June, iqo8. 



Amc>rican Hee Journal 



fore a furnace was in my cellar I found more 

 mould in painted than unpainted hives. It 

 may not have been because the hives were 

 painted, but it looked that way. Your ex- 

 periments with covers are interesting. Perhaps 

 the principal moral in the case is to have the 

 cover in some way made a non-conductor of 

 heat, so that the moisture will not condense 

 on the cold sunace. A double cover with a 

 dead-air space works well. 



7. The king-bird is about the only bira 

 generally believed to be a bee-kiuer. and I'm 

 not sure but in some places it is called phebe, . 

 although the true phebe is a different bird. 



4. The chickadee is not considered an enemy 

 of bees. 



5. I don't know why the American Bee 

 Journal persists m continuing its present size. 

 The usual size of 9x6, or a little larger, 

 is more convenient for handling when read- 

 ing. The American Bee Journal is a trifle 

 larger than i:x8, and 11 x 8 is 63 percent larg- 

 er than 9x6. But the size of the American 

 Bee Journal is comfort itself compared with 

 that of two very excellent monthlies that 

 come into mv family, the Ladies' Home Jour- 

 nal and The Woman's. Home Companion. They 

 are 16x11, just twice the size of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. In fact, most of the period- 

 icals I take are worse in size than the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, the daily newspaper being 

 worse than all the rest. 



Although I do not like the size of these 

 different publications, if it were left to me 

 arbitrarily to decide whether they should be 

 changed, I'm not sure that I should want to 

 decide offhand without knowing more than I 

 now do about such things. Time was when 

 I did not like room taken up with adver- 

 tisements. But I learned that these advertise- 

 ments helped pay the cost, so that the more 

 advertisements the more improvements could be 

 afforded; also that I could have an excellent 

 daily, thousands upon thousands of dollars 

 being spent by said daily in gathering news 

 from all quarters of the globe and in publish- 

 ing articles by the ablest writers living, and 

 all I had to do was to pay the mere cost of 

 the white paper, the advertisers paying nearly 

 all the expenses: so now I am delighted to 

 see the pages of my bee-papers fat with ad- 

 verti^ments. So it is possible that if I knew 

 all aBout the matter I would not insist too 

 strongly upon the change in size. 



I've just been doing a little exact measuring, 

 comparing the American Bee Journal with one 

 of smaller size. The former is ii^xSj^; 

 the latter just 9x6. The larger page has 

 6q percent more surface than the other. But 

 the fair way is to compare the reading sur- 

 face on each page. Leaving out the heading at 

 top of each page, and measuring the part oc- 

 cupied by reading, I find one measures g^ x- 

 6^; ^ the other 7% ^ aH- That makes the 

 reading matter on one page occupy a little 

 more than twice as much as the other. Now 

 I don't know about such things, but I sus- 

 pect that it doesn't cost twice as much to make 

 the larger page as it does the other; and if 

 we should insist upon the smaller size the 

 publisher might say to us: "If you get the 

 larger page, you'll have to do with less reading 

 about bees in each number; or else the price 

 will have to be raised." I suspect that the 

 publishers think that the majority of their 

 readers, instead of choosing either of these 

 alternates would prefer to have the size remain 

 unchanged. But if I misinterpret, no doubt 

 the editor will set me right. Questions of 

 this kind are hardly in my line, anyhow. 

 fWhile this may be a legitimate subject for 

 discussion, we doubt if it is worth while. Sure- 

 ly this Journal is a very convenient size com- 

 pared with some other publications. — Editor.] 



A Beginner and Foul Brood. 



I have about 40 colonies of bees, bought 

 last fall, and I never handled bees before. 

 I realize now that I **bit off more than I 

 could chew," when I did not start with far 

 fewer colonics. Foul brood is spreading rap- 

 idly. Kvcry fine, clear day as I inspect the 

 hives to make necessary changes, more cases 

 of the disc.isc are found. 



I. Am I spirading it, or are the bees? 



3. Arc the microbes in the propolis, and in 

 the bits of comt, around on the top-bars? 



3. Is tiiere .my liquid disinfectant that I 

 could dip the hive-tool in as I change from 

 one nivc to another? 



4. How many days shall T wait after treat- 

 ing a colony by shaking before I can give 

 honey or brood, if they really need it to keep 

 from starving or dwindling on account of no 

 young bees? 



