bay | SESSFDESESEDESDH @ @ ”) 0666S66S$SSSSSESSESSSES, BDO GEGQVQ GQ SF Ft TF GG FSS} LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Shelf HAS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A (2) CBP Ve Ve@s AN IMPROVED SYSTEM OF PROPAGATING Pouk HONEY BEE. = = ; ct = OO Cae aeatae Ete Sacra. S| ene. (Fx = me Bas OW . my Be. SACRAMENTO: PRINTED AT THE DEMOCRATIC STANDARD OFFICE. 1560. The Trade supplied by HOSSACK & CRAWFORD, Sacramento. To All to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting: Wuereas I, Joun S. Harpison, of Sacramento, Oulifornia, did on the Thirteenth day of £cember, 1859, obtain Letters Patent for the invention of a new and useful improvement in BLS WV ES, vesting tn me the sole and exclusive right to make, usc, and vend, and to convey to others the right to make, use, and vend, said improvement in Bee Hivis : Now, THEREFORE, be it known, that for the conside- ration of One Dollar to me paid, the receipt of which I hereby acknowledye, I hereby grant, bargain and sell, unto of the pine ‘3h .2 ee. ee a... and Se | a a — , the right to mutke and use said improvement, for his own personal use, but not to sell or transfer to any other person ; and asa condition precedent to the making and use of said improve- ment, the said grantee shall cause the above blanks to be filled with his own name, and the name of the County and State in which he resides. In Wirness _ have hereunto set my hand and seal, this _. ae fF day of o fel . 1367 ACN IMPROVED SYSTEM OF PROPAGATING THE HONEY BEE. BY J’ S.“HARBISON. \ SACRAMENTO: PRINTED AT THE DEMOCRATIC STANDARD OFFICE, 1860. ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty, BY J. 8. HARBISON, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Northern District of California, ae ie ee ee ee eee eB ee Ir is with pleasure that I am enabled to announce to the public the discovery of a new and important improvement in the art of propagating the Honry Bee. And having verified its practical utility by extensive use both in the apiaries of several practical bee-keepers in this State, and in all our own apiaries during the past two seasons, I now call the attention of the public to the merits claimed for it, as well as the instrue- tions for its practical operation, contained in the following pages. My invention refers to the rearing of queens, and consists in placing the comb known as worker cells, in a horizontal posi- tion, so that the cells shall be vertical, or nearly so, by the means hereinafter described. This vertical position tends to facilitate the labors of the bees in the construction of queen cells. It also induces them to rear a greater number of queens, aud as perfectly developed as if raised to supply natural swarms. The importance of an efficient mode of raising queens to supply colonies is well understood by practical apiarians, and has been discussed by “ Uangstroth on the Honey Bee,” also the celebrated Huber, in his book on the Honey Bee. And since the introduction of the various movable frames for hives, it bas become doubly important, in order to facilitate the increase of bees by dividing the colony, or forming artificial swarms ; also, to supply hives known or supposed to be queenless. It seems necessary in the economy of the bee to suspend the , 4 queen cells perpendicularly. In doing this from worker cells occupying a horizontal position, the queen cell is frequently projected beyond the comb to which it is attached, as shown in Plate No.3. Also in Langstroth’s work, at p. 192, and comes in contact with the comb adjoining, thereby endangering, and often fatally injuring, the queen cells in removing the comb. But the most serious objection to these overhanging queen cells is the curved position in which the queen is reared, render- ing her development frequently imperfect ; also, when bees are, by the removal of their queen, compelled to rear young ones, they frequently construct the cells near the edge of the combs, and barely within the cluster cf the bees, thus exposing them to chill, whereby they are often destroyed. These difficulties are fully overcome by the use of the vertical QUEEN NURSERY, as per patent, granted to me, and dated Decem- ber 13th, 1859: “Patent No. 26,431. Improvement in Bre Hives. What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by letters patent is, placing the bee comb known as worker ceil, in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position, so that the cells shall be vertical or nearly vertical, instead of horizontal, by the means or their equivalent