June  19,  1902. 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
545 
9 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
. , . ,  . , .  1 .  1  ■.  1  . ,  .  1  .  1  . ,  . .  .  1  .  1 .  1  .-L-i  -Xij..  1 . ,  .  ! .  1 .  1  .  1  ,  1 . 
*5 
„  Swarming. 
To  some  bee-keepers  swarming  is  a  source  of,  trouble  and 
anxiety,  and  this  is  especially  so  when  increase  is  not  desired. 
Apart  from  this,  however,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  harvest  a 
large  crop  of  honey  if  swarming  is  permitted.  Where  honey  is 
the  object,  it  is  therefore  imperative  that  it  should,  if  possible, 
be  entirely  avoided,  and  this  can  only  be  accomplished  by  careful 
management.  A  good  hive  mismanaged  Avill  give  poor  results, 
but  twm  poor  ones  cannot  under  any  circumstances  turn  out  well. 
In  the  first  place,  swarming  is  the  natural  instinct  of  reproduc¬ 
tion,  prompting  the  bees  to  rear  a  ([ueen  when  breeding  is  at  its 
height,  and  the  hive  verj"  densely  populated,  to  supersede  the  old 
queen,  which  accompanies  the  swarm  to  form  a  new  home.  This 
natural  emigration  is  consequent  and  dependent  upon  a  variety 
of  conditions  and  circumstances,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
excessive  heat,  generally  caused  by  overcrowding,  inability  of 
the  bees  to  deposit  their  stores  through  lack  of  room. 
The  most  reliable  symptoms  of  swarming  are  bees  loitering 
at  the  entrance,  and  occasionally  running  in  and  out  of  the  hive 
as  if  actually  working,  but  never  taking  wing,  and  clustering  on 
the  alighting  board.  The  exigencies  of  space  become  imperative, 
and  compel  the  bees  and  queen  to  leave  the  hive.  There  is  no 
infallible  method  of  preventing  swarms.  In  working  for  extracted 
honey,  the  most  efficient  way  to  obtain  this  desideratum  is  to 
limit  the  production  of  drones,  keep  as  many  young  queens  as 
possible,  shade  the  hives  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  open  all 
entrances  full  width,  and  at  the  same  time  raise  the  roof  to  pro¬ 
vide  a  good  distribution  of  air.  Conduction  and  evaporation  play 
a  minor  part  in  the  reduction  of  temperature,  ventilation  being 
the  main  agent. 
Supers  should  always  be  added  a  little  in  advance  of  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  the  colqny,  as,  if  the  bees  are  once  cramped,  no 
subsequent  addition  of  room  will  prevent  them  coming  off.  The 
salient  point  is  to  encourage  comb  building  and  honey  gathering. 
This  may  be  done  by  not  imposing  any  fetters  on  the  actions  of 
the  bees.  When  a  colony  is  observed  loitering,  an  examination 
of  the  brood  chamber  will  generally  reveal  queen  cells  in  progress. 
Each  bar  must  then  be  gone  over  carefully,  all  cells  excised,  and 
additional  room  given  to  the  queen  for  ovipositing  by  adding  a 
shallow  super  underneath  the  brood  chamber,  or  removing  two 
or  three  bars  of  brood  and  inserting  bars  fitted  with  foundation 
in  their  places.  The  bars  of  brood  may  be  distributed  amongst 
the  other  colonies  to  hatch.  When  an  undesired  swarm  has 
issued,  and  there  is  no  lack  of  frames  and  body  boxes,  a  double 
brood  nest  may  be  given.  After  carefully  going  over  all  the 
combs  and  cutting  out  every  queen  cell,  place  the  bars  alternately 
with  empty  drawn  outs,  or  bars  of  foundation  in  both  storeys, 
which  will  increase  the  capacity  of  the  hive  ;  then  return  the 
swarm,  and  at  the  same  time  put  on  supers.  If  this  is  properly 
carried  out  there  is  little  or  no  risk  of  them  swarming  again,  and 
a  good  harvest  is  almost  certain.  Consideration  will  show  that 
the  increased  expense  in  providing  double  brood  chambers  is  more 
apparent  than  real.  As  honey  is  generally  coming  rapidly  in  the 
swarming  season,  everjdhing  should  be  done  to  keep  the  bees  at 
work  storing. 
