27 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
sometimes both be attained, as when honey is 
plentiful swarming- may be to a larae extent 
prevented by the use of the extractor, com- 
bined with plenty of room given at the right 
time; but it frequently happens that during 
the swarming season there is only sufficient 
honey to be gathered to sustain the colony, 
and should a few of the best hives store* a 
little, the attempt to extract it would be 
pretty sure to induce robbing. In such a case 
as this, if the colonies are strong to begin 
with, it is almost impossible to prevent 
swarming. It may be delayed, and in some 
cases put off altogether, by placing frames of 
foundation in the centre of the brood-nest, of 
removing frames of brood to weaker stocks ; 
but as soon as all the hives are full — which 
under favourable circumstances will soon be 
the case — this must stop, and then most of 
them will swarm. Perhaps the most satis- 
factory plan is to allow or make one prime 
swarm from each colony, and reduce to the 
original number by uniting later in the season. 
In a good season most honey is obtained with 
a moderate increase ; but in such a season as 
that of 18S4-5 each stock may be increased 
four or five fold, and yet have all tiered-up 
and crowded with bees at the time when the 
red gums commence to bloom. One of the 
surest ways to prevent a second swarm from 
issuing is to introduce a virgin queen within 
two or three days from the date of the first 
one, destroying all queen cells at the same 
time, and giving additional room as fast, but 
no faster than, the bees can utilise it. If the 
hives are being worked for comb-honey, a 
good early swarm will often get the “ swarm- 
ing fever” three or four weeks after being 
hived, even though all available space for 
surplus has been given them. The rather 
troublesome plan of taking out all queen cells 
and returning the swarm, is frequently unsuc- 
cessful, and if returned a second time they 
will probably kill the old queen, and “sulk 
around” till the first one hatches, and then 
swarm again. Certainly the best plan in the 
event of a stock having the “swarming fever” 
in the middle of the season is to hive the 
swarm on full sheets of foundation, and 
extract about every three days for two or 
three weeks, when they may bo tiered-up, or 
have sections given them, or else to move the 
sections at once from the old to the new hive, 
only putting starters in the brood frames. By 
the first plan I have known a swarm to fill all 
their frames with comb, and yield fifty pounds 
of extracted honey within a week after being 
hived. By the second plan a much smaller 
quantity of surplus will de obtained in the 
shape of comb honey, and the stock will 
not be strong at the end of the season. 
The production of extracted homy requires 
less labour, and will in the end be found 
more profitable than working for comb 
honey ; but a neat section box nicely filled 
with translucent comb and sealed, as only 
the bees can seal it, with snowy capping, 
is such an attractive object that there will 
always be a demand for them, while many 
people much prefer to eat honey in the comb, 
and are willing to pay for it the higher price 
which the extra cost of production entails. 
If the hives destined for extracting have been 
properly managed the bees will require little 
or no persuasion to begin work in the upper 
storey, which as a rule should be placed on the 
hive as soon as the honey flow commences. 
If the bees are storing honey in the brood 
nest, and building little pieces of comb on the 
edges of the frames and in all other available 
spaces, it may be taken as a sure sign that 
they are ready to move “ upstairs.” The 
arrangement of the combs must be regulated 
to a certain extent by the exact circum- 
stances of each colony'. It is often advisable to 
move at least one frame of brood to 
the upper storey, together with any 
frames from the lower storey, which 
contain little or no brood, supplying 
their places with empty combs or full sheets 
of foundation placed near the centre of the 
brood nest, so that the lower storey may be 
as full of brood as possible. The frames 
moved up should be alternated with full sheets 
of foundation, or better still, with empty 
combs, if such are on hand, and only nine 
frames should be used in the upper storey. 
The queen will frequently deposit eggs in the 
lower part of several of the upper frames, but 
this is a small drawback, bhe may be pre- 
vented from doing so by placing an “ excluder 
zinc’’ — the perforations in which will admit 
workers, but not a laying queen— between the 
upper and lower sets of frames ; but the bees 
do not like them. Should the queen fail to 
lay in the outside frames below, they may be 
exchanged with any containing brood from 
“ upstairs.” As bees usually work downwards 
more readily than upwards, the new combs 
are sometimes placed in the lower storey, but 
when they are willing to move up, the other 
plan is preferable. The frames to be 
extracted should be numbered on the top bars, 
so that they may be returned to their former 
places. The plan of removing all the bees 
from the hive that is being extracted, caging 
the queen, &e , as sometimes recommended in 
books, is too slow and cumbrous where many 
hives have to be done in the day. The honey 
should be extracted as soon as the combs are 
full, and before they are scaled over. To wait 
until it is sealed entails a large amount of 
extra labour on both the bees and their master, 
and very considerably reduces the crop. 
