August 20th. 58 to 77 degrees. Splendid work on buckwheat, never saw better. 
(21st) 60 to 81 degrees. A beautiful shower in the AM
To get after swarms. Feed daily, same as to get drones. To get combs
and bees and brood for nuclei early in the season. Break up old box
hives. (see page) Discouraging arrangement of combs. see page
Gave a good nucleus an empty frame, they began to fill it vigorously, gave them another,
separating combs, deserted. Helped a small nucleus with young bees shaken off
from frame, some drones, they at once expelled them. Propolis, if honey boards
be not properly fitting much labor wasted by bees in gumming up with propolis. 
In a duel an unfertile queen killed a fertile one. Mending combs by bees. 
I have made small triangular cuts in cutting out queen cells, such holes are
not usually filled by bees, cannot work to advantage. Larger cuts and square
or rectangular should be made. Winter passages. Some combs sent in hives from
Cleveland several years ago had long narrow slits, half inch wide, some thus
others. These slits have never been closed. In this way we can get
good and permanent winter passages. Use but one and
make it half an inch wide and extend 2/3rds from bottom up. 
Experiment some to see if 1/2, 3/8 or 1/4 of an inch is the proper or best width, bees could
not miss such a passage, if it works well the very best yet devised [illegible]
will be filled up, not always found by bees, costs something etc. 
To make bees swarm naturally. Mr. writes me
that he can always make a colony swarm by putting in a sealed queen cell. 
If the conditions are favorable for swarming I presume that it would generally
answer. As [inserted: some of] my strongest stocks of Italians are now swarming I shall at
once try this plan with them, giving queen cells to such as have none started to
test the plan, clipping also wing of queen. I cannot entirely get rid of the idea
that a natural swarm works more industriously than an artificial one. 
22nd. 72 degrees. Thunder shower in night, after daybreak. At 7 AM, 72 degrees, 7 3/4 AM, 62 degrees,
8 [inserted: AM] 56 degrees. Wind at first was southwest, veered to northeast, no flow of buckwheat honey after
the shower. Gave to a 13 frame colony, every frame has brood, crowded with bees,
drones etc. two sealed queens, in an hour found them gutted, showing that the always
does not hold. If the weather had been favorable it might have answered. L. L. L. 's plan
to make a hive swarm with a sealed queen. Cage queen, then give sealed queen
about a week old, one just sealed better perhaps, in a few days after they have queen
cells well under way liberate queen, or cage her without any sealed queen and
encourage her when they have begun to seal their queens. This latter method well
worth trying on a large scale to see how reliable it may prove. Of course expect
nothing except when circumstances are favorable for a swarm. (23rd) 44 to 67 degrees. 
Wind still northeast, not much honey
got by bees.