Oct. 20, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



711 



pyrite from which the sulphuric acid used in manufacture 

 of g-lucose was made. 



Since the discovery of arsenic in gflucose beer, many 

 other articles made from sulphuric acid have been discov- 

 ered to contain traces of arsenic. Sulphuric acid, however, 

 has not been used in this country in the manufacture of 

 glucose for many years, hydrochloric acid taking- its place, 

 which, when neutralized with soda, le 



mon salt in the glucose, and which, being harmless, is not 

 removed. 



There are plenty of grounds on which to fight the sale 

 of glucose mixtures for honey without entering the field of 

 fiction. Cook Co., 111. 



[We wish to thank Prof. Eaton for the foregoing cor- 

 rection. What we want, and what bee-keepers want, is the 

 truth concerning these matters. — Editor. 1 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Beginning- with Bees— Some Questions. 



1. In the spring I obtained 6 colonies of baes (just com- 

 mon bees) ; 4 of these were in 8- frame dovetailed hives, and 

 2 in the old-fashioned upright-box made of rough plank. 

 They all seemed to be fairly strong in bees, but in a short 

 while the moths had destroyed two of those in the patent 

 hives. The other two seemed to be strong, and in July they 

 would hang in great clusters on the outside of the hive. 

 All at once this manifestation ceased, and the colonies have 

 appeared very weak ever since. If they swarmed at this 

 time I do not know it, though I tried to watch them. 



I looked through all the hives about a week ago, and 

 there seemed to be very few bees in any of them, but all 

 that were there were workers, as nearly as I can tell. They 

 did not seem to be storing honey, but were coming in laden 

 with a bright vellow substance. The cells in one hive were 

 partly filled with this. Owing to the fault of the original 

 owner, or carelessness in moving, the frames are not prop- 

 erly spaced, and one cannot be removed without disturbing 

 the others. The comb is all built from one to another. How 

 can this be remedied? and when should it be done? 



2. I saved but one small swarm during the season (I sup- 

 pose others must have escaped, but I knew of only one that 

 ran away). I was ignorant of the necessity of putting foun- 

 dation in the frames, so they are all built together, too. Is 

 it likely that this small number can get through the winter? 

 and will they amount to anything if they do? 



7,. The box-hives are old and rotten; it's impossible to 

 close them up tight, top or bottom. One of these had a 

 quantity of comb in the top containing both brood and honey. 

 About the last of June I took this all out down to the cross- 

 pieces. The bees of this colony have stored a little honey 

 since then, and seem to be hard at work now, brinring in 

 the substance before mentioned. 



The other hive is empty in the upper part, and has been 

 so all year. The lower part is full of dark comb, but there 

 is no honey that can be seen from either the top or the bot- 

 tom of the hive. Would you advise transferring these to 

 other hives now? 



4. We are on an elevation, which we dignify by the name 

 01 "Round Mountain" — some hundred or so feet above the 

 surrounding country, and containing about ,3,ooo acres. We 

 are 4 or 5 miles from a bottom territory. The principal crops 

 are cotton, corn, and peas. There are a good many wild 

 flowers in spring and some fruit-bloom. So far as I know, 

 there is nothing except perhaps a few wild flowers for the 

 bees to work on now. 



Our spring was cold and wet, and nothing was obtained 

 from the fruit-bloom. Some one said that we had no honey- 

 dew, either, because of the rain. 



We have taken off two 24-section supers — one from each 

 hive — which were fairly well filled, and there were 8 or 10 

 pounds in the box-hive. Now, do you think a few colonies 

 in this locality could be made to produce enough honey for 

 home use? 



5. Should these few that I have survive the winter, would 

 3f0u advise me to depend on natural swarming, or to try 

 forcing, and prevent swarming? The hives are not in a 

 desirable place. They are exposed to the afternoon sun. 

 Shall I_ let them winter where they are, and then remove in 

 the spring? 



6. Do vou think my bees need feeding now? How and 

 what should they be fed? 



7. While examining the bees lately, I found a large nest 

 of the common black ant under the bottom-board of two 

 hives. Would these interfere with the bees? 



Faulkner Co., Ark., Oct. 3. Mrs. C. H. Nelson. 



1. The sudden change from strong to weak colonies was 

 almost surely caused by swarming. The yellow substance 

 is pollen, and the likelihood is that while storing pollen they 

 are getting some honey, even though it be only enough for 

 their daily needs. Let the crooked combs alone till fruit- 

 bloom next spring. Then, smoking the bees a little, turn the 

 hive upside down; with a long knife or a saw cut away the 

 attachments of the comb at each side, and lift off the hive 

 from the comb. This is on the supposition that the bottom 

 of the hive is loose, and if not loose you must pry it off any- 

 how. When the body of the hive is removed, and the frames 

 are open before you, you may find that only a little straight- 

 ening is needed ; a comb attached to a frame most of its 

 length may need cutting away from the adjoinmg frame only 

 a little, and then crowded into place in its own frame. If 

 any or all of the combs are built too crooked for this, you 

 must cut them out and transfer according to instructions in 

 your book for transferring. 



2. With your mild winters a colony might live through 

 even if pretty weak (and it's not easy to guess how weak 

 yours is), and if it lives through till spring there's a chance 

 for it to amount to a good deal. 



.3. No, don't transfer now. Begging your pardon for dis- 

 agreeing, you can close them up quite tight if you have plenty 

 of rags to stuff in the cracks and holes. 



4. Hard to say positively, but from what you say about 

 their work this year, I think you can produce more than one 

 family would be likely to consume, and have some left to 

 give away. Your bees have done a good deal better than 

 ours have done some years. 



5. I don't know — not well enough acquainted with you to 

 tell. Likely you better try some each way so as to find out 

 what will best suit you. 



6. Those from which you have taken surplus are not 

 likely to need feeding, yet will do no harm to maTce sure. 

 Sugar syrup fed in the way directed in your bee-book will be 

 all right. 



7. Not if they're the same as the common black ant of 

 the North, but in some parts of the South there are ants 

 that are very destructive. If you have that sort, which go 

 into the hives and kill the bees, you can have your hives on 

 stands or benches with legs, and have the foot of each leg 

 standing in an old can or something of the kind kept filled 

 with water. Better if a little oil is kept on top of the water. 

 The water will not evaporate so fast, and the ants dislike oil. 



"The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the finest bee-keeper's song — words by Hon- 

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 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

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 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at $1.00. 



