March, igii. 



American ^ee Journal j 



who wants to keep a few colonies of 

 bees should choose the standard Lang- 

 stroth hive, lO-fiamc : put them into a 

 protected hive, and a Root, Woodman 

 or Falconer will serve. I do not men- 

 tion the " Champion," for so far as I 

 know it is identical with the " Protec- 

 tion " put out by the Woodman Com- 

 pany. If, however, they wish to reduce 

 the "cost to a minimum, buy the pro- 

 tected body, make the joint where the 

 water-table and outer wall join water- 

 tight by pouring in melted rosin, and, 

 besides, laying the joint in thick white 

 lead. The Root hive is a chaff hive, 

 while the others are "air-spaced," 

 though they can be packed if you wish. 

 Put on overthebrood-chamber a super 

 wherein the ends are bound with chan- 

 nel irons, and seal it down as I have 

 described, not icailing for the bees to 

 do it. 



You must have supers, so hang your 

 frames up somewhere, put the super on 

 the cover, fill it with dry chaff, or, as I 

 lately discovered, shredded corn-stalks, 

 and over all a flat, metal-roofed cover 

 of the Colorado pattern. This will not 

 blow off. Protect the hive-entrance 

 with wire-screen having a mesh large 

 enough to let the queen and drones 

 pass but keep out mice, and either lean 

 a board against the hive or else put a 

 sleet cover on as in Fig. 1. Double up 

 all weak colonies, leave the hive full of 

 honey, for you can extract in the 

 spring, or else use the combs of honey 

 to start other colonies. The honey will 

 surely not be wasted, and without 

 abundant stores either your bees will 

 perish or you will have the trouble of 

 feeding. Later on. if you want a cellar 

 it will be time to build it, though it 

 does not seem economical to payout a 

 hundred dollars to winter the bees the 

 average amateur will keep. 



then what is to be done when it is so 

 warm for a week in January as it is as 

 I write, that the frost is out of the 



ground and bees are haunting the 

 kitchen-door half a mile from the hive? 

 Buck Grove, Iowa. 



Since writing the above, Mr. Town- 

 send's article has been printed, and I 

 take pleasure in quoting him, as he has 

 had experience, and what he lacked in 

 acquiring knowledge he got by asking 

 others. In Gleanings for Jan. 1") he 

 says : 



■• ^ * * * I have come to the fol- 

 lowini; conclusions; Asa general rule, bees 

 in the Northern States and in Canada win- 

 ter belter in a cellar or in a special repoii- 

 tory under ground where the temperature 

 can be kept near the 45 degree mark all the 

 time In the States a little further south, 

 where the bees can have a flight every 6 

 weeks or 2 months during the winter, chaff 

 hives or special packing boxes » * * 

 are better adapted to the conditions. Still 

 further south, where bees flyevery month in 

 the year, no packing is required. « * » 

 In a changeable temperature a chaff hive is 

 in its glory, for where the bees can have a 

 day for a cleansing flight every 6 weeks or 2 

 months, they will winter perfectly." 



This agrees perfectly with what I 

 had learned from the older bee-men in 

 the country, but I did not like to assert 

 too strongly, just at present, that bee- 

 keeping is a matter of localimi. I have 

 been in Iowa some :J2 years, and do not 

 remember a winter which was not 

 " changeable." I do not believe there 

 has been a winter in all these years in 

 which bees could not fly every 6 weeks 

 or oftener, and I will now add for the 

 benefit ol beginners, you understand, 

 that in this and similar locations, bees 

 will do better in a chaff hive than in 

 any cellar ever made, unless it is fitted 

 with electric thermostats, and even 



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. 



Over $2,000 from 100 Colonies 



It is reported that E. W. Alexander 



made over $2,000 from too colonies of 



bees, in one season, as I understand. If 



' I follow the instructions in his book do 



you think I can do as well annually ? 



Subscriber. 

 Answer. — Xot by a long ways. I have 

 done as well or better than that ; but I 

 can't begin to do it every year. And it 

 I had followed Mr. Alexander's teach- 

 ings I don't think I would have done as 

 well. Every one must know how to do 

 the best for his locality and conditions. 

 Mr. Alexander was an exceptional bee- 

 keeper, but he had also an exceptional 

 locality, such as not one bee-keeper in a 

 thousand has, and what succeeded with 

 him might fail with me. But it will be 

 a good thing for you to become familiar 

 with wha^ he did, and then use your judg- 

 ment as to your own course. 



