58 A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT-APIARY 



The third reason was, the giving ot super room enough, and in 

 such a way that it encouraged them to the greatest activity, kept them 

 from contracting the swarming fever, and at the same time did not, at 

 any point, discourage them from entering this room nor cause them 

 to retreat from any of the room which they had commenced to worli in. 

 This giving of storage room, in a way advantageous for the best worlc, 

 either in a light or heavy flow of nectar, both before and after our 

 "shook" swarming is done, is an item which has not sufficiently entered 

 into the plans of the past. By this plan the bees are at work in a 

 second hive of combs before they hardly know it; and at the time of our 

 making them swarm, the whole of that "mighty host" are ready to take 

 immediate possession of the sections through their previous occupation 

 of a "super hive," which now becomes their "richly endowed" home or 

 brood-nest. 



The plan of coaxing bees to an early work in the sections, and at 

 the same time retarding swarming by giving an extracting-super for 

 a short period before the opening of the honey harvest, and on the 

 advent of such harvest taking off this super and putting on the sec- 

 tions (this causing the bees to enter readily the sections from having 

 previously worked in the extracting-super) was originated some years 

 ago. But that plan did not place the honey stored in this extracting- 

 super in the sections, nor prevent the swarming of the colonies so 

 treated, later on; but generally right in the height of the honey har- 

 vest, when swarming is the most injurious to the prospect of a crop 

 of section honey, hence was only a step In advance of the older ways 

 ot working. 



To emphasize a little: The beauty of the plan I have now given is, 

 it puts in the sections all honey not actually used by the bees, and that 

 with no swarming during the honey harvest, or previous thereto, and 

 that with the largest possible force ot bees in a colony, consistent with 

 working for section honey. 



CHAPTER XII. 



CLOSING words; fubther suggestions to the plans given in the pre- 

 ceding CHAPTERS. 



And I wish to speak a little more about using "bait" sections in the 

 first super put on at time ot "shook" swarming. I prefer to use at least 

 twelve of these, so that the bees will immediately enter the sections 

 with their loads of honey that the queen will oblige them to remove 

 from the combs they are shaken on, so that she may have room for 

 her eggs. Failing here, at the start, would cause a failure in the whole, 

 for this honey must be removed if the queen is to keep right on with 

 her prolificness; and by having a place for the immediate storing of 

 this honey In the first super above the honey-filled brood-nest, the bees 

 not only carry this honey out of the queen's way, but they also carry 



