14 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL EOR OCTOBER. 
This is always considered to be the swarming 
month, consequently the hives will require con- 
stant care and attention. Where many are kept 
the apiary should never be left unwatched 
during fine days. Excessive swarming may be 
expected this season, as everything is favourable 
for enabling bees to rear large quantities of 
brood. The growdi of the Cape mangold is 
phenomenal, and the abundant moisture will 
ensure the flowers of this weed lasting for a 
considerable time. Around Adelaide bees are 
simply revelling in these flowers, and are filling 
their combs with the rank honey. Whilst this 
plant continues in bloom swarms of bees may be 
hived without any trouble being taken in regard 
to feeding. If comb foundation is given, combs 
will be rapidly built for the reception of brood 
and honey, but the hives should be regularly 
inspected about once a week in order to see that 
everything is proceeding in a proper manner. 
The foundatiou often gets twisted and bent 
through the heat of the hive, but this can easily 
be corrected by the beekeeper during the pro- 
gress of comb building. The advantage of 
straight combs well repays any little trouble 
taken in this way. 
Queen-rearing can now be entered into with a 
certainty of success. There are many methods 
of doing this, but we will only describe one that 
can he carried out by any beekeeper who uses 
the Langstroth or other frame hive. Having 
selected a strong colony for building the queen 
cells, the bees should have some smoke blown in 
amongst them and the queen removed. She can 
be given to a queenless hive or used where re- 
quired. The combs are then carefully examined 
and all which coniain uncapped brood should be 
removed. This hive we will call the queen- 
rearing hive. Now go to the hive containing the 
very best queen in the apiary and select a comb 
in the cells of which can be seen the tiny larvae 
just hatched from the eggs. These larvae appear 
four days after the eggs were laid, and can only 
be seen’by careful inspection, but it is absolutely 
necessary to get them at the right age — that is 
the day they emerge from the eggs. (If there is 
difficulty in doing this, select a comb containing 
eggs only.) Having shaken the bees off this 
comb, three long strips about one inch wide are 
cut out with a sharp knife, and these strips are 
fastened with melted wax to the underside of 
three ordinary frames. This should he done in 
such a way that the weight of the bees cannot 
pull the strips of comb away from the frames. 
These frames with the prepared strips are now 
placed in the centre of the queen-rearing hive, 
which, as described above, has been deprived of 
its queen and young brood. Three days after 
this operation an examination should be made, 
and several queen cells will be found nearly 
completed. On the fourth day — thtt is eight 
days from the time the eggs were laid— the cells 
ought to be completely sealed up and finished. 
On the eleventh day the queen cells should be 
carefully cut out and distributed amongst queen- 
loss colonies that have been prepared for their 
reception. In fixing a queen cell in one of 
these colonies it is best done by placing it in the 
natural way with the pointed end downwards 
between the top bars of two frames and holding 
it in position by gently pressing the frames to- 
gether. On the twelfth day — that is sixteen 
days after the eggs were laid — all the queens 
should emerge from the cells. Ten days after 
the queens emerge they should he laying, and 
three weeks after thatyoungbees ought to appear. 
The great advantage of rearing queens from one 
queen mother in this way is that the beekeeper 
is breeding from his best colony, and each year 
will tend to improve the qualities of his bees. 
A practical illustration will show how these 
young queens may be used at this season. For 
instance, it is desired to prevent a colony from 
swarming and at the same time increase to two 
colonies. The original hive is moved to another 
stand and a new hive is placed on the old stand. 
Two or three frames are removed from the 
original hive, the bees are brushed off, and these 
frames are placed in the new hive. A young 
queen is caged in the new hive ; the old bees 
flying back to the old stand soon form a goodly 
cluster, and when two days afterwards the 
young queen is released it will be found that 
there are two excellent colonies of bees that will 
as a rule give over swarming for the season. — 
Garden and Field. 
Bees and Cape Marigold. — Mr. Naismith 
reported that his bees were doing well, and he 
had already secured 27 swarms. Some of the 
colonies had filled the boxes with honey, but it 
was unfortunately taken from the Cape Marigold 
(Cryptostemma calendulacea), which is so 
strongly tasted that it is hardly fit for use. He 
thought it might do to feed back to the bees in 
time of scarcity. [The honey from Cape 
Marigold is generally fed back to bees in winter. 
It will aso serve to make honey vinegar, which is 
the best vinegar for all purposes. From one to 
three pounds of honey should be stirred into each 
gallon of water (according to strength required), 
then let the mixture stand exposed to air from 
three to six months, when the vinegar is fit for 
use. By placing a cup of good vinegar over the 
bunghole, and plaeng threads of worsted oom- 
municating between the vinegar and the mixture 
of honey and water, the process is greatly 
hastened,] — “ Garden and field)." 
AMERICAN SEEDS. 
Figwort, Spider Plant, Motherwort, Horsemint, 
Catnip, White Sage, Rocky Mountain Bee 
Plant. Assorted packets, 2s. 6d. and 5s. 
BEEKEEPERS SUPPLY CO. 
Franklin-street, Melhonrae. 
