July 18, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



455 



some question whether the length of tongue may be trans- 

 mitted without any corresponding^ly increased vigor, and 

 therefore increased ability to use it ? 



In conclusion, my opinion, based on the above points, 

 is as follows : Whenever a colony of long-tongued bees is 

 superior to a colony of bees with shorter tongues, as shown 

 by the gathering of nectar from red clover, such superiority 

 is due to increased vigor, which (other things being equal! 

 shows that the greater length of tongue is due to increased 

 use of, and energy in the use of, that member, usually 

 through several generations, it being apparent that it takes 

 more energy to use a long tongue than a shorter one. It 

 naturally follows that in a locality, or at a time when red 

 clover fails to yield nectar, this increased energy of the 



HOME APIARY OP GEO. B. WHITCOMB, OF LINS CO., OHEG. — See page 4.i0 



long-tongued colony will not go to waste but will be used to 

 advantage in the more rapid storing of more easily reached 

 nectar, regardless of its source. And it is quite pertinent 

 to the subject, that the colony which has given me the most 

 nectar to date, this season, from fruit-bloom, contains by 

 far the longest-tongued bees I have, many having a reach 

 of 22-100. And this also is a point in favor of my idea 

 that the best bee is the best regardless of locality. — Bee- 

 Keepers' Review. Fulton Co., N. Y. 



Why Not Help a Little— both your neighbor bee-keep- 

 ers and the old American Bee Journal — by sending to us the 

 names and addresses of such as you may know do not now 

 get this journal? We will be glad to send them sample 

 copies, so that they may become acquainted with the paper, 

 and subscribe for it, thus putting themselves in the line of 

 success with bees. Perhaps you can get them to subscribe, 

 send in their dollars, and secure for your trouble some of 

 the premiums we are constantly offering as rewards for 

 such effort. 



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

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

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

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

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a "hummer." We can 

 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 otie new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at $1.00. 



Please send us Names of Bee-Keepers who do not now 



get the American Bee Journal, and we will send them sam- 

 ple copies. Then you can very likely afterward get their 

 subscriptions, for which work we offer valuable premiums 

 in nearly every number of this journal. You can aid much 

 by sending in the names and addresses when writing us on 

 other matters. 



CONDUCTED BV 



OR. C O. MILLER. Mareago, 111. 



(The Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal office, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editor. 1 



Catching a Swarm on the Wing. 



Is there any way of catching a swarm of bees after 

 they leave the tree they first settled on ? If so, what is the 

 quickest and best way ? Minnesot.\. 



Answkk. — I suppose you mean is there any way to stop 

 a swarm when it has started to leave. It isn't the easiest 

 thing in the world, but it is always worth trying. Perhaps 

 the best thing is to take a looking-glass, run ahead of 

 them, and reflect the sun upon them. That has been 

 reported successful in driving them back in a number of 

 cases. Some, however, will tell you that a better plan is to 

 have a spray pump and throw a good shower of water upon 

 them. 



A Small ttueen— Thick Combs. 



1. I divided a strong colony of Italians in fruit-bloom, as 

 you suggested some time ago, and the queen-cells started 

 were all small. I left the largest ones, and, when hatched, 

 the queens were not much larger than worker-bees, and 

 leather-colored. I killed one of the queens and put the 

 nucleus back into the old hive, and left the queen in the other 

 division. The queen is two weeks old, and has not com- 

 menced to lay yet. Would you advise me to remove her 

 and give them a larger queen ? The old colonj' swarmed 

 two days after I put the nucleus back, and the queen-cells 

 started are large ; the queen looks sleek, and is large like 

 her mother. 



2. I have considerable trouble getting straight combs, 

 most of the frames having brace and burr combs on them. I 

 don't think the frames were spaced properly when first put 

 in. Would you advise buying an extractor, uncapping the 

 deep ones, spacing the frames over again, and feeding sugar 

 early in the fall ? Would it pay me to get an extractor ? I 

 am running for comb honey and have eight colonies. 



^^ New York. 



— Answers. — 1. If a queen does not begin to lay till after 

 she is two weeks old, she will generally turn out very poor, 

 and you will risk very little to kill her. 



2. It might pay you to get an extractor, but not for the 

 sake of straightening out your combs. Neither do you 

 need to take any such trouble. If the center of the comb 

 is in the center of the frame, and some of the combs are 

 too thick (which I understand is the case), all you need to 

 do is to keep crowding the combs together a few times on 

 different days. The bees will trim off the parts that touch, 

 all but a few points of attachment which you can remove, 

 and a few operations will make all right. But you will be 

 likely to have some brace-combs in any case. 



Finding the Queen, Etc. 



The Premiums offered this week are well worth 

 ing for. Look at them. 



jrk- 



I have a very strong colony in an S-franie hive which I 

 wish to divide andean not find the<iueen. having looked 

 the frames all over five different times. They have about 

 seven queen-cells, most of them being capped. 



1. What is the best way to find the queen ? 



2. Will a colony swarm if it has laying-workers in the 

 place of a queen ? 



3. Will the bees build more drone-comb in the spring 

 than in the early fall ? 



4. Can I divide, and use queen-cells ? Illinois. 



Answers. — 1. Usuallj' all that is necessary is to look 

 somewhat carefully over the frames. Avoid the use of 

 much smoke, for if you smoke the bees till you get them to 

 running, you may about as %TelI give up finding the queen 

 till another time. If you do not find the queen after look- 

 ing over the frames once or twice, better close the hive and 

 leave them for half an hour or longer. For the queen has 

 probably hidden in such a way that it is impossible for you 



