Feb. 18, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



123 



( 



Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



What Caused Their Loss?— Langstroth Hive. 



1. I had 14 t'Olonies of bees, mostly blacks, last season, but I find 

 on examining them, in their winter quarters, that 1 have only 5 livint;. 

 The rest died with plenty of honey in the hives. They were packed in 

 chaff, lioth in super and around the hive. Can you give me any rea- 

 son for their demise? 



■J. I have been using S-frame dovetailed hives, but wish to change 

 to the Langstroth. As there are none in this locality, would you tell 

 me the exact inside dimensions of same? Ontario. 



Answers. — 1. The cold has been remarkably severe and long con- 

 tinued; the colonies ate up all the stores within reach, and the cold 

 was so severe that it was death to leave the cluster to go for more, so 

 they starved with plenty of honej' in the hives, but not within reach. 

 Under such circumstances the weakest colonies have the poorest 

 chance. 



2. The dovetailed and Langstroth are the same size. In fact, a 

 dovetailed hive is nothing more nor less than a Langstroth hive with 

 locked corners. 



Bees Dlsappearing- 



-Getting Increase— Strengthening 

 Colonies. 



June 38, two large first swarms issued and clustered together. 1 

 hived them in a new hive containing frames, but neither brood, comb, 

 nor even foundation. I gave them boxes for surplus honey at once. 



On July 9 I noticed a lol of them clustered on the front of the 

 hive (the day was a hot one), and the next day they "lit out" for 

 parts unknown without clustering at all. The next morning I tried 

 to investigate conditions. I bungled the matter enough to break down 

 about half the combs, and got discouraged, but found out this much : 

 The 9 frames (Langstroth size) had been filled with comb. The 4 

 that broke down were over -3 full of honey ; only a few cells of brood 

 in those combs ; just about bees enough left to cover the remaining h 

 frames. 



On Aug. 9 I looked for brood quite thoroughly, but found none. 

 Two weeks later, on examination, 1 found plenty of brood. 



1. What made them go in that way after getting to work? 



2. I have S colonies now, apparently wintering well so far. 1 

 should like to increase, another season, to about 20 colonies. How is 

 the best way to manage it so as to have them strong? 



3. Two colonies are rather small. How can I strength them at 

 setting-out time? New York. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know. The great heat, especially if the 

 hive was unprotected, may have had something to do with it. Are 

 you sure they're all right now i No brood Aug. S, and plenty of it two 

 weeks later looks a little like laying workers. 



2. 1 should need to be a little better acquainted with you to say 

 just what plan for you, and perhaps I wouldn't know enough then. 

 Much depends upon the season, and if you have a poor season you may 

 be sure of weak colonies if you Increase from 8 to 20, unless you feed. 

 A safe way is to use the nucleus plan, at least for all increase after 

 doubling, and at the last make everything strong from the start. 

 Read, read. Study your bee-book carefully, as well as back numbers 

 of your bee-papers, and when you are thoroughly familiar with prin- 

 ciples you'll know better than I can tell you just what is the best way 

 for you. If you are going to have as many as 20 colonies, one book is 

 not enough for you. Neither is one paper. 



3. You can't. At that time you would do more harm than good 

 to take from stronger colonies to strengthen weaker ones. Keep them 

 well protected, awaiting warmer weather, either letting them build up 

 themselves, or giving them sealed brood from other colonies when any 

 colonies become about strong enough to swarm. 



Rearing Brood in February- Cellar Ventilation. 



1. Will a colony rear brood in February or March if they have 

 been given frames of sealed honey in the fall? I gave them outside 

 frames, which, I don't think, had any pollen or bee-bread. This swarm 

 I cauglit late in August, so they did not have time to procure stores for 

 winter. 



2. I carried my bees into the cellar, removed the honey-board, put 

 a Hill's device over the brood-nest, made a cushion of burlap, filled it 

 with chaff, put an empty super on top, and in it the cushion, and 

 mashed it down firmly. What I want to know is this: Do I need to 

 put on the cover? The cover is on now, but I find on examining them 

 that moisture gathers around the edges, and the cushion feels a little 

 damp. I thought by leaving the cover off, this might escape. 



3. My cellar is 18x12 feet, and (J feet high, no windows or doors. 

 Now, as the snow has drifted over all, I have a trap-door from the 

 kitchen only. I have 6 colonies in here. Do they want any ventila- 

 tion from the outside? 



