BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
When we acknowledge that the eight-frame hive is too small for best results, we seal its fate; for the extra manipulation necessary for the maintenance of another eight-frame brood-chamber would maintain another ten-frame colony, making the odds greatly in favor of the latter. From an economical point of view, the eight-frame hive is not a desirable proposition. It has been weighed in the balance and found wanting, in that it consumes too much time in extra manipulation. Increased manipulation means increased cost of honey-production and decreased profits to the producer.
The twelve-frame hive is decidedly an extracted-honey hive, and yet it is doubtful if, under modern methods, it will produce any better results in extracted-honey production than the general-purpose ten-frame hive. Modern methods of controlling bees have proven the fallacy of depending upon large hives for the control of swarming; and so another theory has fallen, carrying with it the last prop that supports the jumbo hive. In summing up the evidence we find that, while the eight-frame and jumbo hives would seem to be best suited to the needs of the specialist, theoretically, yet when put to the practical test side by side with the general-purpose ten-frame hive, the theory goes by default for want of evidence to sustain it, and the latter is increasing in popularity every day. It is of sufficient size to develop the fertility of the average queen, and not so large that a good one can not fill it with bees in time for the clover harvest. It is of sufficient size to accommodate a colony of bees and sufficient stores to carry them through to settled warm weather, rendering the colony largely self-supporting with little attention, all of which are points of excellence that should recommend a hive to the masses.
While a medium-sized general-purpose hive like the ten-frame Langstroth Is undoubtedly preferable in some respects to either of the extremes, it is doubtful if the difference is sufficient to warrant any one's discarding good hives on account of their size. Large hives may be used to good advantage in comb-honey production by shifting the flying bees over into a shallow extracting-super at the beginning of harvest, thus forcing them to store practically all the honey in the sections, and switching them back into the large hive to winter. Any of the hives in common use will give excellent results under the new system. Aside from the points of economy and utility mentioned above, one hive is practically as good as another, and all are but an open book when correct principles are applied by correct methods.
SECTIONAL HIVES.
While there are good points in sectional hives, the advantages are not so apparent under the new system, which reduces both hive and frame manipulation to the minimum.
SELF-SPACING VS. LOOSE FRAMES.
From an economical point of view there is no question as to the superiority of self-spacing over loose swinging frames.
**The day is past when bee-keepers can afford to practice the primitive and laborious method of spacing loose frames and then respacing them every time a live is moved. Self-spacing frames have come to stay, and are another of the little things that help to make things run smoothly. Among the excellent devices for spacing frames there should be little difficulty in selecting a good one.**
**SUPERS.**
**As a matter of economy it is the part of wisdom to adopt a super that is adapted to both comb and extracted-honey production. The advantages of such an arrangement are that, by using an extracting-comb on each side, and section-frames in the center, the sections will be finished quicker, and the surface of the combs maintain that snowy whiteness that adds a peculiar charm to comb honey. These combs also serve as baits in getting the bees started in the supers early, which is a further aid to swarm control. Another advantage in adopting such a super is that the bee-keeper can change from comb to extracted-honey production, and vice versa, at a trifling expense.**
**FRAMES VS. SECTION-HOLDERS.**
**Section-holders were introduced as a sort of makeshift to take the place of bottom slats and permit of handling four sections at a time. While such an arrangement is doubtless
## 12 Requeening.
This is a practice that is being sadly neglected by the average honey-producer. The maintenance of colonies headed by aged queens is costing the bee-keepers of this country thousands of dollars every year. Poultrymen have discovered that, while a hen will do very good work at laying during the summer season until four or five years old, her capacity for egg-production during the late fall and winter months, when eggs bring the highest price, diminishes rapidly after the first season. The result is, there are few egg-farms of any magnitude in the country to-day where hens are kept for commercial egg-production more than one year. What is true of hens is also true of queens. A young queen will keep up brood-rearing late in the fall, and begin with vigor early in spring, and bring her colony up to the harvest fairly boiling over with bees, while an old one will often be found wanting in these two desirable points. The season of 1910 was a revelation to me along this line. I began the season with 100 colonies containing queens that were reared late the previous season. These colonies were light in bees when put into winter quarters, since they were made up by uniting nuclei late in the season. Notwithstanding these colonies were very light in stores, some of them living virtually from hand to mouth, the hives were packed with brood from side to side long before, clover harvest. In the same yard were 100 colonies that had been allowed to do their own requesting, and, of course, were headed by queens of all ages. These colonies were run for honey-production the previous season with practically no swarming, and were strong in bees. While these colonies did excellent work, there was a lack of uniformity of results that was noticeable during the entire season. It is but fair to state, however, in this connection, that the young queens first mentioned were all daughters of the same mother, and this might have had some influence upon uniformity of results. I believe bee-keepers as a rule recognize the importance of requesting at intervals of perhaps two years, but are deterred from doing so for want of an economical method of performing the operation. It is for the benefit of this class that this chapter was written.