One  plan  which  yields  excellent  results  is  to  hive  the  swarm  on 
its  old  stand  in  a  shallow  super  of  worker  base,  upon  which  place 
the  queen  excluder  and  another  shallow  storey.  This  is  far  prefer¬ 
able  to  any  plan  of  contracted  brood  chambers,  as  all  the  honey  is 
stored  above,  and  breeding  goes  on  below.  If  the  original  stock 
is  removed,  and  the  new  one  put  in  its  position,  all  the  working 
force  wdll  return  and  strengthen  the  swarm  ;  and  as  there  is  no 
brood  to  nurse,  more  bees  will  be  liberated  for  honey  gathering, 
which,  regarded  from  the  commercial  side,  is  of  considerable 
importance.  In  this  case  the  queen  excluder  must  not  be  omitted, 
or  there  will  be  a  difficulty  in  separating  the  honey  and  the  brood 
when  required.  If  a  hive  is  quiet  in  the  early  morning  while 
others  are  active,  a  swarm  may  soon  be  confidently  expected. 
The  first  signs  of  the  issue  of  a  sAvarm  are  bees  coming  out  nume¬ 
rously,  and  flying  about  in  an  aimless  manner  in  the  air  until  it 
seems  completely  full  of  them.  A  .small  cluster  then  generally 
appears  on  some  adjacent  tree  or  birsh,  the  animated' particles  of 
which  it  consists  grow  so  rapidly  that  in  five  minutes  it  assumes 
the  shape  and  .size  of  a  football,  which  is  joined  by  the  queen. . 
As  soon  as  the  swarm  is  comfortably  settled,  it  may  be  hiv'ed. 
This  is  quite  a  simple  operation.  A  .skep  held  in  the  left  hand  is 
the  lightest  and  most  convenient  article.  Give  the  twig  or  branch 
upon  which  the  bees  have  .settled  a  sudden,  sharp  shake  to  dis¬ 
lodge  them,  and  they  fall  in  a  mass  to  the  bottom  of  the  skep. 
Care  must  be  taken  to  secure  the  queen.  Afterwards  turn  the 
receptacle  the  right  way  up,  i-aise  one  edge  an  inch  or  two,  so  that 
the  stragglers  may  join  the  other  bees,  and  shade  if  the  sun  is  hot. 
Now  prepare  the  bar-frame  hive  if  this  has  not  already  been  done, 
and  towards  evening  the  bees  may  be  emptied  out  of  the  skep 
into  the  moveable  comb  hive  placed  in  its  jAermanent  po.sition. 
There  are  various  methods  of  putting  swai’ins  into  bar-frame  hives, 
one  of  which  is  a,s  follows  :  — Remove  the  roof  of  the  hive  and  the 
quilts,  place  the  skep  on  the  top  of  the  frames,  then  with  both 
hands  lift  the  skep  and  bump  it  on  the  bars  once  or  twice.  The 
bees  will  fall  on  the  frames  and  immediately  run  beloAv,  when  the 
quilts  must  be  replaced ;  or  the  bees  may  be  shaken  on  a  board 
in  front  of  the  hive,  and  allowed  to  run  in  at  the  entrance.  This 
is  the  method  in  most  general  u.se  in  this  country. — E.  E.,  Sand- 
bach. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
VINES  :  IN  POTS.— Stop  tho.se  for  fruiting  next  season 
when  from  6ft  to  8ft  long,  according  to  the  length  of  cane  the 
fruiting  is  desired  on,  and  pinch  the  laterals  and  sub-laterals  to 
one  joint  as  produced.  Obtain  as  much  stored-up  matter  in  the 
Vines  as  possible  by  judicious  feeding  and  cleanly  foliage 
thoroughly  exposed  to  light  and  air.  Vines  intended  for  plant¬ 
ing  should  be  kept  in  comparatively  small  pots,  and  in  that 
case  they  will  not  make  a  large  amount  of  lateral  growth,  which 
need  not  be  closely  pinched,  but  it  is  better  to  stop  at  the  first 
joint,  and  afterwards  not  allow  the  sub-laterals  to  interfere  with 
the  principal  foliage. 