substantially, as set forth and represented. Joun 8. Harpison.” P. 8. I hereby tender to all ministers of the gospel and editors of newspapers throughout the United States, the right of the above for their own personal use, free of cost. In order to enable others to construct and use said invention, together with its practical application, I have embodied in the following pages full directions for the same, and annexed a license entitling the purchaser to the personal use and benefit, on the terms therein set forth. o¢ 8.4 oN ERE PROV EoD SY Ss ih Ne PROPAGATING THE HONEY BEE. FORMATION OF COLONIES. Tue proper time to commence colonizing is from one to two weeks carlier than natural swarms leave the parent hive, and to continue two months.* This depends on the season, and varies in different localities; the nearest approximation to the time would be from eight to ten weeks from the times that they commence to carry in pollen from the willows and other sources of early pasturage, or as soon as Drones make their appearance in considerable numbers. In Sacramento and vicinity they commence to carry in pollen about the first of February; and the first swarms for the past three years have emerged from the first to the fifteenth of April. In Oregon and Washington Territory, the commence- ment of the swarming season is probably from three to six weeks later, while in the latitude of Los Angeles, California, it is from two to four weeks earlier. * This is as late as it is safe to form them, unless there is abundant pasturage or feeding is resorted to, in which case colonies may be formed to do well as late as the middle of July; also, the number of colonies that should be made from a hive depends almost entirely on the amount and continuance of pasturage. For, while in one place an increase of one or two colonies is all that can be made,-there are others where from five to eight can be made and all do well. 6 Frame Hives being alone well adapted for the pur- pose of colonizing. the directions hereafter given refers only to their use, yet the invention can be applied to all style of hives. Suppose the owner of five hives of bees finds on the twenty-second day of March, that his bees are becoming crowded in the hives, and ae {he favorableness of the season, believes they would swarm early in the following month. Then let him proceed to make a primary divide,* and form a Queen Nursery in the queenless division. Tor this purpose, choose one of the hives that is strong and likely to have the most brood. (There shou'd be at least five sheets of comb containing brood in the hive selected for this purpose.) If the hives used have their frames suspended from rabbets at the top as the Langstroth Hive, then remove the cap, also the honey boxes and honey board. If the frames are glued fast with propo'is, they are to be pried loose, and are then to be moved each a little towards one side, in order to make room for taking out the first frame. But if the frames are inserted from Oe side and held adjusted by means of teuons and grooves, as the Harbison ‘Hive, open the door and lid, remove the honey boxes, chamber floor, (honey board,) and glass frame. The operator should now stand with his left side close to the hive. The front tenons of four frames are first to be raised out of the grooves in the front board; then move three of them further from the side one to give space for it to be removed first. Then with the left hand take hold of the corner of the frame resting against the front * One primary divide with queen nursery formed, can be depended on to supply from four to cight embryo queens. I have had as high as fourteen in one section, and frequently nine to eleven, and as high as twenty in a hive. The number depends mainly on the proper arrangement of the comb, the age of the eggs and lary, as well as a numerous family of bees and abundant pasturage. 7 board, and with the right hand the outer corner. Now raise the left hand, carrying the frame upwards and outwards, moving on the fulerum, until free from its rest in the sill. The movements should be slow and gentle, yet no time should be unnecessarily wasted. Now place this frame in an empty hive ready at hand, then take hold of the second frame in the same manner as before described, and turn the comb with the left hand sufficiently to keep it from rubbing the bees and adjacent. comb, then by the upward and outward move- ment it is freed from its rest (without jar,) the same as the first one —each of the other frames are removed in the same manner, part being placed in the hive with the previous one, and the others are to be stepped over into the vacancies first formed. FIND THE QUEEN. A sharp watch is to be kept for the queen from the first opening of the parent hive, and if found, place her in the new hive, but if not found by looking the combs once over, then spread a sheet on the ground and take the combs, one by one, and with a quick motion shake the beesonit. In handling combs, care should be taken to keep them with one edge upright to prevent break- ing. The Queen will most likely be found in the cluster on the sheet, sometimes she crawls off the combs and is found on the inside of the hive.