January, 1908. 



American ISee Journal 



quality of tlie honey inside the comb would 

 outweigh everything else. Even if the capping 

 were all black with travel-stain, I wouldn't 

 mind that if the honey itself were all right. 

 But I can't judge honey that way when I'm 

 putting it up for the market. The white- 

 ness and beauty of the outside seem to be the 

 chief things for the market. Perhaps the edi- 

 tor, who has had experience as a judge at the 

 Illinois State I'air will tell us something about 

 it. — [Appearance, uniformity of capping, etc., 

 are considered as well as flavor. Perhaps Mr. 

 N. E. France will give us something on this. 

 — Editor.] 



Hauling Bees Before Cellaring 



Them. 

 Would bees winter well after being hauled 

 about one mile to be cellared, all other condi- 

 tions being favorable? I can not find an an- 

 swer to this question in any of my text-books 

 (of which I have 3). as bees moved home from 

 out-yards are moved a sufficient distance so that 

 they may be allowed a flight, and then put in 

 the cellar without any disturbance, as may 

 also those whose summer stands are close to 

 winter quarters. Maine. 



Answer.— What little experience I have had 

 in this direction has been unfavorable, but 

 others have reported moving bees one or sev- 

 eral miles, putting them directly into the cellar 

 without any flight, and no bad results followed. 



Doubling an Apiary and Securing 

 Honey. 



I have 41 colonies of bees. Can I make 80 

 colonies next year, and secure much of a 

 honey crop for 1908? Kentucky. 



Answer. — That depends. In a poor year, 

 with a poor location, you can't make it. In a 

 good year, in a fairly good location, you ought 

 to make it easily. 



Sulphur Cure for Bee-Paralysis. 



Last summer I had one colony of bees that 

 became affected with paralysis. The symptoms 

 of this disease were so plainly marked that 

 there could be no mistaking it for some other 

 disease. 



It occurred to me that I had read in some 

 bee-paper that Mr. Poppleton claimed that 

 sprinkling the combs of bees thus affected, 

 with pulverized sulphur, would cure the dis- 

 ease. 



I tried to look the matter up, but failed to 

 find anything in the bee-papers to support 

 my recollections. However. I tried the sul- 

 phur treatment as I remembered it, and to 

 ray great surprise, the disease disappeared in a 

 short time. Was this the result of the treat- 

 ment, or had the disease run its length? 



California. 



Answer.— In the North— at least as far 

 north as northern Illinois — the disease is pretty 

 certain to disappear of itself in a short time; 

 and so whatever means were last used -before 

 the disappearance is likely to get the credit 

 for the cure. Indeed, the disease is of so lit- 

 tle importance that it is not worth while to 

 consider it very seriously. In the South, 

 however, it is a very different matter, and I 

 should suppose that in California you would 

 have it more as it appears in Florida than as 

 It appears in Illinois, and that it is not likely 

 to disappear of itself. On that ground my 

 guess would be that the sulphur had some- 

 thmg to do with its departure. 



Transferring Bees. 



I recently hmit-ln ,1 colonies of bees in home- 

 made box-hivLS. and wish to have the bees 

 transferred into up-to-date, modern hives, but 

 <io not know the inside dimensions of hives 

 mostly used in Canada. 



1. What is the difference between the stand- 

 ard size frame of the British Bee-Keepers' 

 Association and the one in use here — the 

 Ivangstroth frame? 



2. What is the best method to adopt in 

 transferring bees from a jumblc-up, crossway, 

 and every other way box. into a movable- 

 frame hive? British Columbia. 



Answers.— I. The British standard frame is 

 i4x8J4 inches, outside measure; the Langstroth 

 ^7Hx.9%. The comb surface in 5 British 

 frames is something like that in 4 Langstroth 

 frames, the exact ratio depending on the thick- 

 ness of the different parts of the frames. 



2. The very best way is to wait till the col- 

 ony swarms, and hive the swarm in a hive 

 whose frames arc filled with worker founda- 

 tion, setting the swarm on the old stand and 

 the old hive close beside it; then a week later 



move the old hive to the otlier side, and then 

 2 weeks later still (3 weeks after hiving the 

 swarm) to cut up the old hive, add its bees 

 to thi" swarm, and melt up tiie old combs. 



