240 DR. miller's 



never be certain of it. Yet it is a rare thing that a colony swarms 

 a third time, as in your case. Yet I should not be much afraid to 

 breed from such a queen if the colony greatly exceeds other 

 colonies in storing. (See "Put-up Plan.") 



Q. To prevent swarming, I will shove the pile of supers back 

 so as to make an opening of one-half inch for ventilation along 

 the front. Will this prevent swarming and affect the storing of 

 honey? 



A. Ventilating in that way is a help against swarming, al- 

 though, of course, it will not prevent it. I have practiced it much, 

 and never knew any harm to come from it in the way of chilling 

 bees. The only harm is that sections next to the opening are de- 

 layed in being finished, but not always. Instead of being shoved 

 back, I shove the lower section-super forward. I have used the 

 plan with extracting-supers, and "stuttered" them; that is, I 

 shoved the lower super forward, the next back, the next forward, 

 and so on. 



Q. If the queen is given plenty of room, will swarming be pre- 

 vented, even though the hive be crowded with bees? 



A. It would certainly decrease the tendencj' to swarm, just 

 as increasing the queen's room for eggs always does; vifhether 

 it could be relied on in all cases as an entire preventative is hard 

 t.j say without trying. I should rather e.xpect it would, so long 

 a.'', fresh room for the queen is constantly given, and even when 

 the flow comes and the lower hive is given above as an extracting- 

 super, there ought to be little inclination to swarming, as in the 

 case of the Demaree plan. 



Q. I kept my bees from swarming two years ago by placing 

 the brood over the queen with an excluder between. When buck- 

 wheat came on, I had my hives chock-full of bees. I also had sev- 

 eral swarms in September, and that's rather late for Xorthern 

 New York. I'd like to know how to stop them at that time. 



A. Yes, that's the plan given by G. \\ , Demaree, a Kentuckian 

 who was prominent in the ranks some years ago. The plan is 

 good and the pity of it is that it will work only for extracted, not 

 com];). The brood-combs being put above become extracting- 

 C( nibs. To prevent swarming in September (which is not usual, 

 I think, but may come where there is a fall flow), it might work to 

 try the same plan over again; extract the frames in an upper 

 story, put them in the lower story with the queen, the brood 

 above, excluder between. If this is done just as buckwheat be- 

 gins, it seems it ought to work as well as earlier. 