* When found, place * Sometimes it is dificult or requires too much time to find the Queen among so large a mass of bees as should occupy a hive suitable for a primary division, in which case divide the combs so that about half of the brood as well as half of the bees are given to each hive. (Regard should also be had to a division of stores.) However, hefore adjusting the combs to their places, sections of combs should be arranged in each hive, as directed at page 8. This is necessary, as it is not known which hive the Queen is in. The one she is in will not build any Queen cells, while the other one will. Hence, on opening either hive after three days have elapsed, her whereabouts is readily determined. 8 her in the new hive, then examine the combs and choose one half of the most mature brood combs and place them in the hive with the Queen. One sheet of comb containing stores should be placed first at the side and the brood placed compactly adjoinmg. The empty frames are added, and the hive is ready to receive its share of the bees. QUEEN NURSERY FORMED. The other half of the brood combs, in which are_ principally eggs and young larva, together with the remainder of the store combs, is to occupy the original hive after the vertical Queen Nursery is formed, as fol- lows: Take a comb newly built* and choose that por- tion of it in which eggs and a small portion of newl oo hatched larvee is found, and with a knife cut out from the central portion of one or two sections, as shown in Plate No. 1. fT is one of the sections which is cut three inches long and seven-eighths of an inch deep. The ends are cut square, then three-eighths of an inch from either end cut down three-fourths of an inch, and take out the piece, leaving a shoulder three-eighths broad on either end for the section or nursery to rest upon. This being placed with the mouths of the celis downwards or ver- * As it is sometimes difficult to find a newly built comb sufficiently large for turning the section in the same, it answers equally well to cut the apertures in old comb and insert sections of new built comb containing eggs taken from any other hive. In the spring of the year it would be necessary in order to get new comb, to remove a sheet of the old or a portion thereof, from the center of the hive about ten days before making the primary division; this would give the bees room to build, which they would do, provided they were strong and the pasturage good. The reason why new comb is best for rearing Qneens in is, the absence of cocoons, on which account the bees build a much larger number than they do when compelled to use the cells containing cocoons. Eggs laid by a Queen one year old are better fur rearing Queens from than those laid by one bred the same year. above, placed SS) 9 ate 1.) (PI be so prepared, then a store comb is first placed at one fectly straight and natural po ition two combs should side of the hive and the combs prepared a tically, as shown in the figure, leaving a space, as shown at 7, which gives room for developing Queens in a per- - iH My P| Hii Hs IAAT hy i i snl I il ml HEU | li = mf i MD ii} Et mth I PT NTL) ) | if An nein BSE ee: PAR KO = = 35, COR Oa OOO SE Boro Ren 2 ROR y an ? t manner , In a compac next to it and the balance of the brood, and then the store combs next to these cloth which reaches over the top and down the sides to empty frame is added, and the whole covered with a the bottom board, 10 Tue Brees ARE NOW TO BE EQUALLY DIVIDED between the two hives, and the glass frame and honey board put to their place, ana the hives closed up and the apertures arranged for the egress and ingress of the bees. The hives are then to be placed; the one on the right and the other on the left side of where the original one stood, and may be placed within a few inches of each other. TIS PRIMARY DIVIDE ts best performed in the eve- ning, about one hour before