Evening journal., 1908-04-17

Underneath fun blossomed trees"
The bees are now doing excellent
work among the fruit trees. They are
bringing in pollen with which they
make food called bee bread to feed
to the young brood, and they are also
bringing in honey gathered from the
same blossoms.
incidentally they are fertnizing the
blossoms by carrying the pollen from
one blossom to another. AS the bee
dives into the blossom the small
powdered pollen adheres to his back
and as he dips into the next blossom
some Of this pollen is rubbed off and
thus the blossom is fertilized by the
pollen of the the male blossom being
carried to the female blossom-for
there is ses in flowers.
The first blossom season is an i'm
portant one for the bees. 1t is the
first real harvest Of the year. The
stores have run low, and now they be-
gin to fill up the empty comb and every
movement is an indication of pros
perity and plenty.
The farmer will have done well If
he had prepared for this season bv
having the necessary supers, with the
sections all ready to put on at the
first indication that the brood cham
Der was filling up with brood and
honey.
The brood chamber is the lower story
or body of the hive and the super is
the top or upper story in which tie
little pound bcxes-called sections
hnafa MD
pared in the long winter evenings and
all that will be necessary at the proper
season win be to place them on tie
hive.
strong colony will need more room
during the fruit bloom and the super
should be placed in so that they will
not be so likely to swarm. 1t is not
desirable in the northerly part OF
Delaware to have the swarm come ous
in apple bloom as it is a little early.
but at the opening of the white clover
season. about May 10 to May 30 is a
good time for the swarm to issue
II the swarm should issue in apple
bloom, then between that time and the
opening Of the white clover season
there is a period when no honey can
fer for want Of food. having nothing
save what they carried out with them
from the old hive.
The cause of sWarming is the over
crowding of tho hive. A colony viii
not likely cast a swarm if they are
provided with plenty of room in the
brood chamber. The queen fills frame
after frame with eggs and then lack
in groom to continue laying the swarm
ing fever is the result. After the fever
is on there IS difficulty in stopping IT,
The mere giving of more room then
will not prevent them from swarming
The removal of the queen will only
deter them until they can raise a new
one: the cutting out of all the queen
cells will only serve to detain them for
a while for they viii Immediately
build new queen cells. The cutting out
Of the queen cells is the better way
to humble them at this season for fl
would detain them long enough for tho
fruit blossoms to be over and then the
sudden stopping of the honey flow will
cause them to give up the idea Of
swarming and they will cut out what
ever queen cells they have. But On
the opening of the white clover season
the fever viii return and then the
swarm may come forth for there win
be several weeks of a strong honey
flow
OF course If they could be kept from
swarming they would produce a much
larger crop of honey because one gooi
strong colony could work greater ad-
Vantage than the same clony divided
as happens when they swarm.
The old queen goes out with the new
swarm but leaves a number of queen
cells ready to hatch in the old hive. II
we cannot prevent swarm from is
suing we can do the next best thing
and that is to prevent any more
swarms from coming cut To do this
remove the old hive to a new position
and then having hived the swarm
place it on teh stand where the old
hive stood The result of this win be
that nearly all the field bees going out
from the old hive on new location
viii return to the old location where
now the new swarm is and will serve
to swell the number OF workers in tie
swarm and they viii be capable Of
biluEiuk III a ldIkt dtuDuhA Vi Npn"N.
The old colony IN the new location
finding themselves 50 weakened by the
departure Of all the field bees will give
up any idea of dividing their forces by
allowing another swarm TO issue.
As, however, the old queen left their
hive full of brood that win be Matching
at the rate Of over 1000 a day they will
in a few days have sufficient force ia
gather considerable honey. Usually
the old colony treated in this way will
produce about one-half as much as the
new swarm. Not only win it decrease
the amount of honev produced to al
low second and third swarms to issue
but these swarms being small and
weak will often not gather enough
honey to winter on and so perish the
/ following winter.
To determine when 10 put on the
super take off the cover and if the
comb along the top bars of the frames
is white-new comb-then it is time
/ to put on the super In this super
should be placed one or two drawnoui
combs with honey in them. These
will act as a bate to induce the bees
! 10 go IN into the super. for they have