THOUSAND ANSWERS 241 



Q. I would like to ask some questions about the Demaree 

 plan. You say just before swarming, put all the brood but one 

 frame in a second story over an excluder, leaving the queen below 

 with one frame of brood and empty combs or frames filled with 

 foundation. 



Do you cut out all queen-cells at this time if there are any? 



Is it necessary to examine each colony in about ten days to re- 

 move queen-cells afterwards? 



A. Yes, to your first question. 



As to the second, generally it ought not to be. The idea is that 

 the bees are in the same condition as if they had swarmed nat- 

 uially, of course, it sometimes happens that when a natural swarm 

 i.! hived it throws off a swarm the same season, but that is excep- 

 tional. Some have reported that they never have a colony swarm 

 that has been treated by the Demaree plan, while it fails with 

 others. 



Q. I have four colonies in a house apiary I want to prevent 

 from swarming. Would it do to add a hive-body with wired foun- 

 dation below, as soon as the queen needs the room, then about 

 three weeks before clover, or about May 20, put the queen below, 

 then an excluder, then a super of shallow extracting-fraraes, and 

 over all the old hive-body, with brood, and about June 10 remove 

 the old hive-body from the top and put comb-honey super be- 

 tween the extracting-super and the excluder? Provided I give 

 ample room, would that be likely to prevent swarming? 



A. Unless your bees are unusually "forward looking" they 

 may be behind time on the program you are laying out for them. 

 You say add a hive below ''as soon as the queen needs the room," 

 and evidently expect her to need it so early that she will have the 

 brood-nest extended into the lower story by Alaj" 20. Maybe she 

 will. At any rate it will do no particular harm to have the empty 

 story below. Suppose there is nothing doing below, and May 20 

 you put the queen on the foundation under the excluder. In too 

 many cases the queen will swarm out, unless you put something 

 in the way of bait below. At any rate, I've had them swarm out. 

 Suppose, however, that the brood-nest is started below, or if not, 

 that you give a frame of brood. The bees will go to work; all 

 right (you must look out for cells in the old brood above) ; they 

 will fiir up the lower story, and then swarm. Not always, but I 

 should expect it to happen a good many times. They will not be 

 so certain to swarm as if you had let them alone, nor will they 

 swarm so soon. But you have operated so early that you may 

 expect more swarming than you want. The later in the season 

 you give the queen that empty story below, the more certain you 



