BEEKEEPING.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16613, 10 December 1919, Page 8

BEEKEEPING.

(By “Tainui.”)

Demonstration. • —• Thursday, 11th hist., at 2 p.m., at Mr. Manly Marsh's apiary, Egmor.fc Village, is the tune and place ui our next meeting. Given a lino day wo hope to make it quite as mtcreyung as [he previous ones, and as Inc season of sv. arming is now at its height wo hone to siiow something cl queen cells and how to use tiiem. The toes are now beginning to work on. the white clover, and inland several hives have stored quite a lot of honey. I saw two hives at Stralfoid this wook which had stored and sealed a. fair amount in the top edges of the brood combs, and were also working in the super. C.M. writes: “My bees have not yet filled ail the combs in iho brood chamber, but they swarmed to-day. 1 have killed the queen and put tnom back. How can 1 make them fill the other combs?”—Take out one of the outside combs, then open a space between two of the centre ones in which there is brood and put the outside comb in the space thus made and the bees will then use it. Evidently your colony is a weak one and you acre wise to re-, turn the swarm. JJo careful to look out for symptoms of foul brood, as the bees will oiten swarm out of au infected hive before it is filled up. T.E.C. writes; ‘‘How do you advise mo to put queen colls in, a hive which I wish to requeen?”—l put mine in a cage made of good wood and wire, and plate it between the frames of the hivo 1 wisii to requeen, having previously' killed iHo queen I wish to supercede. When tlie young queen lias hatched out she will have- acquit cd the scent of the hive and she 'can then be released by opening the cage and lotting her run down in among the combs. It is a good plan fo look through the combs before releasing the queen, as the bees will sometimes start queen cells in their own combs. These should be c,ut out or they may not accept the new queen you propose to introduce. “Novice” asks: “How should I put a swarm in the hives ? I cannot put them in when it is full of frames.”— Rive your swarm in a small box ; let them stand till evening, say about 6 p.m. ; then put your hive containing the frames and foundation comb where you intend the hivo ’o remain. Put two small stones or pieces of wood under the front of the hive to lift it up an inch or two above the bottom hoard. Put a sack or cloth on the ground in front of the hive, placing one edge on Iho bottom board and slightly- under llie hive. This will form a rim so that the bees cannot get under the bottom hoard. Now rnrrv your box i containing the swarm to the hive and shake the bees nut of it on to the cloth close to the hive. In a few minutes tbev will rim up into their new home, "When thev are all in remove the cloth and sticks, lowering the hive carefully info its place on the bottom board. Do i not do the work fill evening, ns the hees are apt to take wing and go away if shaken out in the hot sun.