April, 1913. 



Amorican Hee Journal 



domestic animals in general. 'Tell me 

 your company and I'll tell you who 

 you are arid what you are.' 



"The beesaround San FranciscoBay. 

 subject to the ocean winds, fogs, cold, 

 etc., are more sluggish than they are 

 near the central parts of the State, and 

 away from these natural elements. 

 Yes. I believe they have a tendency to 

 get darker, too. Does not the sunshine 

 have an effect upon those who are out 

 in it all of the time, and will it not im- 

 prove the' color of an individual if he 

 is always out in the sunshine and fresh 

 air compared to one that is housed up 

 all the time, and does not the skin and 

 general complexion change accord- 

 ingly? Why should not the soil, food 

 and water have their effect upon the 

 bees and their products ? 



" Why is it that the honey from the 

 alfalfa raised in the valley is darker 

 than that on the higher altitudes ? Tell 

 me why fruit that is produced in the 

 valleys has a different color and flavor 

 from that which is produced in the 

 mountainous regions. If you do not 

 know this, come out and visit some of 

 the specialty shows, or ask some fruit- 



grower in the mountains and he will 

 tell you with a great deal of pride, as 

 well as satisfaction, and prove it, too, 

 that the mountain fruit is the best in 

 color, flavor, and general size. 



"Here in California we have soils 

 that are only adapted to almonds, wal- 

 nuts and certain kinds of berries, but 

 will not raise grapes and other fruits. 

 Is it the soil only? I would say not, 

 as climate and rain and other natural 

 causes have their wonderful effects, 

 and if you want to be a successful 

 rancher, study the conditions of the 

 soil, your climate, and then plant what 

 is best. So it is with the bees, put 

 them where they can get a crop at 

 short range, and do not expect them to 

 go 2 to 5 miles and do as well as those 

 who must only go a stone's throw. 



" Give me a strain of gentle bees with 

 a good deal of enci-gy and long tongues, 

 and I will not look for color, but 

 see how much honey they will gather 

 and how well they will provide and 

 guard their home. Take care of them 

 and they will pay you back for every 

 courtesy extended to them." 



Dr. Miller*s 



Answers^ 



Send Questions either to the office of the .American Bee Journal or direct to 



Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo. III. 



He does not answer bee-keeping questions by mail. 



Overstocking — Honey-Boards, Etc. — Dividing 



1. I have only had my bees about three 

 years. The man I bought them from said he 

 was selling off his bees and was going to Old 

 Mexico, as that was a great bee-country. So 

 I bought about one-half of his bees, and he 

 went away and was gone about two years. 

 Then he came back and began to increase 

 his bees again. I have foul apiaries now. 

 One was doing fairly well, so he has just put 

 in a Big apiary about one-half mile from 

 mine. We figure on 5u pounds per colony 

 here. Now, what would you eastern bee- 

 men think of being treated this way? It 

 does not look to me like he or I will get very 

 much honey by having the bees so close to- 

 gether. The locations for bees are about 

 all takenup here, I think. There are some 

 new locations about I8 miles from here. 

 This over-crowding does not look very en- 

 couraging to me. What do you think of it ? 



2. How is a honey-board made? Is it just 

 a board with a bee-escape on the underside? 

 Would it pay to use these for extracting 

 honey: put them on in the afternoon before 

 you expect to extract, and then just take off 

 the supers and frames together, and wheel 

 them into the extracting house ? 



3. Do milo maize or sorghum yield honey 

 or pollen ? They are raising a large amount 

 of milo maize here. 



4. Does any one know of something that 

 could be sown in waste places where irrigat- 

 ing water runs, or where Bermuda grass 

 now grows that would produce honey and 

 also be good for the farmer? There are 

 several places here where Bermuda grass 

 grows, when it gets the waste water from 

 the ranches. 



5. Will bees draw out foundation as soon 

 when it has been in the frame three months 

 as they would if only in the frame three 

 weeks? I like to put my foundation in the 

 frame in the winter time, when I have plenty 

 of time. This to be new foundation iust 

 made. 



6. When is the best time to make new 



swarms ? I worked with a bee-man one 

 summer before I bought my bees. He made 

 his new swarms when he was extracting. 

 But I think it disturbs the bees so much 

 when they are working hard, and it looks to 

 me like they will not store as much honey if 

 torn apart at this time. ARizoN.^. 



