The formation of one new swarm from two old colonies, may, of course, be
very much simplified by the use of my hives. The two old hives are first
opened and sprinkled, and the bees taken from them and put into the new
hive in the same way in which the process was conducted when only one
colony was expelled, some brood comb being given to the united family.
There will be no difficulty in rightly proportioning the bees; one queen
may always be caught and preserved, and the operation may be performed
at any time when the sun is above the horizon. I have no doubt that
those who have a strong stock of bees, and who are anxious to realize
the largest profits in honey, will find this mode of increase, by far
the simplest and best. If judiciously practiced, they will find that
their colonies may always be kept powerful, and that they may be managed
with very great economy in time and labor. As Apiarians may be so
situated as to wish to increase their bees quite rapidly, I shall give
such methods as from numerous experiments, many of them conducted on a
large scale, I have found to be the best. I wish it however to be most
distinctly understood, that I do not consider _very_ rapid
multiplication as likely to succeed, except in the hands of skillful
Apiarians; and under ordinary circumstances it requires too much time,
care and honey, to be of very great practical value. Its chief merit
consists in the short time which it requires to build up an Apiary.
After trying my mode of management for a few seasons, a bee-keeper may
find out, that he is in all respects, favorably situated for taking care
of a large stock of bees. Suppose him to have acquired both skill and
confidence, and that he has ten powerful colonies. If he is willing to
do without surplus honey for one season, and the honey-harvest should be
very productive, he may without feeding, and without very much labor,
safely increase his ten colonies to thirty. If he chooses to feed
largely, he may _possibly_ end the season with fifty or sixty, or even
more; but he will _probably_ end it in such a manner as most thoroughly
to disgust him with his folly, and to teach him that in bee-keeping, as
well as in other things, "Haste makes waste."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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