sundown, yet it will do at any time of day. They should be watched for the first few hours that they fly, to see that a proper pro- portion of them enters each hive. If more are found to enter one than the other, move the one that most enters further away and the other nearer to the place where the original hive stood; if this still does not effect the object, close the entrance of the strong one for about two hours and force the remaining bees to enter the weak one. When the apertures are again opened, a board or cloth may be placed so as to change the appear- ance of the one receiving more than their share of bees. Tue BEEs now finding themselves without a Queen, but in possession of the means to rear young ones, quickly commence to enlarge and build downwards a number of the cclls containing eggs, at the same time the young larvee is supplied with a quantity of whitish matter, called royal jelly, which is of a slightly acid, pungent taste, and 1s difierent from the food on which the common brood are fed. These royal cells are sealed, a part of them on the sixth, and the balance on the seventh day from the time of forming the nursery. When the cells are finished, they present the appear- De ance shown in Plate No.2. The Queen cells are shown at j, the worker brood emerging as seen at &. The (Plate 2.) cr 004 INN i y “yo we @ i oy iy ben Ai, t wu lee COs i mm ml H iia Ae ye a : RA Nt ‘( hy \ i a vane ee wall dl ¥ Hs fa es ant ti (it y \ i TS A i vy ( hy \, Mt i (ie iH i! ni ni js ie jt jel le be " ah i A it 1 ( HON uh A Next I th f ie i ( Mt Pa Hii SN a We aa aC ue K iM Fil co ca Ki ‘ttl an “4 HK, Mh h hus ‘ (i : a ‘\ Wy nan x AN Ue il ie AEs we ~\ ee Ny a OS RN Oe XY) “rer Wy eee ‘ ~ RAS »\\ = oe aN ‘ wy W\ uy i De RN Ye NW S\N Nt * \ e\ We we oo Ko \ \ \ VEOS he “ , - \ Ny ye N A N Ke AM «\) maa a 1G Hi(h be Hitt i S\ Hi Ny ic. Hei y NA CN ti \ , Hy Hy Ml) a ‘ - “ i “anit iN a \ sie on yey va i Ml “ e \ \\ ton at nul Ne NN ie wii mi + \ ling aie i Ti \ VS Dic Gil ne Oe a ry Ce We ie Hs hs Ae iy ill Ny anes Ni ‘ el “hay o \ ‘ ae oom {\ i NaNO nig Oe wa, a hy (i sen at . ro 2 vl 7 Hy ‘iti i NY h g im ‘ain a we Hs \ . Ss poser hn | ed ec al . i “ ve = of Hi (a ‘ee \ wala PH i if ah x Na | i Mul fy ‘Ny AN \\ ANTS RHA \ ny © Nh ull IN ee \ ‘ jit ith Ce : [A a a \ AY " A\ ‘ 2 a S| aC a eee \ a.) i . \\\ YW ANN oe \\ a \\\ hes wil Key ‘ ae be \ me wy) iY Wh me oh : i " Ay \ \ NS ‘ if Pos “ a cs fe re . iy " Queen cells are straight and occupy a pendent pcsition. The Queens are larger and more perfectly developed, and a greater number are reared by this method than when the colony is left to rear them as shown in Plate No. 3. Gis the Queen cells being built outwards and downwards, so that the young Queens grow in a curved position; this being an unnatural shape, the Queen is 12 not as large or well developed as when raised in straight cells, as previously shown. (Plate 3.) When Queen cells are built on the edge of a comb (as is often the case,) they frequently suffer from cold, which retards, and in many cases entirely destroys them. This danger is avoided by the vertical nursery being arranged so that it occupies the center of the cluster of the bees, by which means a chill is avoided. The bees seldom if ever remove an egg from one cell to another for the purpose of development; hence it is obvious that they are seldom in a position suitable for straight cells, unless so arranged by the bee-keeper. This plan is also found to produce more and as per- fectly developed Queens as if raised to supply natural swarms. Darr THe Hive containing the Queen Nursery with the day it was formed, in a conspicuous manner, and in ten days from this time the most advanced of the em- bryo Queens are sufficiently mature to be used in colo- nies now to be formed, or given to hives supposed to be queenless. The less advanced ones can be used on the 13 eleventh day. But it is not safe to let them remain for a longer period, as the first young Queen out would destroy the remaining ones. (See Plate No.4.) Mis the cells whence a Queen has emerged; 0 cells destroyed ‘by her. (@uie 4) \ TH HB Ph aT QO RO ee Oe Nes Oe .e 4 | Re a ace pisos: mm Ve: ee, a ae .) x NG Ye Wy : ax me - N = ~. < rae Be 3 > ce a oe ors ; as ses reg ade .) ASS SSAA WN Wutn the royal cells are mature, as above described, select a hive that is strong and filled with brood in all stages, open it and remove the combs in the same manner as directed in the primary division, then choose two combs, one of which should contain a large amount of mature brood