Merican Hee Jonrnalj 



Dr. MillerIs 



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. 



McEvoy Treatment of Foul Brood 



What is the process for remedyini; foul 

 brood by what is called the " McEvoy Sys- 

 tem ?'■ New Jersey. 



Answer.— Here is the treatment as given 

 by Mr. McEvoy, 



In the honey season, when the bees are 

 gathering freely, remove the combs :» the 

 evening, and shake the bees into their own 

 hive: give them frames with comb founda- 

 tion starters on. and let them build comb 

 for 4 days. The bees will make the starters 

 into comb during the 4 days, and store the 

 diseased honey in them which they took 

 with them from the old comb. Then in the 

 evening of the fourth day take out the new 

 combs, and give them comb foundation to 

 workout, and then thecure will be complete. 



Burr-Combs— Divisfon-Board Warping 



1. Should burr-combs be cut out from be- 

 tween frames when they appear ? 



2. Will bees tear them down as they do 

 Queen-cells ? 



3. What is the cause of the light division- 

 boards warping, which come in the hives P 



California. 



Answers.— I. It is better to cut them out 

 every year or two. as they are in the way. 

 and make it difficult to crowd the frames 

 together without killing bees. 



2. No, the bees never clean out burr- 

 combs, and the presence of any of them be- 

 tween frames seems to be an invitation to 

 the bees to build more. On the whole, it 

 may pay to clean them out every spring. 



3. Likely because made of basswood, as I 

 have had some of that kind. Basswood is 

 not fit for any part of a hive except sections. 

 Too warpy. 



Keeping Empty Combs Over Summer 



I have a lot of honey-combs that I will 

 have to keep through the summer months. 

 What is the best remedy to keep the moths 

 out of them ? I have them packed closely in 

 a chest. Will fumigating them with sulphur 

 do, or is bisulphide of carbon the best ? 



South Carolina. 



Answer.— Sulphur will do, but it takes a 

 great deal of it to finish the big worms, and 

 it does not kill the eggs, so that it must be 

 used again two weeks later to kill the worms 

 that have hatched out from the eggs that 

 were left. Carbon disulfide (which is the 

 later name of bisulphide of carbon acts 

 more vigorously, and at oneoperation cleans 

 up big and little, eggs and all. After you 

 have the worms all killed you must keep the 

 combs where the moth can not get at them. 



On the whole, it is nicer to give such 

 combs to the bees. They will clean them up 

 and keep them in nice condition. You can 

 fill a hive-body with them and put it under a 

 colony, so that the bees must pass through 

 in going out or in. 



the hive to a new stand. That will throw 

 all the field-force into the swarm, and it will 

 give more surplus than both will give if the 

 forces are more evenly divided. There will 

 be no need to feed. You may take the partly 

 tilled super from the old hive and put it on 

 the new one if you have a queen-excluder 

 under the super. If you put it on right away 

 without an excluder, there is danger that 

 the queen will go up and lay in the super. 

 If you do not use an excluder, do not give 

 the super to the swarm for 2 or 3 days, or 

 until the queen has made a start at laying in 

 the brood-chamber. Do you think you are 

 rich enough to afford to use 2-inch starters 

 in brood-frames ? It is better economy to 

 use full sheets of foundation. 



bees were affected before their removal, 

 and that the disease originated in my yards; 

 but I know of no trouble among my bees, 

 not having lost a colony for several years, 

 nor have any of my neighbors, except we 

 hear of two or three in the country which 

 have evidently died from starvation. 



Bellefontaine being a much larger town 

 than this, has many colonies of bees that 

 are not observed by bee-men, and could 

 more easily have the trouble and it not be 

 known. In which place did they most likely 

 contract the disease ? Ohio. 



Answer. — One can only make a guess, and 

 unless the case were very far advanced it 

 would look more reasonable to suppose that 

 the bees became diseased after removal. 



Super Management for Most Honey 



1. Do you consider it best to take the super 

 from the old stand in which the bees have 

 commenced to work, and place it on a new 

 hive in which the new swarm has been hived, 

 such hive having 2-inch starters in brood- 

 frames ? 



2. I understand that if this is practiced 

 the bees in the new hive will store the honey 

 in the supers, and that the queen can occupy 

 the brood-combs in the meanwhile without 

 being rushed: but if the colony would not 

 be able to store enough honey in the brood- 

 chamber for their own use. would it be best 

 to leave the full super on. or remove and 

 feed syrup until they have enough stores ? 

 Give any other advantage, if any, gained by 

 this practice. Iowa. 



Answer— You will probably do best to 

 put the swarm on the old stand, removing 



Keeping Swarming Down 



I have 18 colonies of bees, but have not had 

 much experience with bees. I want to run 

 for comb honey and not much increase. I 

 am going to hold swarming down the best I 

 know how. If a swarm comes out. if I go .in 

 and cut out all queen-cells but one. return 

 the swarm and catch the old queen, would 

 they be likely to swarm again ? How can I 

 keep them down so as not to make much in- 

 crease ? New York. 



Answer.— Your plan will work all right 

 generally, only you might not leave the best 

 cell, and there is a bare possibility that you 

 might leave a cell with a dead grub in it. 

 There is a way that is a little better and 

 surer. Return the swarm, remove the queen, 

 and leave the cells untouched. Then a week 

 later begin listening each evening after the 

 bees stop flying, by putting your ear to the 

 side of the hive. When you hear the young 

 queen piping, go to the hive the next morn- 

 ing and cut out a// cells. That's all. It will 

 be less trouble if the queens are clipped. In 

 that case catch the queen as she hops out 

 on the ground, and the swarm will return of 

 its own accord. 



