. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. 688 AMERICAN BEE Methods Used for the Prevenlioii of Swarming. Written for the American Bee Journal BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. At this time of the year there is per- haps no more important subject than the one of swarming. Until I saw Mr. Pratt's latest self-hiver, I had no faith in the utility of this invention, but upon studying it I felt, and feel still, that by means of it we are going to reach those who keep only a few colonies, and can- not watch their bees for swarms. Again, there are others who, for various rea- sons, do not find it desira
. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. 688 AMERICAN BEE Methods Used for the Prevenlioii of Swarming. Written for the American Bee Journal BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. At this time of the year there is per- haps no more important subject than the one of swarming. Until I saw Mr. Pratt's latest self-hiver, I had no faith in the utility of this invention, but upon studying it I felt, and feel still, that by means of it we are going to reach those who keep only a few colonies, and can- not watch their bees for swarms. Again, there are others who, for various rea- sons, do not find it desirable to hive the swarms; these will, I have no doubt, find the self-hiver very useful. That the self-hivers can be improved upon, I have no doubt—in fact, I think I could improve on them already, but even as they are to-day they are useful. The prevention of swarming has en- gaged my attention every since Mr. L. C. Root spoke upon that question at the convention of the North American Bee- Keepers' Association held iit Rochester, N. Y. I have, for comb or extracted honey, been able to largely prevent increase by means of shade, ventilation, and the judicious giving of room, and by so doing I have been able to have an increase of as low as 5 per cent., and in no case greater than 20 per cent., for the last six years. In producing comb honey it has been the aim to secure honey not alone for the market, but also for exhibition pur- poses, and the product has compared very favorably with the best shown at our leading exhibitions. Many begin- ners have made shipwreck because they attempted to increase too fast; if they would have prevented increase all they could, thus securing more honey,'and having their bees in better condition, then buying n\ore bees in the spring, they would have done better. This is the advice I would give every beginner. When the bees begin to whiten out the combs along the top-bars in the brood- chamber, unless the honey-flow stops, supers are given. I have
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbees, bookyear1861
