346 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 12, 1904. 



Building a Bee-Cellar— Winter Breedlns;. 



I wish to build a bee-cellar to hold 200 colonies. I intend to build 

 it in a side hill and have it entirely under ground, and cover it with a 

 roof, then 3 feet of earth, then a roof over this to keep the earth dry. 



1. How large would you build it? 



2. Would you make any special arrangements for ventilation? If 

 so, how would you arrange the ventilators? The sides and end will be 

 built of stone and mortar. 



3. What causes bees to breed in the winter! New York. 



Answers. 1. Ten cubic feet for each colony is not far out of the 

 way. 



3. G. M. Doolittle is probably the most successful winterer in that 

 kind of respository, and if I am not mistaken he has given up the use 

 of ventilators entirely. It might be a good plan for you to have a 

 ventilator, because it is easy to provide one when building, and not so 

 easy afterward ; and if you find you are better off without it you need 

 not use it. T. F. Bingham has a repository not so entirely under- 

 ground, and he believes in a ventilator 16 inches square. A plain 

 board pipe from near the ground up will answer. 



3. Probably heat and excitement. 



How to 6et Increase. 



I have 7 colonies of bees, and am anxious to Increase to 21 colonies, 

 at least. I want them to be strong enough to store honey just as it 

 they were first swarms. I have read of several ways to increase, but I 

 am lost as to which way to follow. How can I make each of the 7 

 produce 2 strong colonies, that will be strong enough to store honey in 

 the sections as a good, strong, early swarm would do, and yet have the 

 parent colony strong, too? 



I have been feeding each colony ; they seem to be strong and do- 

 ing well. My new hives are made, and all is ready to begin with, it I 

 knew what to do. I have a good range here, alsike clover, sweet 

 clover, and white clover is abundant. I am near a river, and there are 

 lotslof wild flowers early and late, that the bees work on. 



(Indiana. 



Answer. — I have read your letter twice carefully, and if I under- 

 stand it correctly, you want from each colony two swarms, each as 

 a strong prime swarm, leaving the parent colony still strong. 1 don't 

 know how to do that, and if any one knows enough to help us out, I 

 shall be glad to learn with you how it is done. 



Caring for Moldy Combs. 



I have S colonies of bees left out of 25. I put 11 Into the cellar, 

 which had water in it; 7 out of the 11 are all right. I lost all but one 

 of those left out-of-doors. Some of them died from what seemed to be 

 dysentery, and the combs are in bad shape. Will it do to place those 

 hives, that have bees in them, under others and let the bees clean them 

 out and get what honey is there? Some of the combs are very moldy 

 and smell badly, but I think the odor comes from the dead bees. 



Illinois. 



Answer. — Yes, it will be all right. 



Vicious Bees— Wants Gentle Ones. 



What shall I do with vicious bees? I think I wrote to you about 

 this once before. I have the very meanest bees of all, I suppose. 

 They beat yellow jackets and hornets all hollow. The queens were all 

 bought of reputable breeders, too. My neighbors have bees from the 

 same breeders that are not vicious at all. Smoke has little effect on 

 them. When I open a hive they literally swarm out and all over me. 

 I grin and endure it, liut would like to know how, or where, to get a 

 more gentle strain of bees. South Carolina. 



Answer. — The only cure, probably, is a change of queens. Occa- 

 sionally I have a colony that is specially vicious, and the queen has 

 her head removed. If your neighbor got gentle stock from the same 

 place as yours, you might be equally successful next time; and no 

 matter where you got different stock, the probability is that there 

 would be an improvement in disposition. 



Spring Feeding— Smoking Bees— Borax for Ants- 

 ping Queens. 



Clip- 



1. Is it necessary to see about feeding the bees after they have 

 commenced carrying in pollen? Mine are working hard. 



2. At what time do you consider it necessary to use the smoker '. 

 Do you think too much strong smoke is injurious to brood and queen? 

 I prefer using brush and veil as much as possible. I am stocking up 

 with red clover and selected Italians. Are not these the most gentle 

 bees we have? 



3. How many colonies would you figure on to an acre of buck- 

 wheat to gather all the honey to good advantage? 



4. I have some sections, and four fit to a frame very snugly in the 

 top of a frame for feeding in the brood-chamber. Will it be all right 

 to leave them in there, as the combs are in fine shape? 



5. What is the best plan to get bees out of a super when ready to 

 take off? And, do you always keep all the empty sections at the top? 



6. Powdered borax sprinkled around ou the ground is good to 



keep away ants. Do you think this would be detrimental in any way 

 to the bees; that is, placing the borax on the (ground? 