5. How long is a colony immune to the 

 disease after starting all over with fresh 

 foundation? 



6. Is the wax worth rendering out of the 

 combs of a foul-broody colony, or would it 

 still contain the microbes? 



7. Do you think I will ever get the upper 

 hand of the disease if I am thorough and 

 follow proper instructions in the matter? I 

 am surrounded by those having several colonies 

 that are completely cleaned out at times, 

 but anything said by me to them is not heeded, 

 but rather I am considered "nosey," being 

 no more than half the age of any bee-keeper 

 in the vicinity. 



S. I refuse to sell bees to any one. Am 

 I right in this? and do you think that some 

 day prospects will be brighter for me than 

 now? I will not be a "quitter." Iowa. 



Answers. — i. The bees can spread it without 

 any help from you, but unless you are exceed- 

 ingly careful you will help spread it when you 

 go to a healthy colony after having handled 

 a diseased one. 



2. It is possible that they may be. 



?. Any strong disinfectant, such as car- 

 bolic acid, ought to answer. 



4. I don't know ; perhaps 5 days. There 

 ought realty to be no need of feeding, for 

 the attempt at cure should be undertaken only 

 at a time when honey is yielding. 



5. Just as long as you are immune to the 

 itch after being cured of that troublesome 

 malady. In other words, if the cure of foul 

 brood is complete today, and tomorrow the 

 cured bees have access to some foul-broody 

 honey, you may count on their being diseased 

 again. 



6. The wax is considered all right. 



7. Others have surmounted the difficulty, 

 why not you? With diseased bees all around 

 you, you will need to be constantly on the 

 alert, but out in Colorado some of the bee- 

 keepers keep getting crops rictit along with 

 foul-broody bees, making shaken swarms as 

 part of the regular program in getting crops, 

 and that shaking serves at the same time to 

 hold at bay the disease, if not to eradicate it. 



8. You are quite right to sell no bees while 

 yours have the disease. Moreover, according 

 to the foul-brood laws of your State, I think 

 it is a criminal act. 



Not Working in Supers — Best Hive — 

 Italianizing Bees. 



1. I have about 100 colonies of bees. About 

 60 are in log-gums, and 32 are in patent 8- 

 frame dovetailed hives. I run the 32 colonies 

 for section honey. There are 13 which have 

 not gone into the super at all, while they 

 seem to have a good number of bees. The 

 other 19 are at work. Thirteen of them are 

 swarms, and the swarms are all at work 

 in the supers except 4, while the old colonies 

 do not seem inclined to work. 



2. When would it be advisable to take the 

 brood-frames out and take the wax out and put 

 in frames with foundation, or would it not be 

 advisable at all? I have had frame - hives 

 only 4 or 5 years, and have not paid much 

 attention to them except to keep out the 

 worms, and keep them from robbing. 



3. What is the best hive to have the bees 

 work in? Where will they do the best? 



4. If I were to work for extracted honey, 

 would they be more likely to work in frames? 

 I never worked for anything but section honey 

 in those hives, and I am making arrangements 

 to give them all the attention needed, if I 

 can find out what it is. 



5. They are the native black bees. There 

 is no other kind in this section of North 

 Carolina. I would ask your advice about 

 handling them to the best advantage. The 

 honey-flow has been on in this section for 14 

 or 15 days, ana is on at this date (May 12). 



North Carolina. 



Answers. — i. There is probably nothing tm- 

 usual about the way your bees take to the 

 supers. The stronger ones are the ones to 

 begin first, those that are weaker beginning 

 later, if indeed they arc strong enough to be- 

 gin at all. When a colony swarms, the swarm 

 is the part to count on for suner-work, the 

 mother colony being so weakened ny the swarm- 

 ing that it can not be counted on to do any 

 super- work, unless it be exceptionally strong. 

 You will do well to have a "bait" in each 

 super you put on; that is, a section partly or 

 wholly drawn out. If you have none left 

 over from last year, you can take a section 

 out of^ a super where the bees are at work, 

 and give to the colony you want to get 

 started. 



2. bo long as the frames arc filled with 

 straight worker-comb, it is not advisable to 

 replace them with foundation. Tf any combs 

 are in any way objectionable (drone-comb or 

 crooked) replace with foundation at any time 

 when no brood is in the comb. 



