28 MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIAEIES 



plan in treating them which was used with the five now fixed on new stands, 

 for the making of that many new colonies, so I have nine more colonies 

 than I did when I entered the apiary an hour or so before. As the brood 

 in these combs is all sealed now, and the bees on them are nearly all young' 

 ones, with more emerging every minute, there will be no setback to this 

 colony from the bees returning to the colony they came from, as is generally 

 the case with the most of the ways used in making colonies by the "setoff" 

 plan. And this is the best, quickest, and easiest way of making colonies 

 with which I am familiar; and this I say after using it for more than ten 

 years, and after having tried nearly all the plans given by others. ^ 



If for any reason I wish a greater number of colonies than can be 

 made as here given, and wish them for the purpose of taking care of bee- 

 less brood, I make as many as I think I shall need, during my third visit 

 to the apiary, in the following manner: I take two frames of emerging 

 brood from the colonies having eight frames, and, instead of giving them to 

 the colonies having the six combs of brood, as I told about in giving an 

 account of that visit, I put them in a hive, after having brushed the bees 

 off, together with two or three of the reserved combs — one, at least, of 

 which should contain honey. Tke space left vacant where the brood was 

 taken from, in the strong colony, is filled with two combs from the reserve 

 pile, thus giving the queen in this colony room for more eggs. I now go to 

 another of the stronger colonies and put a queen-excluder on it for the 

 time being, when this prepared hive, having the two combs of emerging 

 brood, is set thereon, where it is allowed to remain two or three hours, 

 during which time the young bees come up from below sufficient to care for 

 the combs and brood, after which it is placed on the stand I wish it to oc- 

 cupy. When I expect to make colonies in this way, if I have no laying 

 queens thus early in the home yard I send south for them, if it is possible 

 to get them from there. A queen-cell mil answer, but the laying queen is 

 much better. 



By the way, full colonies can be made in this way at almost any time 

 of the year when there is plenty of emerging brood by taking two combs 

 of such brood from three or four strong colonies and adding frames of 

 honey to these. I have made such with perfect success as late as Sep- 

 tember first, using six combs of brood and four of honey. It is so easy — 

 no hunting of queens nor anything of the kind; and the best part of the 

 whole thing is, enough of the young bees always stay to make it a success. 

 No need of natural swarming for increase when we can make as many colo- 

 nies as we desire in such a simple, easy way. The advent of the queen- 

 excluder was a great blessing, and one of the needed helps in giving us the 

 "modern apiculture" we now enjoy.^ 



^ This increase was made on June 26. In a subsequent chapter the author states 

 that basswood began to bloom on July 6; and still further on, that the basswood bloom 

 was all gone on July 24. Some of the bees and brood used in making this increase, 

 therefore, could have helped in the supers during the basswood honey flow, if they 

 could have been left in the original hive or returned to it as soon as old enough to 

 work in the fields. 



'This is all right for locations having a buckwheat honey flow; but where there 

 is no honey flow in August to stimulate brood-rearing at this time, it is not safe to 

 take much brood from even the strongest colonies after Aug. 15 to 20 where brood- 

 rearing is suspended the latter part of September or the first of October. In the 

 North the brood of the latter part of August and of September furnishes the young 

 bees for winter, and if much is taken from strong colonies they may not have eiiough 

 young bees for winter. 



