MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 



19 



only full sheets of foundation, this foundation being of the extra thin kind 

 for sections, as manufactured by The A. I. Root Co., while the other super 

 has 12 of the 44, full or nearly so of comb, left over from 1904, as "unfin- 

 ished" sections, they having been put in the super when it was prepared 

 for the season of 1905, with the 32 other sections, filled with extra thin 

 foundation as "baits." 



The baits are very valuable with this plan, as these bait-combs give a 

 chance for the bees to be storing the honey at once, or immediately after 

 its removal from the combs below, to give the queen room for her eggs — 

 tliis'being done while other bees are drawing out the foundation in other 

 sections, so that work along all lines progresses as one great whole, without 

 any interruption. 



This super witli baits is first put on top of this prepared hive, and the 

 other with sections of foundation on top of this. This second or upper super 

 is put on to give plenty of room for any overflow of bees or honey which 

 may come before our next visit, so that the bees may not at any time feel 

 crowded for rooui. I have sometimes piit the super containing the baits at 

 the top, but the bees do not so readily get to them there, and hence slower 



DOOLITTLE WIDE FKAME WITH SECTIONS. 



work all around on the start, which is against the greatest success. An 

 inunediate start in the sections is a great advantage at this stage of ])ro- 

 ceedings. 



Some seem to think that the bees carry very little if any honey from 

 the brood-nest up into the sections, and for this reason feed the bees, be- 

 tween apple and clover bloom, sugar syrup or inferior honey till the 

 combs and all cells not occupied with brood 9re solid full of sealed honey, 

 claiming, for this plan, yields in excess of others who do not so feed, argu- 

 ing that, by such a plan, all of the clover honey is put into the sections. 

 I believe they make a mistake. The greater yield conies from this fed 

 honey or sugar going up into the sections, together with that gatheied at 

 this time from the clover bloom ; for I have repeatedly seen such combs of 

 sealed stores all emptied, or nearly so, two weeks after the clover began to 

 yield honey, eggs, larvae and sealed brood taking its place. And another 

 thing which proves to me that very much if not all of the honey which is 

 now in this prepared hive goes into the sections, is the colo.' of that stored 

 therein during the time the queen is filling the hive below with brood. 

 Quite a little of the lioney left over from the year before, which is given to 

 the bees for stimulative purposes, so that they may think there are "mil- 

 lions of honey at our house," was gathered from the buckwheat. Of course, 

 the most of this goes into brood; but often there is enough left, so that, 