If it be desired to have increase, then leave 

 the old hive on its own stand, set the swarm 

 on the new stand, an<l 3 weelA later cut up 

 the old hive and brush the bees into a new 

 hive with frames filled with foundation. 



The point is that by leaving the combs 

 undisturbed in the old hive for 3 weeks all 

 the worker-brood will be hatched out, so there 

 will be no loss of brood. Of course, if you 

 are anxious to save any of the old combs that 

 are straight enough for that purpose, you can 

 fit them into frames at the time you cut up 

 the old hive. 



Disposing of a Laying-Worker Col- 

 ony — Bait-Sections, 



In "Forty Years Among the Bees," you 

 say a colony of laying workers should be 

 broken up and the combs distributed among 

 other colonies, and that the bees are old and 

 of little value. 



1. In what way would it be doin" any good 

 to give a good colony one of those combs of 

 worthless bees and drone-brood.'' 



2. In another place you say that after the 

 feeder sections have been cleaned out by the 

 bees, the best of them are saved for "baits 

 in the supers the following season. 



3. Why are they not all good to use the 

 following season? 



Since I began studying your book, 2 years 

 ago, I have been able to keep the bees to- 

 gether and get twice as much honey as I got 

 before. I have 87 colonies of bees. I began 

 in 1899. Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. While these old bees are of lit- 

 tle value, they still have some value, and 

 that value may as well be utilized. We are 

 told that a worker in the busy season lives to 

 be about 6 weeks old. Now suppose we have 

 some bees that are 4 or 5 weeks old. They 

 have yet a week or two to live, and thcv are 

 good as field-bees for that length of "time; 

 so if given to other colonies they will finish 

 up their lives in a useful way, doing more 

 good than if you try to tinker up the colony 

 with a young queen. To be sure, you might 

 give a queen, toeether with brood, and enough 

 young bees to make a fair colony, but these 

 old bees are exceedingly loth to accept a 

 queen, and you'll be likely to lose her. Bet- 

 ter break up the colony, and then start a new 

 one elsewhere. 



2. Not until your question has called my 

 attention to it have I ever noticed how mis- 

 leading is that sentence, "The best of these 

 emptied 'feeders* furnish 'baits* for the fol- 

 lowing season." I don't wonder at your ask- 

 ing the question, for it sounds as if only 

 a few were good enough for baits. The fact 

 is that ^ nearly all are so used, only those 

 being rejected that are objectionable for any 

 reason, such as being built crooked or being 

 darkened. But those rejected are very few. 



It does me much good to Know that you find 

 "Forty Years Among the Bees" so useful. 



Supers and Sections — Queen-Rearing 

 Book. 



1. Do you consider the Ferguson super ad- 

 vertised in a Western catalog worth intro- 

 ducing on a large scale? 



2. is the 4x5 section, in your opinion, bound 

 to stay? Would you change from a 4l4 out- 

 fit to the 4x5 ? 



3. Do you prefer bee-way sections to plain, 

 and why? 



4. A few days ago I^ broke up a queenless 

 colony in a box-hive. The combs contain very 

 little honey, but much pollen. Will it pay to 

 fasten them into regular frames to be used in 

 spring in place of empty combs? 



5. What book do you recommend on queen- 

 rearing? New York. 



Answers. — i. I don't know, as I don't think 

 I ever saw the said super, and do not now 

 recall that I have seen a description of it. 



2. Hard to say; although with some it is 

 likely to stay. I have tried some other sizes 

 than 4J4. and tried them on a pretty large 

 scale, only to come back to the 4;^. 



3. I prefer bee- ways because they arc more 

 easily handled without danger of thrusting the 

 fingers in them. Although I might never jam 

 my fingers into a plain section, the danger 

 comes when the retail grocer handles them. 

 But even while in the bee-keeper's hands, they 

 must be handled with more care, which means 

 more time. A plain section tumbles over more 

 easily than a bee-way section. A plainer, 

 cheaper separator goes with the bee-way. On 

 the other hand, it takes a smaller case for plain 



than for bee-way sections, although it's easier 

 to lift the bee-ways out of the case. 



4. It will probably pay. and will pay big, if 

 there is a scarcity of pollen. 



