March, 1908. 



American Hee JonrnaJjl 



took with them from the old comb. Then in 

 the evening of the 4th day take out the new 

 combs and give them comb foundation to work 

 out, and then the cure will be complete. 



2. The disease is caused by a bacillus, gen- 

 erally through getting honey from a diseased 

 colony. 



3. Yes. 



4. Three single eyes and 2 compound eyes, 

 each of which is made ud of some 6,000 little 

 eyes. 



5. Yes, the first cross or so, but later not 

 so good. 



6. Generally they do better out than in any- 

 thing confined, unless the temperature is up to 

 about 45 degrees most of the time. 



Dudley Tube Method— Comb or Ex- 

 tracted Honey? 



1. Do you practice and recommend the Dud- 

 ley Tube method, as described in Bee-Keep- 

 ers* Review for August, 1907? 



2. Everything considered, which do you 

 think the more profitable, comb or extracted 

 honey? Virginia. 



Answers. — i. I have had no experience 

 with it. 



2. "Actions speak louder than words," and 

 as I am running for comb honey exclusively 

 it is pretty clear that I believe that the most 

 profitable. There are those who say extracted 

 is the most profitable. I think they are right. 

 I think I am right, too. You see, it's a 

 matter of conditions. The market, the pastur- 

 age, and a number of other things have to 

 do with the case, and each one must find out 

 for himself. Other things being equal, I think 

 I should lean toward extracted, for it's a 

 much simpler matter to work in that direc- 

 tion, especially if one wants to keep down 

 swarming. 



Wintering on Sugar Candy — Ob- 

 servation Hive for Wintering — 

 Getting Increase and Honey. 



1. I have 9 colonies which are wintering on 

 sugar candy. Would you advise me to put 

 them out quite early, or late? 



2. Would a colony winter all right in an 

 observatory hive with 3 frames, the hive be- 

 ing set in a south window so that the bees 

 could fly out-doors when the weather was 

 favorable? The bottom-board is made of 2-inch 

 lumber with grooves in it to pour syrup in. 



3. Would the following plan be a good way 

 to increase? After the bees get strong in the 

 spring put a hive with empty combs on a 

 stand. Then shake the queen and bees into 

 this empty hive. Also put in one frame of 

 brood. Then put on a queen-excluder and 

 on top of this excluder place a super. Then 

 put another excluder on the super. Then place 

 the queenless colony on this excluder, leaving 

 them to rear a queen. After the queen is 

 hatched bore a hole in the back end of the 

 hive to let her out to be mated. After she is 

 mated plug up the hole. 



4- Would the above plan be all right to 

 secure surplus honey? Iowa. 



Answers. — i. Take them out the same time 

 as you would if they were wintering on 

 honey. Certainly not too early. If they seem 

 in good condition and have plenty of stores, 

 they will do well to stay in the cellar till 

 there is something for them to do outdoors, 

 say when soft maples are in bloom. 



2. Such attempts have not generally been 

 very successful. 



3. In theory it seems all right; in actual 

 practise the queen above too often fails. Bet- 

 ter try a single colony before you try it on a 

 larger scale. 



4. It might do for extracted, but not for 

 comb honey. Brood-combs above would darken 

 the capping of sections. 



Packing Bees for Winter. 



Mr. Danzenbaker, in his "Facts About Bees," 

 mstructs one to pack bees in his hives, as 

 follows: 



Take cover off brood-nest, put on a Hill's 

 device (or boards laid across frames to give 

 opening oyer frames), oil-cloth over top, super 

 with cushion, super cover, burlap, paper, car- 

 pet, roofing-paper, or other packing, with win- 

 ter case II J-^ inches deep over all. Now that 

 is very warm packing, but the depth is not 

 enough to winter well in this climate. 