## How to Requeen and Control Swarming at One Operation.
For swarm control in extracted-honey production, it is advisable to request each season at the beginning of harvest. Assuming that the honey-flow is on, and the supers upon the hives, we will begin operations by placing the top story of colony No. 1 down upon the vacant side of the switch-board and throw the switch, shifting the flying bees over into the super. The next day the hive proper will be robbed of its bees to such an extent that the queen is found with little difficulty. Cage her and push the cage between the combs of the super to satisfy the bees and keep them at work.
As a safeguard against weakening colony No. 1 to such an extent as to jeopardize the young queen, or cause the loss of brood, the side entrance should be opened a week before shifting. At the time the queen is removed, either a young laying queen or a ripe queen-cell is given. If the former, no introduction is necessary. Simply cage her for half an hour away from food and other bees, remove the cork, and push the cage between the combs, and close the hive quickly. The queen, being hungry, will proceed to help herself to the sweets, after which she will feel perfectly at home, and no questions will be asked. This is known as the Simmins plan of introduction, and is a very good one.
Since queens and the maintenance of a lot of nuclei cost money, the average honey-producer will find greater economy in practicing the ripe-cell plan, especially since queen-cells can be produced in any quantity at little expense. The day beforethe cell is due to hatch (which will be the tenth day after grafting, if you have chosen larvae of the proper age), place it in a West cell-protector, and push the spur into a comb containing brood, letting the point come well down ovcr the brood. Three days later examine the cell. If the capping has been cut off smoothly as by a sharp pair of scissors, the queen is all right, and the supers may be replaced upon the hive and the switch reversed. A subsequent examination will determine whether or not the young queen has passed the mating period in safety. Thus we have killed two birds with one stone--namely, requened and controlled swarming, all at trifling expense, and with little manipulation.
## The Control of Swarming When Running for Extracted Honey by the Switch Lever.
To control swarming in the production of extracted honey, where no increase is desired, set a hive containing frames with full sheets on the empty side of the double switch bottom. When the harvest has nicely begun, and hive No. 1, made up of two or more stories, is boiling over with bees, throw the front switch lever, shifting the field force over into the new hive, or No. 2. At the time of making this shift, arrange the rear shift lever so that the rear entrance of No. 1 is open and No. 2 closed. Exchange the central frame for a frame of brood, including the queen, from colony No. 1. On No. 2, which now contains the working force, place a super of empty combs above a queen-excluder. In eight days place the brood-chamber of colony No. 1 on top of colony 2, and throw the back or rear switch lever, shifting the returning bees that have been going into No. 1 into No. 2.. There will be no swarming and no increase, and the result will be a rousing crop of surplus honey with very little manipulation. As fast as the brood hatches in the top story the combs will be filled with honey.
By this method, practically every comb in the apiary is utilized for the storing of honey to be extracted, for which full sheets of foundation are substituted in all the brood-chambers, with little frame-handling.
## Introducing Queens.
The odor theory prevails to a considerable extent among bee-keepers. I say theory, because, notwithstanding this sub
**Bee-keeping by Twentieth Century Methods.** 29
ject has been harped upon for the last quarter-century, it has not yet passed the theoretical stage. In the absence of proof to sustain it, this groundless theory should have gone by default long ago. The theory is that, by caging a queen in a strange hive for two or three days, she acquires the colony odor, after which she will be accepted by the bees of that colony. The fallacy of this theory is proven nearly every day by bee-keepers, and especially queen-breeders. It is a fact well known that the attitude or behavior of a queen is largely responsible for the loss of queens in introduction. If a queen can be placed in such a condition that she will walk right down among the bees without fear or favor she will seldom be no-tested. Virgin queens at mating age are acknowledged by all to be the most difficult to introduce, and yet we have instances without number where young queens returning from their mating-trip have entered a queenright colony and superseded the reigning queen.
The Simmins system, previously mentioned, is based upon the theory that if food is denied the queen for half an hour she will be so eager to satisfy her hunger that she loses sight of all else and helps herself to the first honey she comes to, after which she will feel perfectly at home, and will seldom be modeled. As some have not been successful in introducing by this method, however, the following modification of this method is a little safer.
