April S, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
273 
the fine weather and the natural income, has caused breeding to be 
carried on apace in all our hives. Colonies are very strong, and remind 
us of May rather than of March. We must only hope that no long spell 
of cold weather will set in to retard the progress. Having once com¬ 
menced feeding we must not discontinue it, until there is a certainty of 
a regular natural supply of food. Hives which have been regularly 
fed for the last two or three weeks should now be again examined. 
In our last letter we explained what we considered to be the best 
way to proceed in overhauling a bar-frame hive ; the same system should 
again be carried out in looking over the combs, and we would now 
make our first enlargement of the brood nest by reversing the position 
of the combs containing brood. The brood chamber in a hive is more 
or less spherical. We shall for the moment destroy this shape by 
placing the broader portions of brood on the outside of the narrow 
portions. In order to re-establish the natural shape of the brood nest 
the queen will deposit eggs in the unoccupied portions of the now 
inside combs, and also in the outer adjoining combs to those we 
brought from the inside of the brood nest ; this will considerably 
enlarge the size of the mass of brood, and therefore require many 
more bees to cover it. Less bees will therefore be at liberty for out¬ 
door work, and we must not be too eager to enlarge the nest again for 
another fortnight. By that time many young bees will have hatched 
out, and there will be more forage in the fields, and less chance of a 
relapse through the return of cold weather. We may then make a 
further enlargement by placing a frame furnished with a whole sheet 
of foundation in the very centre of the brood nest. 
While making these inspections and enlargements of the hive we 
must not neglect the more important matter of seeing that the bees 
have plenty of food. Every day the demand will be greater and 
greater as young bees are hatched out. At the same time the supply 
from natural sources will be insufficient for some time to come to 
support the colony. It is from this cause that so many stocks in 
straw skeps die at this season of the year. The owner sees his bees 
at work from morn to night, he sees wild flowers in the hedgerows, 
and he thinks the bees are doing well, or he does not think at all. At 
length he finds his bees all dead, starved to death within a few weeks 
of the time when they would have been of great profit to him. 
Owners of straw skeps should not neglect to ascertain the state 
of their bees at once. At the risk of repetition we will again explain 
how a skep should be examined. Blow a few puffs of smoke into 
the entrance, tap the hive, not too roughly, a few times on the top 
and sides ; in two or three minutes the skep may be lifted gently but 
deliberately from its stand and turned upside down. A puff of 
smoke will drive the bees from any part of the combs it is wished to 
inspect. The centre of the hive will, in nine cases out of ten, 
contain the brood nest, and the store of honey, if any, will be found 
on the outer combs and at the top of the brood nest. The condition 
of the stock can be taken in at a glance, and, if no store of food be 
there, feeding should be immediately commenced. A good quantity— 
say 5 or 6 lbs.—of syrup should be rapidly given, and afterwards 
gentle feeding may be continued. Every skep should be made with 
a hole 3 or 4 inches in diameter in the centre of the crown. Over this 
hole a feeding-bottle can be used when necessary, and, later on, 
supers can be filled. Where the crown of the skep is dome-shaped, 
after cutting out a circular piece from the centre the top should be 
made level with the hole by placing a flat piece of board on it, and 
filling up under the board with mortar. When the mortar is dry the 
board can be removed and a level surface will be left upon which to 
place a feeding stage or supers. A rack of sectional supers can be 
rilled over a skep as well as over the best far-frame hive ; and it is to 
be hoped that those who cannot see their way to substituting the 
latter for the old-fashioned hive, will be induced to get their surplus 
honey in the form most attractive and most saleable, which is 
undoubtedly in sections. These sections can be obtained by the 
dozen, the hundred, or the thousand from any dealer in hives ; can be 
easily sent in small quantities by post, and cost about a halfpenny 
each. From ten to fourteen arranged in a tray and warmly covered, 
will be found to be most readily entered by the bees when natural 
conditions are favourable. And, when filled, how much more readily 
will a sale be found for these than for the bellglass or straw 
super.—P. H. P. 
TRANSFERRING BEES. 