Italianizing Colonies — Introducing Queens 



I have a few colonies of black bees that 

 seem to be weak, though they are beginning 

 to carry pollen. Would it not be better to 

 wait until later in the season before I at- 

 tempt to introduce Italian queens. Should 

 I not catch the old queen and destroy her 

 before I send for the new one? I have heard 

 there is less danger of having the queen 

 killed when she is introduced, if the colony 

 has been without a queen for some time. 

 Snould the queen be clipped before she is 

 introduced? I see Dr. Miller advises it. 

 Will you kindly let me know what I am to 

 do ? I want to send for 2 queens at the 

 proper time. New Jersey. 



Answer —You will probably do as well to 

 wait until some time in June. Better not 

 kill the old queen till the new one arrives. 

 There may be considerable delay, and it is 

 not well for the colony to be too long queen- 

 less. You can have the same, or a greater, 

 advantage by keeping the new queen caged 

 in the hive 2 or 3 days before allowing the 

 bees of the colony access to the candy to 

 liberate her. Most bee-keepers nowadays 

 prefer to have queens clipped, and most of 

 those who sell queens will clip them before 

 sending, without extra charge, if you so re- 

 quest. 



^Foul Brood Contracted by Colonies 



In November, iqoq. I sold 2 colonies of bees 

 to my niece living in Bellefontaine. some 18 

 miles from here. They wintered well, and I 

 think both stored some surplus honey the 

 next summer, one of them swarming. 



Last February, some 15 months from their 

 removal, the 2 old colonies were found dead: 

 samples of comb. etc.. were sent to Dr. 

 Phillips. Washington. D. C. who pronounced 

 them afflicted with foul brood of the Ameri- 

 can variety; the " swarm" is still living. 



Now. bee-men in Bellefontaine think these 



Wax-Moth and Comb Honey 



How do wax-worms get into supers of 

 honey. generally ? Are notthe eggsdeposited 

 before the super is taken oft? or is it by 

 careless exposure in the honey-room to the 

 moths? I pack away my supers of honey as 

 fast as taken oft. in large boxes with papers 

 on. burlap between, with a close cover to 

 each box. and each box made moth-proof at 

 the start. When I have time at the close of 

 the season I overhaul and examine every 

 super, and take out any that show signs of 

 worms. However. I don't get many wormy 

 ones. Wisconsin. 



Answer.— I don't know. It hardly seems 

 possible that a moth would make its way up 

 through a strong colony into a super and 

 there lav its eggs: and yet there seems no 

 other way to account for worms there. You 

 may seal up the super moth-tight imme- 

 diately on taking it off. and yet two weeks 

 later you may find the little worms present. 

 The kind of bees have much to do with the 

 case. Years ago, when I had black bees, I 

 made a regular practice of brimstoning all 

 my sections or there would be lotsof trouble. 

 Since having more or less Italian blood in all 

 my colonies. I never fumigate sections of 

 honey, finding no need of it. 



Hive for Farmer Bee-Keepers 



r. For a farmer bee-keeper who can not 

 devote much time to bees, and wants to keep 

 down swarming, do you consider the 10- 

 frame hive with deep frames above (same as 

 lower hive-body< better for the production 

 of bulkcom\> honey than the shallow frames? 

 ;I might add that, so far. I have had demand 

 right at home for all the bulk comb honey 

 that I have been able to produce, some even 

 wanting it cut out of sections rather than 

 take a section of honey for a pound.) 



2. Is it necessary to use a queen-excluding 

 honey-board between the two hive-bodies ? 



3. If so. is the wood-bound zinc board bet- 

 ter than the unbound zinc that is placed 

 directly on top of the frames ? 



4. What do you think of the lo-frame hive 

 compared with the 8-frame for my use ? 



Missouri. 



Answers.— I. For the upper story you will 

 probably like the shallow frame better: but 

 with very strong colonies there will not be 

 much difference. 



2. I'm not sure about it. but as there are 

 no old combs above, and fresh foundation to 

 be filled each time, I would guess that there 

 would not be any great need of an excluder. 



3 The wood-bound with slats keeps its 

 place better. Some, however, use the un- 

 bound sheet. 



4. You are wise to use the lo-frame. 



Keeping Extra Queens Over Winter— Managing 3- 

 Frame Nuclei— Hew Jersey as a Bee-State 



I How do you winter a number of queens 

 which were not used in the previous sum- 

 mer ? For instance, a number of queens are 

 reared by Doolittle's method of grafting), 

 and after introducing all that the apiary re- 

 quires, a number are left at the end of sum- 

 mer. Now. of course, when queens get to- 

 gether they fight, so each must be kept by 

 itself. What method is employed for keep- 

 ing them until wanted ? 



2. I have received a shipment of 3-frame 

 nuclei with queens, and upon arrival I placed 

 3 frames in an 8-frame hive, and as I had no 

 drawn combs I put in 5 other frames with 

 full sheets of foundation. I had no frames 

 of honey to spare from other colonies, so I 

 started to feed sugar and water, equal parts 

 {at night . and contracted the entrance to 

 about -'i inch in width. Did I do right ^ The 

 spring has been very backward here in Jer- 

 sey, but the soft maples are coming out 



