328 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



already heavy task. We were kept on the jump till near 

 the middle of August. Then came the National conven- 

 tion at Los Angeles. Some 12,000 finished sections were 

 piled up in the house, but a lot more were on the hives, 

 and I hesitated about going. But my assistant insisted I 

 should go ; the bees had let up on storing, and I thought 

 it would do no great harm to leave all sections on till I 

 got back, so I left August 12, getting back the 28th. 



Scarcely had I got out of sight when the bees made a 

 fresh start as fierce as ever, and gave Miss Wilson the 

 busy time of her life. Up at 4 o'clock in the morning to 

 get sections ready, then to one of the apiaries to take ofif 

 and put on supers, with no let-up in the work of going 

 through colonies to keep down swarming. Yes, indeed, 

 there was swarming galore, and had been all through the 

 season. It is generally understood that when bees are 

 busily engaged at storing they give up all thoughts of 

 swarming. Not in 1903. I'm not sure I ever knew so 

 bad a season for swarming. We fought our best to pre- 

 vent it, but every now and then the bees would get the 

 start of us. 



Some 6,000 finished sections were taken off during 

 my 16 days' absence, and on my return I found every- 

 thing about the work kept up in as good shape as if I had 

 been at home. And Miss Wilson was still alive. 



We didn't get the last sections off the hives till well 

 along in September, and the final footing up was not con- 

 ducive to despondency. From 124 colonies, spring count, 

 we had 18,150 pounds of comb hone)- (about 20,000 

 finished sections), increasing to 284 colonies ; or, an aver- 

 age of more than 146 pounds per colony, with 129 percent 

 increase. As the storing was mainl)' by one set of col- 

 onies and the increase by another, it would perhaps be 

 fairer to say that 100 colonies averaged ISlyi pounds per 

 colony with no increase, and that each of the remaining 

 colonies was increased to 7 2-3 colonies with no surplus. 

 The best colony gave 300 sections, and several colonies 

 were close on its heels. 