**THE HAND-SIMMINS PLAN.**
It is a fact well known that young bees will accept a queen more readily than old ones, therefore it is very desirable to have an economical method of disposing of the cranky old maids until the frisky young damsel is safely installed in her new home. To accomplish this we place the super down upon the switch-board beside the colony to be requeened, and throw the switch, shifting the flying bees over into the super; cage the old queen and push the cage in at the entrance under the supers after caging the young queen away from food for half an hour. Now let her run down between the combs of the old colony, and all is well. As soon as she gets to laying nicely, place the supers back upon the hive and reverse the switch. By this method the colony is not queenless at any time, and requeening by this method does not interfere with honey-gathering.
A method that is, perhaps, used oftener than any other is to remove the old queen, and at the same time place the young one in a Miller cage with the opening plugged with queen candy. By the time the candy is eaten out the queen will have become accustomed to her surroundings, and will be perfectly at home, and will usually be accepted by the bees. A method that will always work is to shake about a pound of bees from the top story of a hive above the queen-excluder, into a box provided with a wire-screen cover, and keep it in a cool place for twelve hours, after which they will accept any kind of queen. To introduce the queen, thump the box upon the ground, jarring the bees to the bottom, and drop the queen into the box among the bees, after which they are lightly sprinkled with sweetened water and hived the same as a natural swarm; but no unsealed brood should be given for several days.
## American Foil Brood.
Foil brood is a highly contagious bacterial disease which attacks the brood of bees but does not materially affect adult bees; therefore the honey as well as the diseased larvae and infected combs are the chief channels through which the contagion is conveyed. The utmost care should be exercised to keep all honey and combs from infected colonies where robber bees can not get even a taste of it. Combs that have contained foul-brood germs should be rendered into wax, or burned at once, as soon as the brood has hatched after treatment. Since this dread disease is liable to break out in any apiary at any time, it behooves every bee-keeper to be able to detect it in its incipient stages before it gets a strong footing in his apiary.
During the ordinary manipulations with combs the apiarist should keep an eye upon the brood, if some of the cappings have a sunken and irregular appearance; and if the caps are perforated with ragged holes it is an indication of dead brood; and further investigation will reveal the true cause of the difficulty. All dead brood is not foul brood. There is pickled brood, chilled brood, and starved brood; but none of these will develop into foul brood.
Foil brood is distinguished by its extreme ropiess and coffee-brown color; also, if present in sufficient quantities, a strong odor of a disagreeable nature is noticeable. It may be detected by lifting up a portion of the decayed larva upon the point of a toothpick; if the decayed mass adheres to the point of the stick and stretches out in a ropy manner perhaps an inch, and if capped brood contains ragged holes in sunken caps, it is, in all probability, genuine foul brood. However, this disease is little to be feared under modern methods of controlling bees.
## European Foil Brood or Black Brood.
Black brood is another form of brood disease similar to American foul brood. While this disease attacks both the sealed and unsealed brood, black brood more particularly attacks the unsealed brood, although in its advanced stages-capped brood often dies and the caps have a sunken and perforated appearance.
Early infection may be detected by the presence of a yellowish spot within the curve of the larva as it lies in the cell. This yellow spot enlarges, the larva dies, and, settling to the lower side, gradually assumes a darker appearance, ending with the characteristic dark-brown or black scale of black brood. While these two forms of brood disease are devastating entire apiaries, and costing bee-keepers thousands of dollars every year, the bee-keeper who practices up-to-date methods has little cause for apprehension along this line.
## Treatment of both American and European Foil Brood.
It is a mistake to brush or shake bees from foul-broody combs, since bees when disturbed fill their sacs with infected honey, thus carrying the infection into the clean hive, often necessitating another brushing. The time to treat foul brood is at the beginning of the honey-flow from which we expect to get our surplus-honey crop.
To treat foul brood successfully and economically, first remove the queens from the diseased colonies, and, unless the colonies are very strong, make them so by uniting. This is done by placing one colony on top of another, after the bees have quit flying for the night. If a sheet of newspaper is placed between the two colonies when uniting, the bees in the top hive will not fly out for two or three days, and will not return to their former stand.
Assuming that these double-deckers or two-story hives are on one side of a double switch-board, we will place upon the other side a clean hive containing a comb of healthy brood and a vigorous young Italian queen. Fill up with full sheets of foundation and throw the switch, thus diverting all flying bees over into No. 2, the clean hive, and the super. Next throw the switch on the back side to provide a new entrance for the young bees of the diseased colony. Ten days after making the first shift, repeat the operation by reversing the switch on the back side, again shifting the flying force of the diseased colony over into the healthy hive. At this shift, however, no new entrance is provided for the diseased colony; instead, a specially constructed bee-escape is pushed into the entrance back of the lever, which is pushed up tight against.
it. This is done at the second shift. As fast as the young hatching bees become old enough to try their wings, the exit of the bee-escape discharges them close to the main entrance of the healthy hive, into which they must go, since no bee can again enter the infected hive. When the brood has all hatched, and the young bees have been added to the healthy colony automatically, the combs are placed where no bee will get near them.