3. The particular style of hive does not 

 make so much difference so long as you have 

 movable combs. As you are already started 

 with dovetailed hives, you probably can do no 

 belter than to continue with them. 



4. Bees will begin work more readily in ex- 

 tracting_ frames than in sections, usuallv, but 

 even with extracting-frames you can not ex- 

 pect a colony to store that has been heavily 

 depleted by swarming. 



5. It might be to your advantage to get in 

 Italian blood. Even if there are none but 

 blacks in your region, you can have an Italian 

 queen sent you by mail any distance. 



Does Shipping Bees Affect Their 

 Queens? 



On April 6, I loaded 9 of my best colonies 

 of bees at Girard, 111., and shipped them by 

 emigration car to this point in Colorado. They 

 were from Tuesday noon until Sunday night on 

 the road. I came in the car with them, look- 

 ing after them carefully all the way. They 

 were packed in straw as described in "A B C 

 and X Y Z of Bee-Culture." All stood the 

 trip fine, and I had but few dead bees in any 

 of the hives. 



Upon unloading, after the bees had quieted 

 down, I removed the wire-screens from the 

 top, replacing the cap, and also cleaned the 

 bottom-boards of dead bees, but did not dis- 

 turb the frames. The bees were at work on 

 dandelion in an hour. Being very busy for the 

 first 10 days and the weather bad for a day 

 or two. I did not bother the frames until 

 the 15th day after unloading. The first colony 

 showed considerable brood, but all capped high 

 — drones in worker-cells. I first thought of 

 laying workers, but in a moment I saw as 

 pretty a leather-colored Italian queen as ever 

 you would care to see. No. 2 showed exactly 

 the same condition, except that it also had 

 brood in all stages, but none capped but 

 what was drone. No. 3 showed a very small 

 percent of capped worker-brood, brooa in all 

 stages, and lots of drones in worker-cells. No. 

 4 showed the same as No. 3. except that it 

 had a capped queen-cell, one about half com- 

 pleted, and one with an egg. 



None of them showed over 20 percent of 

 capped worker-cells and 80 nercent drone un- 

 til I came to No. 8. It showed 85 percent, 

 or better, of worker-brood, and the balance 

 of drones in worker-comb. In a corner of one 

 frame where it was not filled out, they were 

 building drone-comb, and the queen laying in it. 



1. Will shipping bees cause all queens to be 

 drone-layers? 



2. Will the queens, as soon as they have 

 time to rest up, become worker-layers? 



3. Will a man be able to get sufficient fertile 

 eggs from any of his queens to chance queen- 

 rearing? I have been afraid to try, and so 

 have ordered queens for requeening. I never 

 heard of shipping bees injuring the laying 

 qualities of the queens. Colorado. 



Answers.— I. Your very full and careful de- 

 scription of this case makes me feel a good 

 deal^ like throwing up my hands and saying I 

 don't know anything about bees. I never heard 

 of anything like it before. When queens are 

 shipped by mail in cages, it is not a verv 

 uncommon thing that thev are somewhat af- 

 fected as to their laying, but I don't re- 

 member that I ever heard of a queen being 

 made a drone-layer by it, and I don't think 

 I ever heard of a queen being seriously af- 

 fected when shipped in a full colonv. Your 

 bees have gone at it in a wholesale wav. and 

 I hope they are not to set the example for 

 others. 



2. I don't know. Queens have been known 

 to change their minds in such cases; but I'm 

 a little afraid. There is some hope, however, 

 in the fact that only one colony seems to be 

 trying to supersede its queens; for generally 

 when a queen becomes permanently faulty in 

 any way. the bees proceed to supersede her. 



^. So long as rtii.v worker-eggs are laid there 

 ought to be no trouble about rearing queens. 



Hiving While Swarming. 



I have just started in bee-keeping. I keep 

 them in a large attic. Having only one colony, 

 I would like to get another swarm started in 

 swarming time. Can they be made to go into 

 another hive while swarming? 



Wisconsin. 



Answer. — 0( course a swarm can be hived 

 in any hive, just the same as if the bees were 

 on the ground instead of being in an attic. 

 What you probably mean, however, is to have 

 the bees enter the hive of their own accord. 

 That can be managed, too, just the same as if 

 the bees were on the ground. Have the queen's 

 wing clipped. Then when the swarm issues 



