Artificial Division of ColoniesT^ 189 



V, 



the swarming fever — prevents our obtaining honey in a desir- 

 able style. If we add sections, unless the connection is quite 

 free — in which case the queen is apt to enter them and greatly 

 vex us — we must crowd some to send the bees into the sec- 

 tions. Such crowding is almost sure to lead to swarming. I 

 have, by uncapping the combs of honey in the brood-cham- 

 ber, as suggested to me by Mr. M. M. Baldridge — causing the 

 honey to run down from the combs — sent the bees crowdingto 

 the sections, and thusdeferred or prevented swarming. Those 

 who have frames that can be turned upside down, say that the 

 same end may be gained by simple inversion of the frames. 

 By placing our sections in the brood-chamber till the bees 

 commence to work on them, and then removing them above, 

 or by carrying brood up beside the sections, the bees are gen- 

 erally induced to commence working in the sections. The 

 brood in this last case should be returned as soon as the bees 

 show a willingness to accept the sections, else the comb built 

 in the sections will be dark, especially if the brood is in dark 

 comb. Mr. B. Walker has his section rack so made that it can 

 be lowered, between the brood frames, and then raised above 

 as soon as the bees begin to work in the sections. 



It is possible that by extracting freely when storing is very 

 rapid, and then by freely feeding the extracted honey in the 

 interims of honey secretion, we might prevent swarming, se- 

 cure very rapid breeding, and still get our honey in sections. 

 My experiments, in this direction, have not been as success- 

 ful as I had hoped, and I can not recommend the practice, 

 though some apiarists claim to have succeeded. 



The keeping of colonies queenless, in order to secure honey 

 without increase, as practiced and advised by some even of 

 our distinguished apiarists, seems to me a very questionable 

 'practice. Dr. C. C Miller's method already described, ac- 

 complishes the same object, and keeps all the queens at work 

 all the time. I would advise keeping a queen and the workers 

 all at work in every hive, if possible, all the time. 



HOW TO MULTIPLY COLONIES WITH THE BEST RESULTS. 



We have already seen the evils of natural swarming, for, 

 even though no stock is too much reduced in numbers, no 

 colony lost by not receiving prompt attention, no Sunday 

 (juiet disturbed, and no time wasted in anxiotis v/atching, yet, 



