June 9, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
473 
of the latter may with profit ho sacrificed if necessary to 
the former. Every stock when taken to the Heather, or 
when the Heather season approaches, must he very 
strong in hees. Now if stocks are ready for swarming 
during the first twenty days of May, one swarm may be 
taken from each hive, the casts being returned to the stocks 
from which they have issued. There will then he two 
colonies of bees which may be able to take advantage of 
all the flow of Clover honey, certainly of part, and which 
will he in grand condition when the latter yields its 
nectar. 
A 
Thirdly, If there is but little fruit and Sycamore 
honey, and Clover is the only plant yielding any quantity 
•of honey, the modified system must be adopted, because 
by judicious feeding an increase may be obtained, and the 
stock be in good condition bj the time the Clover is in 
bloom. Half a swarm may with safety be taken in the 
manner pointed out last year; the swarm will thus be 
very strong without any stock being injuriously weakened. 
In no case do I think it wise to take more than one 
swarm from each stock if honey is desired in quantity. 
Those who can sell stocks and swarms will of course 
adopt a system of management to suit their requirements, 
but only a small minority of bee-keepers are able to sell 
■swarms and stocks with certainty. I am aware that there 
are other points to be considered before deciding to adopt 
one of these three methods, but they are only offshoots 
as it were of the great principles which I have endeavoured 
to make sufficiently clear to enable all to grasp what are 
the main considerations which should carry weight with 
them when a bee-keeper is deciding to adopt the swarm¬ 
ing, non-swarming, or modified swarming system of 
management. In subsequent articles dealing severally with 
these systems, and giving detailed instructions of practical 
management, every point in favour of the one or the other, 
•or telling against any of them, shall be brought prominently 
forward and fully discussed. At present it is sufficient 
to have shown that in one district a system of manage¬ 
ment may be pursued with profit which in another 
locality would be attended by certain failure. With those 
who decry the value of orchard honey because of the 
uncertainty whether the hees will have a chance of gather¬ 
ing it I have no sympathy, because even though possibly 
in no year can the weather in May be expected to allow 
of unremitting work, yet the season is rare when bees 
which are in good condition have not the opportunity of 
•collecting sufficient honey to keep them increasing in 
■strength, and also to enable them to draw out foundation 
and fill the sections with empty comb. 
Those who have every stock strong in numbers and a 
good supply of empty comb for each hive, will find that 
they have gained a great advantage over those whose bees 
have to build the comb when they ought to be collecting 
and storing honey. The season does not wait, the honey 
flow passes by, and the cry is heard “ a bad season ” 
arising from one apiary, while in the next, not perhaps 
more than a hundred yards distant, the bee-keeper is 
congratulating himself upon the “grand crop” he has 
secured—mainly, it should be remembered, owing to his 
own practical foreseeing management.— Felix. 
NOTES ON BEES. 
DISEASE OF BEES. 
It appears that bees are not exempt from the disease which 
usually attacks them in some quarters at this season. A correspon¬ 
dent writes saying, “ The annual disease which our bees are subject 
to at this season, beginning generally about the 20th May and con¬ 
tinues about eight or ten days, is decimating our hives greatly, the 
bees dying by thousands.” A subsequent letter in answer to me 
with bees accompanying it, which I have forwarded to Dr. Walker, 
says, “ The bees lose all power of their wings as they roam about 
with them extended, as well as is their hinder part, and have a bad 
smell.’’ The Rhododendrons are plentiful, but are not in bloom, nor 
will they be until the middle of June, and as for honey there has 
not been a single cell gathered yet.” Query—What can be the 
cause of the death of bees in a highland district free from all pollu¬ 
tion, unlike Greenock ? Iam inclined to think pollen has something 
to do with it; bat I trust Dr. G. Walker will be able to solve the 
problem. 
