PLAN.
“All the combs containing brood are removed from the brood chamber, except one that contains but a small amount of unsealed brood and eggs. This is left in the brood chamber with the queen on it. If she is not found on it she must be hunted up and put upon this comb. The brood chamber is now filled out with empty combs and a queen excluder is placed on its top. The combs containing brood are adjusted in a super or hive body, and if they do not fill it, it is filled out with empty combs. It now goes on top of the brood chamber with the queen excluder between. We now have all the brood above the excluder, except what is in the comb with the queen on it below the excluder. You now have nothing to do but to “turn up” to suit the season. Treating all colonies in this way the season will have to be more than usually extended if there is a single swarm. Colonies treated in this way are the strongest colonies I ever handled, and I never seen a season so barren of nectar that they fail to fill the combs above the excluder by the time all the brood they contain are hatched out, and if the season is a good one they will surprise the natives and make you uneasy about the safety of your honey floor, like mine did me the past season, though the season was but an average one.”
Next month I will give my experiments with two colonies the past season managed on a plan similar to to Brother Demaree’s, as given above. Remember, beginner, that if you don’t manage your bees intelligently you had better never go into the business for you will have no “luck” and the business will be a failure with you; and you might as well try to raise corn without seed as to try to raise honey without a scientific work on bee culture and one or more of the many excellent bee journals.
Concord Church, W. Va.
(Concluded next month.)