Banat Bees in the North 



1. Would Banat bees be hardy enough 

 for Minnesota climate? 



2. Where could I buy some in Minne- 

 sota, or some other Northern State? 



3. Are Banat bees hardier than Italian 

 and black bees? Minnesota. 



Answers. — i. I know very little about 

 Banat bees, but I suppose they are equally 

 as hardy as Italians, and perhaps as good 

 workers. 



2. I don't know, but you will probably 

 see them advertised soon if they are to 

 be had. 



3. As already said, I know very little 

 about them, but I think it is not claimed 

 that they are hardier than Italians or 

 blacks. 



■yellow Sweet Clover — Alyssum 



1. Will the yellow sweet clover bloom 

 the first year after sown ? 



2. What time of the year does it com- 

 mence to bloom? 



3. What is alyssum Bartonia? 



Subscriber. 

 Answers. — i. The general rule is that 

 sweet clover grows one year, blooms the 

 second year, and then dies root and 

 branch. But yellow sweet clover, at least 

 some kinds, is claimed to bloom the first 

 year. 



2. On my place the very first blossom 

 is seen on yellow sweet clover about the 

 first of June, and it is in full bloom a 

 week or so later. It is 2 to 4 weeks 

 earlier than the white kind. 



3. I don't know about the Bartonia 

 part ; but alyssum is a popular low-grow- 

 ing plant, a profuse bloomer with small 

 white blossoms, which is much used for 

 borders. 



Keeping Bees on Shares 



Suppose A and B made a verbal con- 

 tract, A to buy bees and B to take care 

 of them for one-half the honey and one- 

 half the increase of the bees, both to pay 

 half the cost of material needed. B took 



good care of the bees, increased from 9 to 

 20 colonies. Now B asks A to divide th# 

 increase before the work begins again, so 

 B knows which colonies belong to him; 

 but A claims he does not want to divide, 

 as he wants half again from all last year's 

 increase, faut B claims A is not entitled 

 to the half of B's increase from last year, 

 as B claims the half belongs to him and 

 not to A. Now can you or any one in 

 beedom give B an answer through the 

 American Bee Journal? Idaho. 



Answer. — It hardly looks as if A shoula 

 have any income from B's half of the 

 increase. 



Full Sheets without Wiring or Splint- 

 ing — Getting Rid of Old Brood- 

 Combs 



1. Can full sheets of foundation be used 

 for brood-frames without using either 

 wire or wood splints? Would it sag so it 

 will spoil the cells for brood-rearing? 



2. What is the best way to get rid of 

 old brood-combs, at the same time estab- 

 lishing a new brood-chamber? Would the 

 old brood-chamber placed over a queen- 

 excluder with full sheets of foundation 

 be a good plan? If not, will you outline 

 a plan .fhat you would prefer? 



West 'Virginia. 



Answer. — i. Unless the foundation be 

 extra heavy it will be pretty certain to 

 sag enough to stretch a good many of the 

 cells in the upper part. 



2. The plan you propose is as good as 

 any, provided you want the bees to store 

 honey in the combs above the excluder. 

 Otherwise you can take away all the 

 combs but one, and replace tli.em with 

 foundation. 



Hive and Frames from Foul-Broody 

 Colony 



1. A weak colony died during this win- 

 ter. When I examined the combs I found 

 cells infected with foul brood. I cut the 

 combs out and boiled them for wax. The 

 frames I boiled also in a wash-boiler. 

 Will they be all right to use again after 

 this treatment, or should I destroy them ? 



2. The hive is a Root chaff-hive, and 

 I would want to keep it after treating it. 

 What is the best way to do this? 



New York. 



Answers. — i. I don't believe there would 

 be very much risk in using them again. 

 Yet I think some would consider it safer 

 to destroy them. 



2. There is a difference of opinion 

 about disinfecting hives. McEvoy, and I 

 think most of the foul-brood inspectors 

 say it is not necessary. Those who dis- 

 infect them throw straw into the hive and 

 burn it, or sprinkle the inside of the hive 

 with kerosene and burn it, or else scorch 

 the inside of the hive with a painter's torch. 



Drones Caught by Birds 



Some "yellow hammers" or "high- 

 holer" woodpeckers have been stopping 

 around my bees all winter, and as there 

 were many bugs about, I thought they 



