28 



American Vae Journal 



planer shavings all around the hives. I 

 bridge ovei the entrance and allow a ^ixb 

 inch space. What do you think of this man- 

 ner of wintering? Indiana. 



Answer.— Your plan should work well, as 

 also the plan you mention with the Winch 

 strips. Very likely you would find no ma- 

 terial difference in results between the two. 

 Your plan does not give quite so free a pas- 

 sage for the air. but likely it gives passage 

 enough. 



A Frame-Lifter 



Is there anything like a frame-lifter on the 

 market ? I was asked by an old bee man to 

 invent a small tool, one which a man can put 

 into his pocket, but make it pull the frames 

 out easily. 



I made a little tool from sheet steel. It cuts 

 the glue between the frames, and in a mo- 

 ment you can pull any frame with one hand 

 and place the same frame back again. Your 

 hand does not come anywhere near the 

 frame or bees. The tool is 8 inches long, 

 and weighs about 12 ounces. It grips the 

 frame in the center, and holdsit so well that 

 one cannot pull it off with two hands. At 

 the same time all you have to do is to put 

 the frame back into the hive with one hand, 

 touch a little catch with the finger, and off 

 I. -: s the tool. 



','. luld a tool of this kind be worth any- 

 >...- ^ to the beemen. and do you think it 

 would pay to have it patented ? 



Wisconsin. 



Answer.— I don't think a tool of the kind 

 is in common use in this country, although 

 frame-tongs are common in Europe. They 

 are. however. I think, generally for handling 

 frames in side-opening hives. A tool that 

 would allow one to lift out a frame with one 

 hand would likely be valued by some. 

 Othes would obiect that generally both 

 hands are free anyhow, and that with one 

 hand there would be more danger of killing 

 bees, since there would be more danger of 

 striking against the other combs or against 

 the hive-ends. It is a littledoubtful whether 

 it would be worth while patenting such a 

 tool, but then I don't know. 



Doolittle Plan of Honey-Production 



Have you ever tried the methods for 

 honey-production, described by G. M. Doo- 

 little. in his book "A Year's Work in the 

 Out-Apiary?" Ifnotwhvnot? lovvA. 



Answer.— I have never followed the plan 

 fully in all its details, excellent as it is. 

 There are good plans sometimes given that 

 it may not be the best to follow; sometimes 

 because although they may suit my condi- 

 tions the plans lam already following may 

 seem so good that I do not think I would 

 gain enough to make a change. Yet I sup- 

 pose I have suffered more from being too 

 changeable than from being too conserva- 

 tive. 



lll-Natured Bees— Saving tlie Scrapings of Comb 

 Honey 



1. It is said that people are better natured 

 after having eaten, and if this is so. is it not 

 possible that the same might apply to a col- 

 ony of bees. It often happens that a colony 

 which stores a large surplus has a disagree- 

 able disposition. Is it not possible that this 

 is due. at least partly, to the fact that such 

 a colony tries to get along on as little food 

 as possible, and so we have some colonies 

 which store a large surplus, and are ill-na- 

 tured colonies. 



2. I once melted up some scrapings which 

 I got from some sections and other sources 

 to get purer propolis, as I thought, since I 

 supposed all but the foul matter, such as 

 wood, would melt; but to my astonishment 

 only about one-half changed to a liquid, and 

 the rest, which I suppose was the propolis, 

 changed to a black mass. 



- When I strained it I found that about one- 

 half of it was bright yellow beeswax. Would 

 jt not pay for extensive producers of comb 

 honey to heat and press their scrapings 

 when preparing their crop for market, and 

 so get a large amount of wax ? 



California. 



Answers.— I. Your facts are all right, but 

 you are hardly making the right use of them. 

 It IS true that bees, like folks, are good-na- 

 tured when well fed. It is also true, perhaps 

 unfortunately, that some of the best storers 

 are ill-natured. But it hardly follows that 

 they are in their worst temper when gather- 

 ing rapidly. Indeed the opposite is true. 

