Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1879-02-08
BEES, HOY TO CONTROL SWARM
ING.

ING.
To try to prevent all first swarms dis
posed to issue previous to ten days before
your horcy harvest begins will result OH.
Iy in vexatlon and loss of honey, he said,
when we work for box honey and I
doubt if any mode of artificial swarn.ing
up to this time can be made to pay so
we'll as to let them issue naturally. There
fore say let all first swarms shat come
ten or moro days before your honey har-
vest begins be hived in u new hive, and
as soon as the hive is two thirds full of
comb put on boxes, OF, il you Gin furnish
them with empty comb, pat the boxes on
at once. Prevent all after swarins by
some of the various modes given, aud as
soon as the young queens get TO laying
they will go to wo1 k in the. boxes and gen.
orally make moro box honey than the
new swarm. What have not swarmed
ten days before he honey harvest begins
if we desire increase, may he made arti-
ticially Upon the plan given by Mrs.
Tucker, namely, shake all tho bees and
queens from a populous colony icto an
empty hive, placed where the old Que,
stood, and put on boxes as before direc-
ted. Move another populous colony to
new stand, aud place IL hive filled with
the combs full of brood that you have
lust shaken the bees from in its place,
giving them laying queen, and the old
bees returning from the field make up
the colony. Thus it will be seen we make
one new stock from two old ones, and
they are all in the best possible condi-
tion to make box honey.
If we have decided that prevention of
increase will he more profitable than ia
crease when q swarm issues we catch the
queen and place her in a wire-cloth cage,
spread the combs a little in the center Of
| The hive, and by me;lus of a wire attach
! ed to the cage suspend it in the center Of
| the hive. This must be done quickly, or
the Bees WI miss their queen and return
before yous get through. In five days
open the hive and cut out all queen cells
that are sealed. Then wait five days
more and cut them all off again, liberate
the queen, and the bees will 80 to work
in the boxes with will that will sur
prise you. In cutting ont the queen cells
each time you will want to shake the
bees off the combs, or you may miss some
of them. Still later, when the caging of
the queen come right in the honey har-
vest, thereby causing too great a loss o!
honey as with us bees will not work il
boxes without allying queeu-swarn,ine
can generally be controlled by extracting
the honey from the brood combs and cut
ting Oft cells the evening after a swarm
has issued and returned. If they are sat
isfied with swarining out: and having
their honey extracted (Which they gener
ally are), they will so to work in the
boxes with will. However, if none ARK
seen at work in the boxes, but are loung.
ing idly there, they will swarm again il
a few days, aud you will have to repeat
the operation.
In the midst of the honey harvest an,
other good plan is to watch your oppor
tuuiiy, and when two or three swarm:
come out so as to cluster together, hang
one of the Gagged queens with hem unit
they get settled, and then hive them The
same as any other swarm, putting on the
boxes at once. Let the queens you dc
not use 60 back in their own hives.-G
NJ. DooL1TrLE, bcto.'e Ncw York Bce-kcep
crs Convention.