Knowing nothing about bees, but having a liking for honey and 

 the care of bees, I made a hive and fitted it with frames of my own 



manufacture. I do not know just the dimensions, but it was large 

 enough, as you can see, for I took the honey out of one frame and it 

 weighed 9 pounds, and the top-bars of the frames were only \ of an 

 inch, and they were bent nearly to the bottom of the hive. The bot- 

 tom is nailed on, with about ^.^ inch left for an entrance. The bees I 

 ]iurchasedfor .'?1.00 in June, from a neighbor. Now, this was 3 years ago, 

 and I now have 11 colonies from this one, by natural swarming. What 

 I was going to say is this: I have been unable to get a pound of sur- 

 plus honey from this colony in all these years. They simply would 

 not go in the sections any way I cou'.d fix them. I have removed the 

 outside frames and put a shallow frame in its place until they had the 

 foundation drawn, and then I removed it above, but they would not 

 go an inch above the brood-nest. Wanting to increase as much as I 

 could I have kept this colony, but another spring I will transfer to a 

 modern hive. This colony has now about 4 inches of honey above all 

 frames, and at the back end nearly to the bottom. I have been reading 

 the American Bee Journal, also " Bees and Honey," and have found 

 out my trouble with this colony. The other colonies I have from this 

 one did well — and no trouble to get them in the sections. 



Michigan. 

 Answers. — 1. A good colony wintered outdoors will be likely to 

 rear brood before February is over, if it has pollen. If no pollen is 

 present you need not expect brood till pollen can be gathered. 



2. The moisture seems to indicate that the cover should be either 

 removed or raised sufficiently for the escape of the watery vapor. 



3. For so small an\imberof colonies there can be little need of ven 

 tilation from the outside. If the tem]ierature keeps at about 4.5 de' 

 grees, and there is no mold, and no bad smell when you enter the eel" 

 lar you need have little anxiety. 



Management for Comb Honey. 



1. I have 3 colonies of bees; some were caught last spring. Two 

 of these colonies are on the brood-frames, and over the brood-cbamber 

 is a board — " a bee-board." Now, this board seems to be glued down 

 by the bees. In the spring should I take the board off and put the 

 supers over the brood-frames, or should I bore holes in the board and 

 put the supers on top of it? 



2. What time in the spring should I do this? 



8. How much space should there be between the brood-frames and 

 supers, or board, if left on? 



4. Sections that have bee-ways on both sides, and where there is 

 only one tier— should the top have a cover on, or should it be left 

 open? 



.5. How can I tell when they are full? 



6. Should sections have foundation at top and bottom, or is the 

 top foundation enough? 



7. How can I fasten this foundation? Can I do it without a ma- 

 chine? If so, how? 



8. Will I have to smoke the bees when opening to place the supers 

 on? How? 



9. What size supers are the best ? 



10. One colony that I purchased is in a hive 3 stories high— the 

 brood-chamber, and then two above that. The two have no super in, 

 and it is so heavy that two men can hardly lift it, so I suppose the 

 honey that is in there is in all shapes. What would you advise doing 

 with that? Can I by any means place supers in it ? If so, how ? 



11. Should foundation be placed in brood-frames? Should it be 

 done the same as in sections? Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. I suppose you mean that the hive has movable 

 frames, and that a board covers these frames. The lioard should be 

 removed when supers are given. 



3. In your part of Iowa while clover is probably the first source of 

 surplus honey, and you may give supers when clover first shows 

 bloom. 



3. About I4 of an inch ; less rather than more. 



4. L^nless the cover closes down within a quarter of an inch of the 

 tops of the sections, there should be an inside cover of some kind. 

 But if you have a good How of honey you will find more than one tier 

 necessary. Don't let your bees lack surplus room. 



5. Look and see. Take off the cover, and if you find the sections 

 sealed at top raise up the super and peep below to see if they are 

 sealed down to the bottom. 



(5. Botfi ways are used. The bottom-starters makes a more sure 

 thing of having the sections finished down to the bottom-bar. 



7. It will pay to buy a machine. One way to do it without a 

 machine is to run melted beeswax along the joint. 



8. Unless the bees are very good-natured you will find smoke 

 necessary. Use a bee-smoker. 



9. That depends upon the size of your hive. The super should be 

 large enough just to cover the hive. 



10. It is perhaps a chaff hive, and if so you will find room enough 

 to put supers inside. 



11. Yes, at least you will probably find it best. Some use merely 

 a small starter of foundation in brood-frames, but in that case the 

 bees are likely to build too much drone-comb. 



Some of these questions you will find answered in the bee-book 

 you have, and it will pay you to study the book thoroughly. 



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 a bee-keeper's liandbook of 138 pages, which is just what 

 our German friends will want. It is fully illustrated, and 

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