and the other eggs and young larve. Plate 5) A Queen cell is taken from the nurs- ery, (see Plate No. 5.) Now with a knife make an aperture in the center of the comb having eggs, etc., and insert the Queen cell in it, (see Plate No. 6,) which shows the appearance of the comb with the Queen cell in it after being in the colony two days. At m is seen the foundation of a new Queen cell which contains larve; this the bees commence and continue to build until the emerging of the supplied embryo Queen; and in case the latter fails, then this one sup- ples the loss. Care must be taken in handling the cells not to jar or dent them, also not to expose them so as 14 (Plate 6.) / igs hyp . Nyy wt d as. q y 3 oy, ni to become cold. And they should be so arranged as not to come in contact with the adjoining comb. Let the bees remain clustered on tie combs, but if they are in the way of inserting the Queen cell, brush them cently with a quill out of the way. Watch carefully for the Queen, and if found, return her to the hive whence she was taken. The two combs containing brood (in one of which is the Queen cell,) are to be placed in a hive ready at hand,* and at one side, then one comb containing stores is added, together with an empty frame. There being three combs taken out of * The hives should be cool at the time the colonies are placed in them, and particular care taken to shield them from the rays of the sun until they have their liberty. In fact, the sun should be excluded from the hives entirely, when the temperature is above seventy-five degrees. In early spring and at times when a low temperature prevails, it is best to let the sun shine directly on the hives, which will give greater vitality and assist in developing the brood. 15 the old hive, there should also be one-third of the bees taken to compose the new colony. Now cover the frames with a cloth. The hive is then clcsed, and the apertures shut, to prevent the escape of. tne bees, The ventilators are then opened and the hive set in a cool and shaded place till evening, when it is to be moved to a distance of one mile or more, when the apertures for the bees’ entrance are to be opened, giv- ing them their liberty. Tur vacancy in the old hive is filled with empty frames and then closed up, except the place for egress. If it is intended that the colony is to remain in the apiary where formed, instead of removing it to a distance, it is to be formed the same as above, except that both combs should contain mature brood instead of eggs and larvee ; he Queen cell should be inserted in the center of the comb where a portion of the brood have emerged, as shown in Plate No. 7. The young bees are also to be separated from the old ones.* This is done by shaking them from the combs on a sheet, the old ones take wing and return to the parent hive, while the young ones remain on the sheet. One-third of the bees should remain and be put in the new hive having the combs as previously arranged; before putting the bees in the hive, they are to be examined to find if the Queen 1s: among them, and if found, return her to the hive from which she was taken. *During the season of rapid breeding, which is in the spring and early sum- mer, bees that are in a thrifty condition and have a fertile Queen, are found to have eggs and brood in all stages during a greater portion of the year, but they usually oceupy a large proportion of their combs with a generation of nearly the same age. Hence when they emerge, the hive is in a fit condition to form colonies from as above; while if delayed a few days later, these young bees will have marked the exact position of their home, consequently, if after- wards taken to form colonies and are left in the same apiary, will, when they take wing, return to the familiar spot. ; 16 ale 7. o Lym vents q; se ‘e) ee a a) is Wy" » a ey \s'\ si - te ise . s, = Sul, AW \ — aS ® ON \ oe oe \\X WEN x ow \s oy ie eS “ , — Persons wishing to procure Bees to commence the business of Bee Keeping, will do well to visit different Apraries, and thus by comparison be able to select choice stocks to the exclusion of all others. ELE, BEE KEEPER'S DIRECTORY IS THE TITLE OF edn Ch Uustiaded Work on pees ; Which I am now preparing, and expect to have pub- ished within the present year. The delay in the wublication of the above work, which was promised arly in the season, has been caused by a temporary oss of my health, which is now in a measure restored. J. S. HARBISON. SACRAMENTO, SEPT. 1860. at fr Le ty LA bss ae wey ee a Hy i, ie a sr , ny Ni ee ¥ Wed