136 DR. miller's 



depends upon circumstances, and it would take mu,ch room to go 

 fully into the whole subject of artificial increase. Study up gen- 

 eral principles in your text-book, and you will be better prepared 

 to judge what is best for you. 



Q. Which is the better, natural swarming, or dividing? 



A. Whether the swarm made by dividing is as good as a 

 natural swarm depends upon how the natural swarm is made. It 

 may be made weaker than a natural swarm, and it may be made 

 stronger. There are, however, advantages in dividing such that 

 experienced beekeepers generally prefer it to natural swarming. 



Q. How late would it be safe to divide, and also to buy a 

 queen? Our seasons are long here. The 10th of October is a 

 very early frost. Cotton blooms till frost. (Oklahoma.) 



A. I don't know just how late it might be safe to divide. If 

 the flow continues until October 10, and a laying queen is fur- 

 nished, you might risk a division as late as September 1 to 10, pro- 

 viding the colony be strong, with plenty of brood. 



Q. How many days after the swarm issues should I divide? 

 A. About seven or eight days. 



Q. When is the best time to make new swarms? I worked 

 with a beeman one summer before I bought my bees. He made 

 his new swarms when he was extracting. But I think it disturbs 

 the bees so much when they are working hard, and it looks to 

 me like they will not store as much honey if torn apart at this 

 time. 



A. There is no fixed rule about it. One would think it best to 

 follow nature and make increase at the time bees swarm naturally. 

 But nearly everyone agrees nowadays that natural swarming is 

 decidedly detrimental to the honey crop. In my locality it seems 

 much better to have no increase until at or near the close of the 

 harvest. In some localities, where there is a heavy late flow, it 

 may be better to divide early in the season. 



Q. When is the proper time to start new colonies of bees in 

 this climate — 40 miles south of St. Louis? What is the best 

 method for a beginner to take in doing so? 



A. The very best time is when the bees are inclined to swarm 

 naturally. Bees begin to swarm when honey begins to yield well, 

 and more or less colonies may swarm so long as honey yields, al- 

 though most colonies do their swarming during the early part of 

 the honey-flow. You may even make increase successfully in the 

 month of September if you make the new colony strong enough. 