I HAVE a hive of bees in a straw skep which I fed up to about 25 lbs 
weight in the autumn. A few weeks ago I examined it and found it very 
strong both in bees and honey. I have also made a bar-frame hive as 
directed in your columns by Mr. Carr. Please tell me, through the 
Journal of Horticulture, if it is safe to transfer them to the bar-frame 
hive ; if so, when, and how? The principal honey harvest here is fruit 
blossoms in April and May.—“ A Fourteen-year-old Bee-keeper.” 
[Replying to your correspondent, I may reasonably conclude that his 
fourteen years’ experience will enable him to form a reliable opinion as to 
what really constitutes a “ very strong ” stock of bees, or I should be 
disposed to urge him to give up the idea of transferring the contents of a 
skep into his new hive this spring, preferring to people it with a swarm 
in May, so that combs as well as hive might be new the first year of his 
working a hive of my pattern. I claim, however, that it is the best hive 
extant for successfully transferring bees into from skeps. 
I will pre-suppose that the stock is strong, the queen young, and the 
combs not more than two years old. If these conditions exist success is 
certain. Let the weather be fairly settled and warm in, say, the middle 
of April, choose a fine sunny day, and prepare for work by arranging 
that the entrance of the new hive shall occupy a position as near as 
possible to that of the skep in which the bees now are. Pieces of narrow 
tape each 15 inches long will be required (a knot of tailor’s stay tape, 
costing one penny, is the best material to use). Drive the bees into an 
empty skep and set it where the old hive stood, brush all the stragglers 
off the combs with a feather, and when the skep is completely cleared of 
bees take it indoors at once to a warm room or greenhouse, and, remem¬ 
bering that it will contain hatching brood in all stages, do not leave it to 
become chilled or allow it to be exposed to cold wind. Set the skep 
bottom upwards, and with a sharp knife cut the straw on opposite sides 
between the centre combs down about two-thirds of its depth ; cut away 
the skep, leaving the combs exposed so that they may be removed as 
required ; probably about seven combs will contain brood, &c. Cut each 
comb out above the brood, a folded cloth covered with a piece of news¬ 
paper makes a soft bed for it to lie on, and does not injure the brood ; 
lay the top bar of a frame with its under side close to the upper edge of 
the comb, and with a pocket knife cut round the inside of the frame, so 
that when the superfluous parts are removed the comb will fit closely 
into the frame. A couple of tapes tied round the outside of the frame 
will keep the comb firm. As each comb of brood is fitted into a frame 
set it in the “spare frame box ” (which may be placed in front of the fire 
for warmth). About seven frames will probably hold all the combs 
which contain brood, eggs, &c., and one additional comb may be given 
with honey and pollen. 
Should the brood in any comb extend below the depth of the frame it 
must be cut neatly through, and two of such narrow pieces fitted together 
will fill another frame. The bees in the hive will thus be confined to 
eight combs, and if the stock is a good one they will fill up the space 
completely, with no risk of chilling brood. 
Carry the eight frames in the spare frame box and set them in posi¬ 
tion at one end of the hive, close up with the divider, and place the empty 
spare frame box on the top of the frames. Now bring the bees in the 
skep, and with a smart rap knock them out on the top of the frames ; the 
empty box will keep them from running over the sides, and they will 
soon take possession of their brood combs. 
Put plenty of covering to keep them warm and feed regularly. Con¬ 
tract the entrance to less than an inch, using one of the side entrances, 
not the centre one. As the bees hatch out and require more room give 
frames of foundation, but as the main honey harvest comes in it will be 
better to give a crate of sections before the bees have filled all the frames 
in the body box. The advantage will then be found of being able to let 
them add to the brood combs without disturbing the crate of sections ; 
but the zinc excluder must be used to keep the queen below.—W. B. C., 
Higher Behingtonf\ 
TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 
J. Epps, Yauxhall Station and Itingwood, Hants .—Price L’St of Peats 
Leaf Mould, Loam, and Sand. 
* + * All correspondence should be directed either to “The Editor” 
or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. AVe 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. _ All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Books (W. Williams ).—You can obtain all the particulars you require 
by writing to the address that was given on page 254 last week. We do not 
supply the work in question. 
