634 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. IS, 1904. 



thirds of the brethren, I take it, are clippers — fanatically so 

 some of them. What do I think ? I think bees are always 

 disturbed in their minds when their queen is handled to 

 clip her. Very likely the clipping itself causes part of it, 

 but I think the handling is one main thing. I would con- 

 tribute this additional point to the method. If you find 

 your cell-building colony is getting languid in its work, 

 catch the queen and handle her some more. I think pretty 

 strongly that if any queen is handled, say once or twice a 

 week, the bees will try to supersede her, if they don't do 

 worse. When a queen is handled there is a numerously 

 graded set of things that may happen. The bees may kill 

 her quick as a flash the minute they get hold of her. (From 

 my own experience when I was a beginner.) They may 

 ball ber till she is worthless or dead. They may ball her 

 not very furiously, and soon let her go. They may go 

 deliberately about superseding her. (This not from my 

 own experience, but inferred from Mr. Broderick's.) They 

 may threaten to supersede, but not persevere to accomplish 

 it. They may merely " turn up their noses" a little for 

 awhile — and anon the disagreeable scent disappears and all 

 is lovely again. 



Mr. Broderick's experience that bees accept just as 

 many larva; in dry cells as in jelly is important — if others 

 find it so also. Polish that quill on a stone till the sharp 

 edges are all taken off. Page 534. — [See Mr. Broderick's 

 correction on the queen-clipping matter, page 564. — Editor.] 



MOST HONEY COMES FROM THE HIVE ! 



The printer man bungled S. T. Pettit's answer and 

 makes him father of a brilliant joke which he is doubtless 

 entirely innocent of. The principal source of surplus honey 

 is the hive. Same here — that's where I get mine. Page 549. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 



] 



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

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



Introducing Honey-Daubed Queens. 



On page 590, Franklin G. Fox asks me to report after 

 trying the plan of introducing a queen by daubing her with 

 honey and dropping her in. I tried the plan many years 

 ago, when it was somewhat commonly practiced before the 

 present ways of introducing were known ; but it was gen- 

 erally stipulated that the queen must be daubed with honey 

 taken from the hive into which she was to be introduced. 

 In many cases it is safe, but not always. 



C. C. Miller. 

 -♦-•-♦^ 



Using the Queen to the Best Advantage. 



1. I am a beginner, and would like to know how to use 

 the queen to the best advantage. Could I leave all the bees 

 possible in a top story that is pretty well filled with honey, 

 set it by itself for two or three days, and then give them 

 the queen 7 Or would it be best to kill one of my queens, 

 and replace it with the new queen ? 



2. About how long before the queen ought to begin 

 laying ? Canada. 



Answers. — 1. If you take an upper story containing 

 honey, but no brood, and set it in a new place, you will prob- 

 ably find it entirely deserted by the bees unless you im- 

 prison them for two or three days, and then there may be 

 danger of smothering. If the season of gathering is en- 

 tirely over, it may be the best plan to kill the queen of a 

 colony and introduce the new queen in her stead. If, how- 



ever, you are anxious to preserve both queens, and the har- 

 vest is still on, or you are willing to feed, you may do this : 

 Take an empty hive, put into it one frame of brood and bees 

 from the old hive with the queen on it, fill up with empty 

 combs, set in place of the old hive, removing the old hive 

 with brood and bees to a new place, at the same time intro- 

 ducing the new queen into the old hive. 



2. Possibly she may begin laying as soon as the bees 

 liberate her from the cage ; possibly not for a week. 



Killing the Bees to 6et the Honey. 



I am selling out with the intention of leaving my pres- 

 ent location, and I can not take my bees with me or sell 

 them for what they are worth. How can I kill them so as 

 to get the honey ? I have several colonies doing very well, 

 but I know but little about handling them. Missouri. 



Answer. — The only way that was known at one time 

 to get honey from bees was to kill them with brimstone. 

 Dig a pit in the ground, put in it some burning coals, drop 

 on some brimstone or sulphur, set the hive over, and quickly 

 close up with cloths or rags every avenue of escape. Bisul- 

 phide of carbon or chloroform may also be used. It's a sad 

 proceeding at best. 



Why Did the Bees Die ?-Other Questions. 



1. I am a beginner in the bee-business, and have only 

 12 colonies. We had a very severe winter and a late spring. 

 I put 14 colonies into winter quarters, but lost 2. In one of 

 them I found the bees dead in a cluster in one side of the 

 hive. All the honey had gone to the middle of the hive, and 

 the other half (5 frames) was mostly full of sealed honey. 

 There were plenty of bees in the hive, plenty of pollen, no 

 signs of disease, and the weather was very cold. What 

 was the trouble with them ? 



2. In looking through my colonies the other day I found 

 a nice queen lying in front of a hive, that I think had been 

 pulled out that day. On looking into the hive-I found that 

 they had a nice young queen. Did they kill the old queen ? 



3. At the same time I found two other hives that had a 

 fine, ripe-looking queen-cell sealed in each of them, and I 

 thought they were fixing to swarm. Now I find that the 

 cells have hatched and the bees have not swarmed. How is 

 that 7 Virginia. 



Answers. — 1. The trouble was the long spell of cold. 

 Usually a mild spell comes soon enough so that the bees can 

 leave the cluster, and bring to it enough honey from farther 

 out to last till the next warm spell. But in this case they 

 used up all the honey in their reach before another warm 

 spell came, and they had their choice to leave the cluster 

 and freeze to death or cling together and starve. 



2. Yes, it was a case of superseding. 



3. The cells may have started for swarming, and bad 

 weather, a let-up in the honey-flow, or something else may 

 have made the bees give up swarming, but still allowing a 

 young queen to emerge. But you speak as if there were 

 only a single cell in each hive, in which case there was 

 probably no intention to swarm, but to supersede the queen. 



Money as a Health-Food is the name of a 16- 

 page leaflet (3^x6 inches) which is designed to help in- 

 crease the demand and sale of honey. The first part is 

 devoted to a consideration of " Honey as Food," written 

 by Dr. C. C. Miller. The last part contains " Honey-Cook- 

 ing Recipes " and " Remedies Using Honey." It should be 

 widely circulated by every one who has honey for sale. It 

 is almost certain to make good customers for honey. We 

 know, for we have used it ourselves. 



Prices, prepaid — Sample copy free ; 10 for 20 cts. ; 25 

 for 40 cts.; 50 for 70 cts.; 100 for Si. 25; 250 for $2.25; 500 

 for $4.00 ; 1000 for $7.50. Your business card printed free 

 at the bottom of the front page, on all orders for 100 or 

 more copies. Send all orders to the Bee Journal office 



