Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-02-10
THIRD LETTER-BEE CULTURE.
How to Transfer Bees from Box
Hives to Movable Comb Hives.

\ bees in modern hives in order to OBJ
tain the best results.
The standard hives are commonly
called complete when IL stories
high. The main parts of the 1a
story hives are described as follows:
l bottom board, l brood chamber
I story, 8 self-spacing brood
frames, 1 supor ~ story, 6 sec
ton holders, sel >rators, "a l.
pound sections Cor comb honey, or
8 shallow frames for chunk or eX-
tracted honey, and / cover
Most bee-keepers in the South
produce comb honey. Now why keep
bees in modern hives? The follow
ing are a few Of the many reasons:
/. A complete hive gives the apia-
rist such complete control Of all the
combs that they may be easily taken
out without cutting them, or eXcit-
ing the anger OF the bees.
2. 1t permits all necessary opera
tions to be performed without hurt-
ing or killing the bees.
.. L hes dlloIu SulldDle pIOIeCllCn
against extreme, of heat and cold
sudden changes of temperature and
injurious effects of dampness.
4. They are so constructed as to
allow the bees to easily pass into the
top surplus boxes of the hive from
any comb i'm the hive to every box
without travelling much over the
combs with their heavy burdens Of
honey and protein.
3. They can be readily adjusted to
suit the demands OF either q large
or small colony.
6. They permit the use of comb
foundations and prevent the over
production of drones by permitting
the removal Of drone comb from the
hive to be replaced with worker
comb.
Z. The bottom boards are loose so
that the hive can be removed at will
to clean out the dead bees in winter
or to ventilate the hive in summer.
s. Each of the parts of every hive
is interchangeable from one to the
other, so that proton, brood or
honey can be exchanged as circum-
stances demand.
8. They permit the surplus honey
to be taken away in the most con-
venient and suitable from.
10. They enable the apiarist to
requiem his bees at will with young,
prolific queens very desirable
feature, as colonies with old, failing
queens cannot yield much surplus
honey.
II. They have water-tight and
moth-proof joints and are mouse
proof.
II. The covers are loosely put on
and can be removed without jarring
the hive to anger the bees.
13. A number OF y stories can
be added to suit the strength of the
colony.
IA. The eggs of the queen go
through process OF incu ubation SIM
liar to those of hen, and unless the
heat OF the cluster of bees (Which is
about 80 degrees in cold weather)
can be held in the brood chamber by
placing an oil cloth cut the size Of
the hive over the brood frames with
other packing on top, such as old
newspapers, it vii! be impossible for
the bees to keep more or less of their
eggs and larvae from freezing in cold
spells OF weather IN the early spring.
The larvae that die in the hives that
are not protected from cold would
be the right age to gather honey
when the flowers open. Without a
large force of bees the right age to
gather honey when the flow comes
on, the surplus honey will be short.
How to Transfer.
Bees may be easily transferred
whenever the wcathcriS warm enough
for them to fly, but the best time is
when they have the least honey,
about the beginning OF fruit bloom.
If done on a warm day when they
are at work there will be no danger
Of being troubled by robbcr bees. BY
following the method given below
transferring can be done easily and
perfectly:
Make a box, called forcing box.
whose diameter is the same as that
OF the gum from which you intend to
drive the bees, and about - inches
deep; smoke the bees good with
smoker, and in five minutes they