150 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 25, 19C4. 



gain in information by reading at our leisure what has been 

 hastily read in the busy season, but we are thereby stimu- 

 lated to greater efforts, and when discouraged revived. 





Nasty's Afterthoughts 





The " Old Reliable " seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. Hastt, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



LOCATING BEES NBAB THE BLOOM. 



A very practical problem for those who are about to 

 move, is the one with which Mr. Doolittle wrestles on page 

 5. About what's the difference between locating right in 

 the good forage and locating 1 '2 miles away ? His experi- 

 ence and observation is that the difference is not very great. 

 I can agree as to the main element of the problem. Given 

 two fields of clover, one right at hand and one 1 '2 miles 

 away, if the latter is yielding a little better the bees will 

 choose it and neglect the other — and make money by so 

 doing. They seem to esteem three half miles of flight a 

 very small matter — and I guess they are right. Time well 

 spent (quite apart from the journey) in elaborating the nec- 

 tar. It doesn't follow, however, that two apiaries 1'2 miles 

 apart are equal, or anywhere near equal, in value. Neces- 

 sarily there must be limits somewhere, and each apiary 

 probably leaves outside its limits several square miles which 

 are inside the limits of the other. So the theory and a mul- 

 titude of reports agree that there is sometimes great differ- 

 ence in the yield of two apiaries no farther apart than the 

 distance named. Even a half mile farther in the wrong 

 direction may prevent bees ever finding the edge of a region 

 on which they would profitably forage over a good many 

 square miles if they only found it once. 



THRBB-BOTTOM PLAN TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



Hardly know what I do think about the Lyman three- 

 bottom plan to postpone swarming. Guess each will have 

 to try and find out for himself how much it is worth. Mr. 

 Lyman is praiseworthy in the moderation of his claims in 

 regard to it. A postponement of three weeks is worth some- 

 thing — but fellows like me, they'll largely continue to let 

 alone, and — " Hope there won't be much swarming this 

 year." Page 6. 



FOUL BROOD INSPECTION IN COLORADO. 



Those Colorado boys are great — at showing us the holes 

 in their clothes — when it comes to foul-brood law and in- 

 spection. Three inspectors in succession inspect a bad case, 

 and, strange to say, inspection with nothing else done what- 

 ever does not cure it. Page 7. 



THE GREAT MAJORITY FAVOR SEPARATORS. 



In some things we get ahead a little in the course of the 

 years. Lots of writers used to urge and argue that separa- 

 tors could be dispensed with. Now, out of 26 respondents 

 22 favor them, and all the others are explanatory instead of 

 hortatory in their positions. As between wood and tin, 10 

 do not express choice ; 6 are for tin ; and 12 are for wood. 

 Page 10. 



THAT CAR-LOAD OF WIVES. 



Mr. Hadsell makes a good fight for himself about the 

 car-load of wives. Guess we shall have to admit that if any 

 violation of the proprieties was suggested somebody else 

 tacked it on. Page 11. 



PREVENTION OF HONEY GRANULATION. 



Honey kept hot for 36 hours very much safer against 

 granulation than that merely heated for a short time. 

 Sounds very reasonable, Mr. Weber. Also, not very easy 

 to get the arrangements to do that safely and cheaply! 

 Page 14. 



THE DIFFERENCE IN SUGARS. 



Very likely cane-sugar and beet-sugar are practically 

 the same for feeding bees and canning fruit, but a few more 

 experimental tests would not be amiss for all that. Chemi- 

 cal dir.ta do not make it a thing of course. You may meet a 

 chemist who will tell you that cane-sugar and maple sugar 

 are the same — and all common folks of good sense know 

 they are not. In the most important respect of all— the 



sweetening power— they are not the same. And the judge 

 on the bench, he'll give you a good, healthy fine if you sell 

 them for the same. Chemical analysis does not at present 

 reveal any difference; and no one seems to know yet what 

 causes manifest differences in flavor and qualities in differ- 

 ent sugars. Wouldn't it be ever so much better if the 

 chemist could humble himself to say as much ? Page 21. 



DISTURBANCE OF BEES IN WINTER. 



With bees, winter disturbance is usually quite harmful 

 — but continuously disturbed is not disturbed at all — pay no 

 attention to it. I was a little surprised that L. C. Root 

 should not be aware of this till he found it out by recent 

 experience. Page 14. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





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

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



Foundation for Use in Sections. 



1. Which kind of foundation do you use in the sections 

 when you use whole sheets, thin super or extra thin? 



2. Which way do you cut the foundation 7 So the cells 

 run vertically, or crosswise ? Wisconsin. 



Answers. — 1. Thin super; when I have tried extra thin 

 the bees made too much trouble when no honey was comirig 

 in by gnawing it down. There might not be the same 

 trouble in places where the flow is less uncertain. 



2. Vertically ; the foundation comes from the manufac- 

 turers so as to cut in that way, the sheets being generally 

 3%xlS52. 



Getting Queen-Cells Drawn and Grafted. 



Last summer I had trouble getting queen-cells drawn 

 and completed. It being said that young bees are desired 

 to do that work. I am going to try to get a colony of cell- 

 builders in the following manner : 



During the day, when field-bees are flying strongest, 

 move a colony to a new location, putting another hive in 

 its place, and in it put all uncapped brood and a queen from 

 the colony moved. The old bees that were moved would re- 

 turn to the old stand, and I think the colony on the new 

 stand would contain but few old bees, and when contracted 

 to a few frames would be in condition to build cells when 

 given grafted cups. New York. 



Answer. — If you operate as you propose, and use a 

 strong colony, you would have a good lot of bees of the 

 right age for cell-building. But they would not be in the 

 best condition for the work. There would be no honey 

 coming in for some time, and a discouraged lot of bees are 

 not what you want for cell-building. You would get better 

 work to leave the hive on the old stand, taking away queen, 

 brood, and as few bees as consistent with saving the brood. 

 Better still, take the queen with one or two frames of brood 

 and adhering bees for a nucleus, and distribute among 

 other colonies any brood you do not want left. It is not the 

 presence of old bees that does harm, but the absence of 

 young bees. 



Black or Half-Bloods— Straight Comfis— Holy Land Bees. 



1. You will find enclosed, in a little tin box, a few bees 

 which I wish you would give me the description and name 

 of the best you can. I would like to know what kind they 

 are, whether Italians or not. There are several different 

 colors in the same colony, from dark brown to bright yellow. 



If you can make out what kind of bees they are, and 

 that they are not as good as pure Italians, what would be 

 the best for me to do, as I produce comb honey only. They 

 are descendants from a swarm my father caught about 10 

 years ago. They have worked well for me ever since I be- 

 gan, which is three years ago. I began with one colony, and 

 this summer I bought a few, and now I have 18 colonies, 

 and will stay with them as long as I can. 



The last season was a pretty good one for bees, but it 