HOUSES  OF  LATE  GRAPES.— The  berries  must  be  thinned 
immediately  they  are  large  enough,  as  they  swell  rapidly  at  this 
season,  and  soon  become  too  large  to  be  thinned  properly  and 
expeditiously ;  besides,  Avhen  the  Avork  is  defeiwed  too  long  the 
size  of  the  fruit  is  impaired.  The  laterals  must  not  be  allowed 
to  extend  so  as  to  interfere  Avith  the  principal  foliage.  The 
groAvth  may  be  permitted  to  extend  Avhere  there  is  space  to 
admit  of  its  full  e^tpo.sure  to  light,  but  not  otherwise,  as  over- 
croAvding  and  overcropping  are  often  the  can.ses  of  failure,  and 
more  frequently  so  than  any  other  error  of  culture.  Remove  all 
superfluous,  badly  placed  or  deformed  bunches.  Crop  lightly, 
which  means  size,  quality,  and  high  finish  ;  bulk  signifies  small 
fruit,  bad  colour,  poor  quality,  often  shanking,  and  ahvays  non¬ 
keeping.  Water  thoroughlj^  when  neces.sary  ;  one  good  water¬ 
ing  is  worth  many  driblets.  Afford  top-dressings  of  chemical 
manures,  and  a  light  mulch  of  sweet  lumpy  manure  Avill  prove 
beneficial  in  most  cases  by  encouraging  surface  roots  and  main¬ 
taining  the  moisture  uniformly. 
HOUSES  OF  RIPE  GRAPES. — Black  Grapes  will  be  better* 
for  a  slight  sliade  from  poAverful  sun  ;  some  pilchard  or  a  double 
thickness  of  herring  nets  draAvn  over  the  roofs  Avill  mostly  be 
sufficient  shade,  and  a  good  spread  of  foliage  Avill  not  injure  the 
berries  but  assist  in  Hamburghs  keeping  colour.  Moderate  air 
moisture  Avill  not  injure  the  Grapes  if  accompanied  by  free  ven¬ 
tilation.  Keep  laterals  fairly  under,  but  a  little  extension  Avill 
assist  in  retaining  the  principal  leaves,  and  upon  their  continu¬ 
ance  in  health  depends  the  maturing  of  the  buds  for  next  j'ear’s 
crop.  Muscats  and  all  amber-coloured  Grapes  improve  in  colour 
after  being  apparently  ripe,  and  bear  exposure  to  light  without 
detriment  up  to  a  certain  point,  that  of  the  rich  golden  amber 
stage,  but  after  that  they  become  darker  and  blotchy,,  then  the 
skin  IS  very  susceptible  of  injury  from  moisture,  which  must  be 
strictly  guarded  against  by  free  ventilation  and  a  little  air  con¬ 
stantly. 
PEACHES  WITH  FRUIT  RIPENING. — The  trees  must  not 
be  syringed,  but  moderate  moisture  should  be  maintained  until 
the  fruit  is  ripe  ;  even  Avhen  ripe  an  arid  atmosphere  should  be 
avoided,  as  it  is  highly  prejudicial  to  the  foliage  and  induces  to 
attacks  of  red  spider.  Water  mu.st  be  given  liberally  at  the  roots, 
not,  hoAvever,  making  the  soil  sodden  and  sour  by  needless 
applications.  In  gathering  Peaches  great  care  is  necessary,  as 
the  least  pressure  makes  a  mark  and  spoils  their  appearance. 
A  piece  of  Avadding  should  be  held  in  the  hand  and  the  fruit 
removed  by  gentle  pressure  on  the  base,  and  the  fruit  gently 
laid  in  a  padded  basket  or  tray.  A  cool  and  airy  fruit  room  is 
the  best  place  to  keep  Peaches  and  Nectarines  in  after  they  are 
gathered . 
TREES  SWELLING  THEIR  CROPS.— When  the  stoning  is 
over  the  trees  Avill  endure  strong  heat  without  fear  of  the  fruit 
falling.  Afford  tepid  liquid  manure  to  the  roots  of  trees  carrying 
full  crops,  and  otherAvise  not  too  vigorous.  Be  careful  in  giving 
liquid  manure  to  A'ery  vigorous  trees,  as  it  tends  to  over- 
luxuriance,  and  may  interfere  Avith  setting  and  stoning  in  the 
succeeding  year.  Still,  liberal  treatment  is  necessary,  such  as 
light  surface  mulchings  and  copious  Avaterings  every  Aveek  or 
