30 MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 



we visit the out-apiary again, at which time we set the upper story contain- 

 ing the queen, hees, and new brood off to a new stand which we wish a 

 colony to occupy. This setting off causes all the field beep to return to the 

 old stand, which makes it a powerful colony. It will be noted that the hive 

 on the old stand now contains nearly all sealed brood, with no larvas young 

 enough to turn into a queen, even should the eighth day be the one on which 

 we wish to go to the out-apiary ; and only sealed brood, should the weather 

 be such that we do not go until the ninth, tenth, or eleventh day.i 



Having arrived at the hive, after setting off the upper story it is 

 opened and all queen-cells destroyed, if any are found, and the colony 

 given a ripe queen-cell from the best breeder; or a virgin queen can be in- 

 troduced, if preferred, as this colony is hopelessly queenless, after the cells 

 are cut. A super of sections (with baits) should now be put on, and on 

 top of this another super of sections. The bees will not swarm, as they 

 have but the one queen-cell, or virgin, queen, and there are no eggs or laryse 

 from which to rear another. I have not tested the matter ; but I am quite 

 sure that a laying queen would be just as good, if introduced by the candy- 

 cork plan at this time, in a locality where the honey hai-vest is not of such 

 long duration as to cause the bees to swarm with her later on; for this 

 colony is practically in the same condition as a colony ten days after 

 swarming, except much stronger.^ With such colonies, when using natural 

 swarming, I have often given lajring queens in this way, and always had 

 better success in comb honey, than I did where all the cells were cut but one. 

 This giving a laying queen at this time would also do away with the only 

 tj'ouble which attaches to the plan when a ripe cell or virgin queen is used, 

 which trouble arises from the fact that occasionally some queen wUl fail 

 to get back from her mating trip, which may not be found out in time to 

 save the colony with the few visits we make at the out-apiary. As soon 

 as the young queen begins to lay, the honey will go up into the sections with 

 a rush, as the emerging brood reinforces the field laborers for ten to twelve 

 days' after the old queen with her hive of new brood was removed to its new 

 stand. The removed colony will usually become strong enough to store 

 sufficient honey for wintering from the basswood bloom, and often a sur- 

 plus of twenty-five to sixty sections is obtained from l3uekwheat, should 

 the season prove favorable for the secretion of nectar from this source. In 

 the same way as we have treated No. 1, as many others are used as we wish 

 increase of colonies, and in this way we not only secure the needed colonies 

 for other out-apiaries, but a good crop of section honey from our bees. 



With the making of the nine colonies, as given above, I have the de- 

 sired number for the year 1905, as I have house-building and other work 



1 This plan is especially desirable where the honey flow is of long duration; while 

 the shaking plan previously described usually gives better results where there is a 

 short and rapid honey flow. 



' It was formerly thought that young queens do not swarm the first season. The 

 parent colony in natural swarming seldom swarms again the same season after the 

 young queen begins to lay; but if the old queen is removed previous to the swarming 

 season and a young laying queen is given immediately so there is no break in egg- 

 laying, swarming may take place as though the old queen had been left. If there is 

 a break of 10 days during which no eggs are laid and then either a virgin queen, a 

 ripe queen-cell or a young laying queen is given, there is but little danger of further 

 swarming the same season. Apparently the break in brood-rearing has more to do 

 with this than the age of the queen. Bringing about conditions comparable to the 

 parent colony in nature, as here described by the author, is an important principle in 

 swarm control, sometimes being more useful than the other plan described by the 

 author, which is bringing about conditions comparable to the swarm in nature. 



