THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEKERS’ JOURNAL. 
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accessible we bore t-mch holes into the ends 
of the blocks so that they pass through the 
feed hole into the cage chamber. Plug this 
hole up outside the feed hole to prevent the 
queen or bees escaping that way when the 
food is used up. The next step is to tack wire 
net on each side of the block to enclose the 
cage chamber. The cage is now complete, but 
they can be improved by dipping the feed- 
hole end of each block into very hot melted 
wax, which will prevent the cages getting 
saturated with the food put in the feed hole 
and getting sticky. To use this cage for in- 
troducing a queen we first half fill the feed 
hole with food made by mixing together finely 
floured sugar and honey until it is a very stiff 
dough, and insert the queen with a few of her 
own bees, or else some young bees just hatched 
from any hive, or even alone, and place the 
cage in any convenient corner of one of the 
frames so that the bees can get on to the 
wire net of the cage, and can also get at 
the food, which they quickly clear out and 
release the queen in an hour or two. Our 
method of having a cage fixed in one of 
the frames of each hive is very convenient, for 
we have only to put in the food and tire queen , 
and put a cork in the cage hole to confine her 
till the bees release her. The cage is also use- 
ful to keep spare queens in, or even to hatch a 
queen cell in. It can be used so easily, with- 
out any disturbance of the bees, and supplies 
the best method we know of for queen intro- 
duction, In fixing the cages in one of the 
upper corners of the frames, two holes must 
be cut in the top bar of tbe frame to correspond 
to the queen entrance and feed hole in the 
block. These can be kept covered by a strip 
of tin or zinc when in use, and witli slipping the 
tin so as to expose the feed hole while cover- 
ing the cage entrance, we can dispense with 
corking the opening; indeed, this plan is ne- 
cessary in the case of vising the cage for a 
queen cell, as the cell lias to be suspended in 
the entrance hole. 
— ♦ 
HINTS FOE SEPTEMBER. 
Healthy colonies will now rapidly increase and 
require watching, so that room may lie given 
in good time to prevent their being' over- 
crowded, and yet not so soon as to induce them 
to spread too much, for we must remember we 
often get excessi vely cold nights and very bleak 
days in September. Keep them so close that 
they fill all the frames pretty thickly and tod up 
on the tops when the mat is lifted a bit. 
If fine weather and a good spring of 
blossoms occurs early in the month, and a cold 
streak supervenes, it would he wise to feed 
slowly till fine weather comes again, as it 
keeps the bees happy and prevents a check on 
breeding ; for very much of the season’s 
success depends on keeping the bees rapidly 
increasing their numbers this month. 
Have everything ready for swarming, 
which may commence any time after the 
middle of September in our warmer localities. 
As soon as the honey flow fairly sets in, watch 
for the right time of snpering with sections or 
extracting frames; this should be done 
immediately the bees are found widening out 
the combs at the tops of the frames. We had 
great success last season in putting in every 
super, or crate, one row of sections full of 
comb from preceding season (one or two with 
a little honey), or in the case of frames for 
extracting two or three full of last year’s comb. 
The bees take to the work in the supers at 
once if the weather is good and honey flow 
continues. Now is the time to build up any 
stock from which to obtain an early lot of 
queens, and this is best done by slow bat 
steady feeding' and keeping the colony warm, 
contracting the entrance somewhat and 
putting on an extra mat. 
That beekeepers’ pest, “ foul brood,” is 
abroad, and every one should be on the qm vise 
for its appearance. If any is found now it is 
almost sure to get worse as the season 
advances, and it will he necessary to adopt 
some measures to stay its progress. Any of 
the methods recommended in former numbers 
may be tried, they all seem to succeed some- 
times ; no curative methods, however, have 
been successful in our hands. Placing the 
bees in a new hive with starters of foundation 
only, and feeding with phenolated or salicy- 
licated food are the only plans that we have 
succeeded with. If, however, the disease is 
really bad and affecting nearly all the brood, 
the stock dwindling and the unpleasant odour 
very perceptible, utter destruction is the 
safest cure. 
It will be best for beekeepers now to deckle 
what policy they will adopt as regards swarms; 
if they desire increase of stocks, encourage 
early swarms by crowding and warmth, and 
taking the usual precautions against second 
swarms if desired. More than two swaruiB 
from the same colony is scarcely to be 
desired, except two or three months later. 
If honey produce rather than more stocks 
of bees is required, only one swarm should be 
allowed to come off, and that s.aould be re- 
turned in this way : — When the swarm is off 
move the hive away a little and put a new one 
in its place. Take four frames of brood from 
the old hive with any bees that may be on 
them and place in new hive. See that all 
frames with queen cells are left in old hive, or 
cut out cells that are on frames put in the 
new one. Put in four frames with founda- 
tions (starters or full frames) and fill hive 
with dummies. Hive the swarm in this new 
hive, which is now on the old stand, and if 
there was any super witli sections or frames 
over the old hive, place it on the new, and 
work will continue almost as well as if no 
swarming had taken place. Remove the old 
hive to another stand, and tbe remaining- bees 
and those rapidly hatching out will attend to 