In another district of the western highlands two weeks ago the 
Rhododendrons were in full bloom and so plentiful that a bee¬ 
keeper is hopeful of getting supers filled from them, but does not 
speak of bees dying or suffering from any disease. Nor am I sure 
whether the disease which affects the bees at Greenock (which I 
have witnesse 1) is the same a3 those sent to Dr. Walker, but I have 
asked the Greenock bee-keeper to send on some diseased bees to Dr. 
Walker, and I will do my utmost to collect all the evidence possible 
to solve the mystery. 
CASES AND COVERINGS FOR HIVES. 
I omitted to state in my last communication on cases that per¬ 
haps the most effectual weather joint (certainly the most simple) 
for an amateur to make is to sink strips of wood flush into the 
frames, from 2 to 3 inches broad by a quarter of an inch thick, 
right in the centre where the edges of the lining proper comes, so 
that they cover it an inch deep. Such a joint is not influenced in 
any way by the weather, whether it shrinks or expands, and if the 
space between the edges of the lining is pretty wide will air over 
the top of the hive effectually. Economy in hives will be more 
studied than it has been in the past, as well as adaptability and 
suitability. Single-cased hives are doubtless the most suitable for 
bee-keeping generally, as they also are the most beneficial and com¬ 
fortable towards the health of the bees, and in point of cheapness 
cannot be surpassed. The only outlay necessary for their protection 
is a sheet of galvanised iron 3 feet by 2 feet 6 inches, having a hole 
pierced about G inches from each end the 2 feet 6-inch way, 
through which a piece of fencing wire passes after it has 
been bent at each end, so that the end of the wire about 
an inch long is bent about an inch wide and runs parallel to 
the long portion of the wire, which should be about 23 inches. 
The iron is sprung into these inturned ends and forms a circle 
and the best roof that can be procured. If the bees require 
to be removed to the Heather, the wires are taken out and the iron 
springs hack to its original flatness, making it handy for packing 
underneath the hives on whatever vehicle they are transmitted, and 
the hooked wires can be replaced in a few seconds, which keep the 
iron firmly on the hive, and if desired a cord fastened to stand and 
wire, no wind will throw it off.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper. 
ARTIFICIAL SWARM. 
Do you think I could make an artificial swarm of bees in the fol¬ 
lowing manner with any chance of success? I have two stocks of bees, 
one in a straw skep, and one in a bar frame. On a fine day when the 
bees are flying well I thought of taking a comb of brood and eggs from 
the frame hive, and putting it in a new hive together with some spare 
comb I have on hand. I should then remove the straw hive to a new 
stand and put the new hive in its place, the flying bees taking possession 
and raising a queen from the eggs or brood taken from the other stock. 
Do j'ou think the middle of June would be a good time to try it ?—A. P. 
[Certainly not, swarms without queens are useless. You may take 
a comb of brood from the stock and the queen, placing this comb and 
queen in a new hive, and placing the new hive 3 feet on one side of the 
old stand, and the stock 3 feet on the other side. If the swarm or 
stock seems to be too weak in bees, either may be strengthened by being 
brought nearer ti the old stand. The same with the skep, but you will 
have to drive the bees to get the queen. You may, if your stocks are 
not very strong, take half a swarm from each, but a good stock is now 
ready to yield a full swarm, and a comparatively weak one now will be 
able to afford a swarm on 15th June, the height of the honey season.— 
Felix.] 
HIVING BEES. 
Perhaps you will kindly oblige me with instruction as to how to 
hive a flight of bees in an ordinary bar-framed hive. Both 1 and the 
man are ignorant of the manner in which it is done. I shall be glad to 
know, although the bees are not gone yet from the old straw skep.— 
S. A. C. 
[Hive your swarm in an ordinary skep, wedge up the front of the 
bar-frame hive at least an inch above the floorboard, fasten a sheet to 
the floorboard, and let it slope gradually to the ground. As soon as the 
swarm has settled in the skep carry it to the frame hive, and with a 
sudden jerk throw the swarm from the skep on to the sheet. The bees 