What do you think of raising the brood-nest 

 and placing the empty super under the brood- 

 nest on the bottom-board, leave the super- 

 cover scaled by bees, place cushion on super- 



cover, pack with paper, etc., as above and 

 shove winter case down over all ? That will 

 give sH inches more depth and will hold the 

 warm air that much longer, before crowding 

 out. When spring comes, put brood-nest down 

 on bottom-board. I have seen bees in a box- 

 hive 12 inches square and 2 or 3 feet high 

 made of one-inch hemlock boards, with no 

 packing, winter on the summer stands 100 

 miles farther north than here, and come out 

 alive. If it is not the lack of depth that 

 makes them winter badly, what is it? 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — The wintering question is a very 

 complicated one, and the loneer one works 

 at it the less one seems to know about it. 

 One settles down that deep frames are a 

 necessity for wintering, and then comes along 

 some one saying he has perfect success with 

 very shallow hives. In any case it does seem 

 as if it ought to be a good thing to have 

 room enough under the bottom-bars so the 

 dead bees would never clog the entrance or fill 

 the space under the frames. Your plan is at 

 least worth trying, and it might be a good 

 plan to try both plans side by side and then 

 you will tell better which is preferable. 



That very large hive doesn't prove much one 

 way or the other, except that a very strong col- 

 ony will winter almost any way, for the 

 likelihood is that a colony left to its own way 

 in such a mammoth hive will be very strong. 



Location of Queen-Cells. 



I was pleased to see that picture and ac- 

 count of that queerly located queen-cell on 

 page 39, sent by Dr. Miller. Bees generally 

 do things to make themselves comfortable for 

 the time being. So in selecting a place for a 

 queen-cell, if the colony is very strong and 

 the ventilation defective and the weather warm, 

 all other things being equal, the queen-cells, as 

 a rule, will be placed away from the center of 

 the hivp. at or near the end-bars and bottom- 

 bars. Weak colonies generally build near the 

 center of the brood-nest. Wide bottom-bars 

 obstruct ventilation and have a strong tendency 

 to drive the bees out of the brood-nest, and 

 especially so in hot weather. I think the 

 colony that built that nueen-cell was a very 

 strong one. Will the Doctor kindlv tell us 

 if I am right or not? S. T. "Pettit. 



Alymer, Ont. 



Answer. — I have no memorandum of the 

 colony from which that cell was taken: but it's 

 a very safe guess to say it was strong enough 

 so that bees were clustered well under the 

 bottom-bars. My guess would be that the en- 

 tire snace of 2 inches below bottom-bars was 

 well filled with bees. I have had several cases 

 of the kind since I have allowed the 2-inch 

 space below, with a rack that prevents building 

 down, yet still allows the bees to cluster in the 

 space. 



Splints for Foundation — Feeding Can- 

 died Honey — Natural Swarming 

 Wanted. 



beeswax. They will foam up as the mois- 

 ture fries out of them, and when they stop 

 foaming they are ready to use. If used too 

 hot, there will not be enough wax covering 

 the splints. If too cold, they will not bed so 

 well into the foundation. A little practice 

 will allow you to get just the right heat. 

 Have a board that will fit just inside the frame 

 for the foundation to rest upon; lift each 

 splint and lay it in place with a pair of nip- 

 pers (it doesn't matter whether the J/^-inch 

 space is left at the top or bottom or whether 

 partly at both), while an assistant presses 

 down each splint with the edge of a little 

 board kept constantly wet. 



2. There is no trouble if the foundation is 

 given to the bees at a time when they are 

 at work, so it will be built at once. If given 

 when there is nothing coming in, there may 

 be some trouble, and there is sure to be trou- 

 ble by their digging a passage immediately over 

 the bottom-bar. 



3. You would probably be quite safe in using 

 all. 



4. No; the only thing I can say is to have 

 the hive perfectly level from side to side. 



5. You have told about all there is of it; 

 only with a very small hole the bees may 

 be slow about coming up to take the feed. 

 Give it when it is warm enough for the bees 

 to come up freely, turn over one corner of 

 the quilt so there is a very large opening, 

 and after they have learned the way you 

 can leave a very small hole at the corner. 



6. Yes, it would likely be some hindrance, 

 and a very great hindrance if you replace 

 old with voung queens. 



Alsike Clover Seed. 



Where can I get some good alsike clover 

 seed? Illinois. 