5. Doolittle and Alley are both good, but if 

 I may be pardoned for such immodesty, I may 

 say that for the mere honey-producer there 

 may be nothing better than "Forty Years 

 Among the Bees." 



Position of Frames in Spring. 



Please explain to me how I should place 

 my frames in the spring to obtain best results. 

 I use the alternating 16-frame hive, and do 

 not extract. Commencing at the upper right 

 hand I number the frames "i" to "16." In 

 the spring I find No. i and No. 8 solid with 

 honey; 2 and 7 honey and brood; 3, 4, 5 and 

 6, brood; 9 and 16, old honey; 10 and 15. pol- 

 len. The rest of the frames are generally 

 empty combs. This is not the exact condition, 

 but nearly so. Should I alternate and place 

 an empty super under all? Nebraska. 



Answer. — If I understand correctly, you 

 have a 3-story hive, each story containing 8 

 frames equivalent to 9 I^angstroth frames, these 

 frames being numbered by you i to 8 in the 

 upper story, and 9 to 12 in the lower story, 

 and your question is whether you shall make 

 these 2 stories alternate, or exchange places, 

 and put an empty section-super under all. In 

 any case the section-super should not be placed 

 under, but above. To alternate the stories and 

 leave both during the harvest would hardly 

 result in best super-work unless with an ex- 

 ceedingly strong colony, for it would be equiva- 

 lent to leaving the colony 18 Langstroth 

 frames. Only one story should be left for the 

 harvest. The best results will be obtained by 

 leaving in that story the best frames of brood 

 from each story, provided you have no fear of 

 the colony swarming or wish it to swarm. If 

 you do not want it to swarm, then leave the 8 

 frames containing the least brood, which will 

 be somewhat in the nature of shaking a swarm. 



Advantages of Association Member- 

 ship — Fastening Comb Founda- 

 tion, Etc. 



1. What object is it to belong to a bee- 

 keepers' association? What is there in it for 

 the man who pays his dollar? 



2. Is there an association in Minnesota? 



3. How do you fasten foundation in shal- 

 low extracting frames so that the bees won't 

 tear it down? 



4. I had a colony of bees that would not 

 work in sections nor in extracting combs 

 dropping with honey. What was the trouble? 



5. Where can I obtain queens and not get a 

 disease among my bees? 



6. I put 20 colonies in the cellar a year 

 ago and took out 11 colonies in the spring. 

 From those 11 colonies I secured 200 pounds of 

 comb honey and 800 pounds of extracted 

 honey. Did I do well? Minnesota. 



Answers. — i. One of the advantages — and 

 it is a great advantage — is the meeting of 

 other bee-keepers to talk over matters con- 

 nected with bee-keeping. Perhaps you have 

 learned some new thing of advantage, and it 

 is a pleasure to give it to others. Others may 

 have learned something that will be of advan- 

 tage to you to learn. To be sure, we are all 

 the time getting these things from bee-papers, 

 but there are some very good bee-keepers who 

 can be induced to talk at a convention who 

 do not write for publication. If there is any 

 point upon which you have had trouble, it is 

 an advantage to be able to ask about it, and to 

 hear it discussed by those present. Bee-keepers 

 are a sociable lot, and it is a pleasure to 

 meet so many in one place and shake hands 

 with them. Many of the smaller societies 

 have arrangements by which membership in 

 them secures membership in the National As- 

 sociation without additional payment. It would 

 be a long story to tell all that the National 

 has done. It has helped a goodly number 

 who were threatened with trouble by unkind 

 neighbors. Quite a number of them would 

 have been obliged to move their bees, or else 

 to go out of business. The National and the 

 State Associations have had their influence in 

 securing proper legislation, and perliaps to 

 some extent in advancing prices of honey. 



2. I am not sure. If there is no local as- 

 sociation convenient, you can become a mem- 

 ber of the National by sending $1.00 to Gen- 

 eral Manager N. E. France, Platteville, Wis. 



3. If top-bars are made with saw-kcrf and 

 wedge, it may be sufficient to insert the edge 

 of the foundation in the groove and crowd in 

 the wedge. If top-bars arc not thus made, the 

 foundation may be fastened to top-bar by run- 

 ning melted wax along the joint. Additional 