 Neither does it seem likely that the bees 



are such poor economists as to put them- 

 selves on short rations when all their 

 strength is required to store the flood of 

 sweets that is offered. 



2. Yes. you are right. No doubt many a 

 pound of wax is thus wasted that might be 

 saved. 



Wliat is the Value of a Swarm? 



Will you answer the question contained 

 in the last line of Edward F Bigelow's arti- 

 cle, on page 3w of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal; that is. such a swarm as he described 

 or any other in September. I take it that 

 to get the true value of such a swarm they 

 would have to be hived in an empty hive the 

 same as a June swarm. To help them would 

 be adding artificially. An answer might be 

 of benefit to beginners and slow witted peo- 

 ple like myself. Badger. 



Answer.— A slight change in the form of 

 the question referred to will make it read: 



" If a swarm in July 

 Is not worth a fly. 

 Can anybody remember 

 What they are worth in September ?" 



Professor Bigelow. of course, refers to 

 the old rhyme: 



"A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; 

 A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; 

 A swarm in July is not worth a fly." 

 That jingle must have been made for some 

 locality with which I have no acquaintance. 

 Taking it. however, at its face value, it it 

 teaches anything it teaches that the worth 

 of a swarm as the season advances is a con- 

 stantly diminishing quantity. In July it 

 gets down to the zero point, after that it be- 

 comes a negative quantity, by September 

 becoming a good deal less than nothing. And 

 that might be literally true at the time the 

 doggerel was composed, when all that was 

 done with a swarm was to dump it into an 

 empty box or skep and leave it to its own 

 devices. For the swarm would be worth- 

 less, and the mother colony would be dam- 

 aged by the exodus. It is just possible— not 

 probable— that in the present instance there 

 was an exception, and that the flow was so 

 heavy and continued so late that left to them- 

 selves the swarm might have built combs 

 and stored enough for winter. The point 

 that you have in view, probably, is that such 

 a late swarm would be of no value, only as 

 value would be given to it by what the bee- 

 keeper should do for it; and in a general 

 way you are right. Yet if it should be fur- 

 nished with combs and stores, so as to win- 

 ter over, the value of the colony in the fol- 

 lowing spring might be greatly beyond the 

 value of the combs and stores furnished. 

 Yet, again, it might be more profitable still 

 to return a September swarm to the parent 

 colony. 



White Pine or Cypress? 



Which do you consider the best and most 

 lasting hive material, white pine or cvpress ? 



lOWA. 



Answer.— My guess would be that pine 

 should have the preference, but I have had 

 no experience with cypress. 



Cement for Honey Jars 



Kindly inform me how the cement is made 

 which is used for sealing honey jars. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer.— Generally, I think, no cement is 

 used. But I have known it to be used made 

 of rosin and beeswax, equal parts, or with a 

 smaller proportion of wax. I suppose para- 

 fhn might also be used. 



A Problem in Cellaring 



Will you give me some light on how to 

 carry bees into the cellar without the bees 

 flying out and stinging. For years it has 

 been a mystery to me how to carry bees in, 

 and sometimes out. without closing the en- 

 trances. Is there a difference in bees, hand- 

 ling, location, or what? I am curious to 

 know. 



First. I will give location of bees, cellar, 

 and mode of carrying them in. Then if you 

 runout of "don't knows." you may let me 

 have a guess on the trouble, 'The bees are in 

 8-frame and Danzenbaker hives iioo colonies) 

 at an out-yard, located on a farm. They are 

 in an orchard about 12 rods from the cellar. 

 On account of mice in the cellar I am obliged 



to have wire, four meshes to the inch, over 

 the entrances when in the cellar, the same 

 being tacked on early in the fall. Then a 

 common lath is notched out :!8X4 inches, is 

 center nailed over the wire, and afterward 

 pried off in the cellar. On account of in- 

 equality of bottoms this entrance closer 

 does not always fit tight against the wire- 

 cloth or hive. 