Answer. — Any store that sells i^d-clover seed 

 and other seeds ought to be able to furnish 

 alsike, since it has come into so common use. 

 You will also find it advertised in this paper 



Keeping Bees on a Small Lot. 



I. I have a small lot in my back yard about 

 40 feet square. Can I successfully keep from 

 60 to 80 colonies of bees on it? If so, how 

 would you place them? 



I. Please give 

 to use splints ii 



2. Do the bee 



side of splint 

 Having neve 



; full particulars as to how 

 frames for full sheets of 

 the Danzenbaker frame. 

 :ver cut the foundation on 

 and refuse to build around 



d any splints, would you 

 advise me to use them in all my frames on the 

 start? 



4. Is there any way that I can make the 

 foundation hang perfectly straight in Danzen- 

 baker frames without using either wires or 

 splints? I would not use anything in such 

 shallow frames as the Danzenbaker, only my 

 foundation is so uneven and wavy — or "twisty" 

 might express it better— after I get it in the 

 frame. Sometimes the bottom edge of one 

 sheet will be curved clear over to the next 



5. How are chunks of candied honey put in 

 dishes in an empty super over a colony, in 

 the spring, for stimulative feeding? Of course, 

 there would be a small hole for the bees to 

 come up and get the honey. 



6. I want my bees to swarm naturally. If 

 I introduce new queens just before swarmi.i'^ 

 time, would that be apt to stop, or delay, 

 swarming? Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — i. Put the splints in vertically, 

 1 in the middle, i an inch or so from each 

 end, and then i half way between the middle 

 splint and the splint at each end. That 

 makes 5 for each frame. I'or convenience in 

 putting in, the splints should be 14 inch shorter 

 than the distance between the top and bot- 

 tom bars. Put them in a shallow dish of hot 



v neighbors if I put a 

 How high should the 



Will they molest 

 board fence around? 

 fence be ? 



3. Is it lawful to keep bees anywhere in the 

 State of Pennsylvania in this manner. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. On 40 feet square 100 colo- 

 nies can be kept easily. More if 8-frame hives. 

 Put them in groups of 4. Set a pair close to- 

 gether, then a space of 2 or_ 3 feet 

 other pair, then a space, 

 row is filled "' 



hives facii 

 the hives of the 2 

 back to back. The 

 the last row, with 

 between 



until the 



put another row close to 



in' the opposite direction. 



ows being close together, 



start another row facing 



with a distance of 3 or 4 feet 



50 on. With only 60 hives you 



space between rows. The funda- 



to have groups of 4 hives, the 



e together as they can be without 



feet high or more will be a 

 need not be such a very close 

 will not be likely to go through 

 chcs. Vines running on 

 vill be effective as well as 



mental idea is 

 4 being as closi 

 actually touchii 



2. A fence 

 great help. It 

 fence ; the bees 

 cracks of 2 or 

 some kind of tr 

 ornamental. 



3. I think it is. Be sure, however, to keep 

 on the safe side oy doing all you can to avoid 

 trouble. Don't have bees that are cross; and 

 don't stir them up when they might sting pass- 

 ers-by. 



Absolutely Pure Honey — Insuring 

 Bees — Valuable Ideas on Bees. 



Last month I sent in some questions. They 

 were answered on page 55. 1 wish to draw 

 your attention to one question and answer 

 in particular. This is question No. 8, "Sugar 

 syrup in section honey." Your answer to this 

 was "Yes." That is what my guess would 

 be to your answer, but the funniest part of it 

 is this: If you have a strong colony of bpes 

 storing honey in sections from white clover, 

 or in fact, anv other fast-yielding honey- 

 plant, and all of a sudden the supply is cut 

 off from drought, the bees will then begin fill- 

 ing up the unfinished sections from anything 

 that has the least bit of sweetness, such as 

 drippings from molasses casks, deca/ed pears, 

 grapes, etc., and will even venture mto candy 

 factories, and load up with all kinds of flavors 

 in sweets, and will invariably fly to their hives 

 and deposit all this highly flavored sweetness 