It will be seen that, when treating foil brood by this method, the bees leave the infected hive with empty sacs in search of nectar, and return to the healthy hive with a load of nectar fresh from nature's healing fountains. This is a modification of the Baldridge system, simplified by the new system of controlling bees with a minimum of labor. The process is so simple that, if foul brood were to break out in an apiary of ours, we would treat the whole apiary, regardless of whether individual colonies showed the disease or not. All that is necessary in order to rid an apiary of foul brood is to insert the bee-escape at the time of the second shift when practicing the new system of controlling swarming.
The same treatment will apply to black brood with equal force. A vigorous colony will be in condition to ward off disease successfully; therefore it is the part of wisdom to keep Italian bees, and see to it that all colonies are at all times supplied with wholesome food, kept in a normal condition. Nature will usually do the rest.
## 6 Wintering Bees.
Good stores of food the real secret of successful wintering.
We may talk about suitable protection, moisture, and ventilation, all of which are important factors in the successful wintering of bees; but the fact remains that the food question is the indicator that marks the turning-point of the future destiny of bees during long winter confinement. With food of a proper consistency bees will winter successfully under the most unfavorable conditions of temperature. All theories relating to moisture and ventilation are set at variance by the presence of abundance of good wholesome food. It has often been a source of conjecture among bee-keepers as to why an old box hive with open cracks admitting chilling drafts, snow, and sleet, will carry its colony through the winter in safety year after year. A closer scrutiny reveals the fact that the food within that hive is the accumulation of years, unmolested by the hand of man, rendered more wholesome by age.
A good cluster of bees under such a condition will usually winter successfully in defiance of all theories relating to moisture, ventilation, and protection. It is a noticeable fact that nine-tenths of the winter losses are due to starvation and dys-entery. It is hardly necessary to add that winter losses can be reduced to a minimum by careful attention to the food question.
Since we cannot always be sure that the stores within our hive our suitable for a winter food, it is the part of wisdom to lessen the consumption of them. This is accomplished by affording suitable protection that will aid the bees in maintaining a normal temperature, and avoid disastrous results that might follow from an abnormal consumption of food.
Outdoor wintering of bees is practiced with varying results in many of the Northern States. There are three conditions that are essential to successful outdoor wintering of bees; namely, plenty of bees, plenty of honey, and suitable protection. No one should attempt to winter a colony out of doors that is light in either bees or stores. The winter cluster should be of sufficient size to enable the bees to maintain a normal temperature during severe weather without exhausting their vitality by an abnormal production of heat. Colonies that are light in either bees or stores should be wintered in a good cellar or else united with some other colony in the fall and fed up to the required point for successful outdoor wintering. Twenty-five pounds of honey is considered sufficient to carry a colony through from November to May; however, 35 would, perhaps, be safer one year with another, as it is better to have a little left than to fall short and lose the colony in early spring. With a good strong cluster of bees, plenty of good wholesome food, and suitable protection for the sides, and especially for the top of the hive, bees will usually winter well south of latitude 42. North of that line it is, perhaps, better to winter in a good cellar, especially since there is a saving of 5 to 10 lb. of stores in favor of cellar wintering.
Expensive chaff hives are not necessary to successful outdoor wintering. Several thicknesses of burlap are laid upon a thin sealed cover, after completely covering the hive with several thicknesses of newspaper, that should come well down on the sides and ends. Over all a waterproof telescopic cap 12 inches deep is pushed down. Such packing will carry a colony through the winter as well as the most expensive chaff hive. In the absence of telescopic caps a very good way is to cut a strip of tarred felt paper as wide as the hive is tall, and wrap it around the hive after covering the hive with several thicknesses of newspaper as already mentioned. The felt should lap over five or six inches where the ends meet, and should be held in place by binder twine wrapped around the whole and tied. Next fold up a couple of burlap sacks of a size to cover the top of the hive without projecting over the sides. Over the whole, place a full-width sheet of tarred felt long enough to reach down to the bottom of the hive on both sides. Fold the edges over the ends of hive smoothly, letting the top fold over the sides, which are turned under. This will make the covering waterproof. However, we usually place the regular hive-cover on top. The entrances should be contracted to 3%x6 inches with at least a one-inch space under the comb. Years of experience in the successful wintering of bees tells us that we need have little anxiety about colonies put up in this way.
## 8.1. **Bee-keeping by Twentieth Century Methods.**
**CELLAR WINTERING.**