7. I have a valuable queen, and wish to clip one of her wings. 

 When would you do this? and how would you manage the colony 

 when she casts her first swarm? Would you clip the wings of the 

 following virgin queens, or do you think they would leave when they 

 swarm ? 



8. My hybrid colony No. 1 began working hard about April 31 

 with a red clover queen. About when can I look for her progeny as 

 workers? or will she cast a swarm before her progeny begin work? 



Missouri. 



Answers. — 1. One June, at a time when the bees ought to have 

 been busy in supers, I found them carrying out the white remains of 

 brood, and you may believe I moved pretty lively until every colony 

 was safe against starvation for at least a nun)ber of days. In at least a 

 locality no richer than mine, there is need of constant watch any time 

 when bees are not busy storing. Especially is this so in spring and 

 early summer, when the bees are using stores heavily for rearing 

 brood. 



2. If I were keeping bees merely for the fun of it, I might handle 

 them without any smoker at all, and with very gentle ones it may 

 never be absolutely necessary. Aside from quieting the bees, no good 

 can certainly come from blowing into a hive, and no more should be 

 used than necessary. But as a matter of actual practice I generally 

 give a puff of smoke at the entrance before opening each hive, and a 

 little over the top as the cover is removed. I can hardly afford the 

 time to go slowly enough without any smoke. Bees are like folks — 

 they differ in disposition. Italians bees are very gentle in general, but 

 there are exceptions. As a whole, they probably do not excel the 

 Carniolans in gentleness. 



3. I wish I could tell you; but I never expect to know. It I re- 

 member rightly, M. Quinby, about 50 years ago, estimated that an 

 acre of buckwheat yielded about 25 pounds of honey in a day. It that 

 be correct, two or three colonies ought to be able to take care of it. 



4. Yes, it you dou't object to the small amount of room taken up 

 by the wood. 



5. Use a Porter escape if convenient to leave over night; other- 

 wise the Miller cone escape. Empty sections are usually added at the 

 bottom, unless it is doubtful as to their being needed. 



6. Not at all. 



7. Clip her the first time you see her when the bees are busy gath- 

 ering. When the colony swarms, pick up the queen, put an empty 

 hive in place of the old one, and when the swarm begins to enter the 

 new hive on its return let the queen run in with the rest. ^Vct'C?- clip 

 a virgin queen. It you clip her before she is fecundated, you will 

 never have anything but drones from her. 



8. You may expect her progeny to be at work in the fields when 

 about 16 days old, or about 37 days after she begins to lay. 



Wants Increase, Not Surplus Honey. 



I lost over half of my colonies of bees the past winter. I have 

 about 50 Simplicity hives, with about 100 frames with full sheets of 

 wired foundation. Also about 200 frames with old and some new 

 full-drawn combs. I have but 7 colonies left. I examined them to- 

 day, all have queens, and cover from 3 to 6 frames ot brood, with 

 plenty of honey. 



1. What is a good method to increase these 7 colonies to 35 or 30, 

 or even more, if the season should be extra good, without buying 

 queens, honey, or sugar? I do not care for any surplus honey, but 

 want increase of colonies in good wintering condition. 



3. Can I use these old combs or frames of foundation! My loca- 

 tion is dependent almost entirely upon white, alsike, and common 

 clovers for surplus; no basswood or tall flow to amount to much. 



Ohio. 



Answers. — 1. Possibly you may prefer natural swarming, and 

 here's a plan you may like: When the first colony swarms— it may 

 not be a bad plan to hasten the swarming ot one ot your best 

 colonies by giving it sealed brood from other colonies— when it swarms, 

 put the swarm on the old stand, and set the mother colony in place ot 

 another colony, setting this latter in a new place. In a week or so it 

 will send out a swarm with a young queen; set this swarm in place of 

 the mother colony, and set the mother colony as before in the place ot 

 some other colony, setting this latter in a new place. Continue this as 

 long as the mother colony continues to send out swarms. When an- 

 other colony swarms, put it through the same routine. You will see 

 that when you set the old colony in place of another strong colony, 

 the field-bees ot the removed colony will, upon their return from the 

 fields, enter the swarming colony, thus strengthening it; and having 

 a number of young queens in their cells it will be likely to continue 

 swarming as it would not without such strengthening treatment. The 

 removed colonies will soon recuperate so as to be ready tor another 

 removal, or perhaps tor sending out a swarm. You will not have 

 swarms so strong, but you will have more of them, and if the season is 

 good you ought to have no trouble in reaching your number. 



2. Yes, they are good capital. The bees will clean them out 

 nicely. 



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