The bees are carried to the cellar on 

 what you would probably call a stretcher, 2 

 colonies to a load. No matter how careful 

 we were to carry them the 2 rods, the bees 

 would be all over us. with the entrances 

 open. Consequently the entrances have to 

 be closed /ie/i/. -rri-y Unlit when we carry 

 bees in. It takes about as much time to see 

 that the hives are closed tightly as it does 

 to carry them down cellar. Probably 25 colo- 

 nies are carried near the cellar-door and set 

 down, then those t^rst carried are taken into 

 the cellar 'still closed), and later, after the 

 bees have quieted downsome. theentrances 

 are opened i to i.'-2 inches. Sometimes this 

 mode is followed. 



Probably 25 to 30 colonies are carried 

 down and piled near the door. Then the 

 entrance closers are removed in about one- 

 half hour or more, a wet rag is placed over 

 each entrance, and the hives carried in. But 

 the trouble with this plan is when the wet 

 rag is removed, the bees pour out of the 

 hives over me and everything else near. 

 Many take wing and are lost. Of course, 

 this is the worst. Sometimes by being very 

 careful not many will leave the hives. 



I have tried every way known to carry 

 them in. I tried going slow and careful, but 

 all to no use; they are sensitized beyond de- 

 gree. If you want a start of these bees you 

 may have all that you can carry 2 rods with- 

 out bees escaping with the entrance open. 

 As to strain of bees, these bees have been 

 bred from queens of about all of the best 

 queen breeders. But of late years I have 

 followed your plan and reared queens from 

 the best honey-gatherers in the apiary, and 

 I am with you in that every year. My best 

 yields are always from my home-bred hor- 

 nets. One yard I winter outside, but this 

 yard I place in the cellar, and every year it 

 is a task I dread; it is worse each year. This 

 season the bees were cellared Nov. 23, The 

 distance from the cellar makes the carrying 

 by one man of one colony too slow, as it 

 takes nearly one day for two men. Thanks 

 for any light you can give me. lowA. 



Answer.— I will tell you just as nearly as 

 I can just how my bees were carried into 

 the cellar this yeir. They were carried in 

 Nov. 25. in the morning. The cellar had 

 been wide open the night before. Although 

 that does not make so much difference at 

 carrying in as it does at carrying out. still it 

 is better to have the cellar cool as possible, 

 so the bees will settle down quietly when 

 brought in. The average distance of the 

 hives from the cellar-door was about io>6 

 rods. Then they were carried a rod or so 

 farther to their place in the inner room. 

 Two able-bodied men took about two hours 

 to carry in the 03 colonies. One of them was 

 experienced at the business; I think the 

 other had never carried bees before. Each 

 man picked up his hive, carried it in his 

 arms into the cellar, and set it in its place. 

 You may judge of the quietness of the bees 

 when I tell you that no sort of protection 

 was used in the way of veils, gloves, or 

 smoke, and the entrances were left wide 

 open. There was one exception: I had 

 failed to staple on the bottom-board of one 

 hive, and when the bottom dropped off I 

 had to use smoke to fasten it on. But I must 

 hasten to add that thisyear was exceptional. 

 I think they were never carried before 

 without veil or gloves, for at least a few 

 colonies would prove troublesome. I don't 

 know what made the difference. Perhaps 

 this year the bees were in an unusually dor- 

 mant condition. 



Now I am not able to say just whyour bees 

 should act so differently. Some bees are 

 more irritable than others; but I doubt if 

 your bees are worse than mine in that re- 

 spect. Perhaps one secret is in having the 

 bees undisturbed for a long time before they 

 are carried, and then being set down so 

 quickly that they do not have time to get 

 fully waked up. When they are in the most 

 quiet condition it takes two or three min- 

 utes to get them thoroughly aroused, and in 

 that lime they are in place in the cellar. If 

 they are stirred up ever so little, they are 

 easily stirred up a few minutes later, per- 

 haps hours later. You say you tack a lath 

 with a ;'8X4 opening at the entrance, prying 

 it off in the cellar. Closing up so warm is 

 hardly a good thing, but the important part 

 is when you tack it on. I should think it 

 ought to be at least 24 hours before carrying. 