Answers.— I. My thought about it is that 

 this sort of thing makes bee-keeping a very 

 uncertain thing to count on. Years ago I 

 took the ground that if ever it was to be a 

 reliable business, a man should have just as 

 much right to his territory as the man who 

 keeps cattle or other live stock. .So far as I 

 now remember not a single man expressed 

 any agreement with me, although since then 

 a good many have. There is Quite a general 

 agreement that a man has a prior right 

 morally, although some do not even believe 

 in that. But in matters of business, moral 

 rights are not very reliable. I have a moral 

 right to the possession of my horses, but if 

 I had no legal right to them I doubt if I 

 would keep them long. Some day bee- 

 keepers may be advanced enough so that a 

 man may be iust as safe from interference in 

 his bee-pasture as he now is in his cow-pas- 

 ture. At present you have no redress, and 

 must just grin and bear it— or else bear it 

 without grinning. 



2. Honey-boards were in use long before 

 bee-escapes were ever heard of. A honey- 

 board was one placed over the top-bars, 

 with a bee-space between, there being in the 

 board, holes or slotsover which were placed 

 surplus boxes. Latterly a board with an 

 escape in it is sometimes called a honey- 



board, but it is belter simply to call it a bee- 

 escape. Opinions are divided as to usint 

 bee-escapes in the way you mention, some 

 highly approving them and others not be- 

 lieving them worth while. I suspect that 

 bee-escapes work better for some than for 

 others, either because of the difference in 

 bees or for some other reason. 



3. I don't know. I should guess they would 

 be good yielders of pollen at least. 



4. I think sweet clover has been very suc- 

 cessful in such places. 



5. Speaking very strictly. I suppose the 

 fresher the foundation is the better. But I 

 have used foundation that had been fast- 

 ened in four or five years, and I've some 

 question whether the bees made any great 

 difference between that and that which had 

 been put in only four or five days. At any 

 rate, I believe it good policy to get it ready 

 in advance as you propose. 



h. There is no fixed rule about it. One 

 would think it best to follow Nature, and 

 make increase at the time bees swarm 

 naturally. But nearly every one agrees 

 nowadays that natural swarming is decid- 

 edly detrimental to the honey crop. In my 

 locality it seems much better to have no 

 increase until at or near the close of the 

 harvest. In some localities, where there is 

 a heavy late flow, it may be better to divide 

 early in the season. 



Questions on Requeening, Increase, Etc. 



1. I am running for extracted and comb 

 honey. Before swarming seasons I place 

 the queen and one frame of brood, and the 

 balance drawn out combs, in an 8-frame 

 hive; over this an excluder with the rest of 

 the brood in the upper story. In o or I2 days 

 1 cut out all the queen-cells, if there are any. 

 Why not put the empty hive with the drawn 

 combs on top without an excluder ? Would 

 that work just as well or would it cause 

 more swarming? 



2. Which is the simplest way. rear queens 

 in nuclei, or requeen the selected colonv by 

 inserting a frame with queen-cells ? 



3. Is there any proof that bees sleep to a 

 certain extent during a honey-flow ? 



4. .As a rule, every bee-keeper has some 

 iveaklings in his yard. I don't care how 

 much attention he givesthem. To strengthen 

 them what is your plan, to swap frames or 

 go to strong colonies, give them a good shak- 

 ing and leave them with the queen and one 

 frame of brood in the hive on the old stand, 

 and out the rest of the brood under the 

 weak colony ? Very likely there would be 

 queen-cells started. 



5. To melt up cappings and wax scraps, 

 what would be the simplest way to do ? 



ti. Do you think bees will rear workers, if 

 shaken in a hive with a queen, in a full set 

 of all drone-combs ? 



7. If given full sheets of foundation will 

 there be any drone cells ? 



■s. I bought 3 colonies of bees in box-hives 

 at a sale for Ji.is each, and they were as 

 heavy as lead. My intention was. a little be- 

 fore swarming season, to drum out the bees 

 with the queen and make 2 colonies out of 

 the parent colony. What would be the best 

 thing to do ? 



Q. In what way is the most honey gained by 

 extracting, in 3 or 10 frame hives ? I put on 

 supers over double brood-chambers ? 



Missouri. 



.\NSWERS.— I. No. the excluder is an impor- 

 tant part of the stunt. 'Without the excluder 

 swarming would be hindered to a certain 

 extent, but not as much as with theexcluder. 



2. It is much simpler to hang in the hive a 

 frame with a aueen-cell, or to put in a 

 Queen-cell without the frame. Only in that 

 case you will have to wait 10 days to 2 weeks 

 before the young queen begins to lay. 'Vou 



LEWIS BEEWARE MEANS 



GOOD QUALITY. SCIEN- 

 TIFIC WORKMANSHIP 

 CAREFUL PACKING 

 EFFICIENT SERVICE 



.Send for .\nnunl Catnloir whicli -n-lll tell 

 you ^Tho Is your nearest Distributer. 

 <i. B. Lewis Company, \Vaterto«n. Wis. 



