34 MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 



combs, as this is the only part of the book which has been criticised. Some 

 seem to think that there are very few places in the United States which 

 have a late honey flow like mine. 



I must object to any one feeding sugar syrup as the -correspondent 

 alluded to above did. Such a course always brought a liability to cen- 

 sure; but now, under the pure-food law, such a course would be criminal. 

 Some seem to suppose that colonies can be fed without danger of any of 

 the feed finding its way into the sections, but years of close observation 

 have proven to me conclusively that when bees are at work in supers more 

 or less of that stored in the brood-combs finds its way into the sections, 

 or combs for extracted honey where such is worked for. In fact, quite 

 a large part of the plan as given in this book is in having all sweets not 

 consumed by the bees for their own living stored in the sections. "Were 

 it otherwise, the plan would not be complete; nor little if any better than 

 some of the other plans. To emphasize this part, let me repeat what was 

 said just a little way back: "By this plan all the honey not used in the 

 actual production of bees goes into the sections." 



LATE "shook" swarms FOE COMB HONEY. 



If all of the sixty colonies were not ready for treatment on my fourth 

 visit, then I put one or two hives of beeless brood on top of those not quite 

 strong enough in bees to shake, setting this brood under the hives of re- 

 serve combs they have, so the brood will be all together. This gives such a 

 colony so much extra room that they will not think of swarming during 

 our next ten days' absence, notwithstanding the vast numbers of bees 

 emerging from these two or three hives of brood. 



When I go to make the fifth visit the reserve combs are set down on the 

 bottom-board, and the bees from all three hives are shaken out. This gives 

 rousing "shook" colonies; and if a heavy yield of honey is on just at this 

 time, these later-made colonies will even surpass those shaken at the fourth 

 visit, in section-honey production; and it sometimes happens that the yield 

 of honey will make it profitable to shake colonies having three and four 

 stories of brood, right at the beginning of the basswood flow, thus bringing 

 nearly or quite 100,000 bees in one of these hives of reserve combs, quite 

 well filled with honey, in which ease three and four supers of sections are 

 used to give the proper amount of room ivr their working to the best 

 advantage. However, this requires an extra visit, which may not be con- 

 ^■enient when we are working a long string of out-apiaries. 



After having tried this way two or three times I often think it is just 

 as profitable to let the honey go into the reserve combs. But the section 

 honey stored by such a rousing colony, right in the height of basswood 

 bloom, is so perfect and handsome in appearance that my mouth often 

 '■'waters" for such, and the eagerness of consumers for the same makes it 

 very profitable for market. When it is thought desirable to use this late 

 plan of shaking, colonies can be formed by the plans given, which will 

 care for the brood, and if desired they can be wintered over to take the 

 place of any that may die during the winter. Then if none die they can be 

 united with others, so that the number may be kept at the thirty, fifty, or 

 seventy-five, decided upon when the yard was laid out. 



MASSING BROOD WHEN SPRING IS BACKWARD. 



Occasionally there will come an extremely bad season for the bees, 



