colonies kept the queens restricted as to egg-laying, after 

 she commenced to lay later on, by not carrying the honey into the sec- 

 tions, and their showing in section honey was less than two-thirds of 

 that given by those which had not prepared to swarm, and little more 

 than half of that given by those made before I was taken sick. 



All that is necessary is to have all the colonies, to be treated, strong 

 to overflowing with bees. Then, when the time is ripe to do the work, 

 go on ana shake, no matter about the queen-cells, whether they have 

 them or not; only, if any are found with eggs, larvae, or pupse, in them, 

 when the combs are shaken and freed from bees, they should be cut off, 

 so they will not bother by emerging in the hives above the queen-ex- 

 cluder. Nor can the idea that the colony that starts no queen-cells, and 

 would not swarm if let alone (the same giving better results if left un- 

 shook), be tolerated or carried out in an out-apiary when worked for 

 comb honey on the "few visits" plan, even if this "giving better results" 



