1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



29 



WHAT STYLE OF HIVE TO ADOPT. 



1. Would there be any advantage in locating an api- 

 ary on a hill from which one could see the surround- 

 ing country for several miles? 



2. What make of hive would you recommend in the 

 out-apiary, for extracted honey? 



3. The most successful bee-keeper I know uses the 

 eight-frame hives, and tiers them up. I have started 

 that way. Would you advise me to change, as I intend 

 to go into the business more extensively? 



4. Which do you think better — deep or shallow ex- 

 tracting-f rames ? 



5. On page 695 J. E. Hand says, " raise up the whole 

 hive and place a super of empty combs under it." 

 Why wouldn't it be better to put this super of empty 

 combs on top of the brood-chamber instead of under 

 it, as the queen's natural instinct is to go up? 



In this section the first surplus honey comes from 

 basswood, about July 10, and we have a good fall flow. 



Elk River, Minn., Nov. 23. FRANK MORGAN. 



[1. In some localities, we believe it is a distinct ad- 

 vantage to have an apiary located on a sidehill com- 

 manding a view of the valley and the hills beyond. 

 The late E. W. Alexander claimed that one reason why 

 he was able to have 800 or 900 hives in one locality was 

 because his bees could see the white patches of buck- 

 wheat several miles away. He believed that bees have 

 a sort of telescopic vision, and that, when they can see 

 the white patches, they will go further for honey than 

 they would were the view shut off by buildings or 

 shrubbery or trees. Of course, one might argue that 

 the bees could fly high enough to look over every 

 thing. But they will not do so if they can avoid it. 

 Bees going to and coming from the fields always fly as 

 low as possible, rising only enough to clear obstruc- 

 tions. 



2. That depends on the man and conditions. Gene- 

 rally speaking we would advise the ten-frame hive 

 rather than the eight-frame for extracting, for the av- 

 erage farmer or bee-keeper. If one has made a spe- 

 cial study of the sectional or double-brood-chamber 

 hive we would advise the shallow extracting-super. 

 J. E. Hand, Louis H. Scholl, and some others consider 

 this hive the best for extracting. The main advantage 

 Is that the storage room can be more gradually in- 

 creased. 



3. If you have started with the eight-frame hive we 

 would advise you to stick to it. The gain would not 

 be enough to warrant the change. 



5. This question is referred to J. E. Hand for reply. 

 —ED.] 



DETERMINING WHETHER A COLONY IS QUEENLESS BY 



THE PITCH OF THE HUM OF THE BEES; LOCATING 



THE FRAME CONTAINING THE QUEEN BY SOUND. 



On page 192, April 1, is a quotation from Mr. F. J. 

 Miller on finding the queen by the lowness of pitch of 

 the note made by the bees. This is a vf ry interesting 

 thing; but it requires an educated ear. As I have been 

 a violin-player for something over 20 years my ear is 

 very correct My experiments this summer would in- 

 dicate that not only will this low-toned hum tell where 

 the queen is, but whether the colony has a laying 

 queen or not. I could not make a nucleus formed with 

 queen-cells produce this tone until the queen had be- 

 gun to lay, and I have not yet failed to make a queen- 

 right colony produce it. If you will blow a little 

 smoke in at the entrance, and tap the side of the hive 

 three or four times lightly, then take off the cover 

 as quickly and quietly as possible, listen carefully, 

 and note the point where this low tone starts, you will 

 find the queen right at that point. It is seldom that 

 one can locate this point closer than the space between 

 two frames; but it has been my experience that, if 

 these two frames are taken out, the queen is pretty 

 sure to be on one of them. It seems to me that if this 

 method of telling whether there is a laying queen or 

 not will always work, it is a good one — no opening of 

 the hive, no taking-out of frames for examination. 

 Just smoke the entrance a little, and tap the side. If 

 they sing low, all right. If they just buzz they need 

 attention. P. W. Richards. 



Mast Yard, N. H., Nov. 6. 



[It is well known that a queenless colony, when dis- 

 turbed, will give off a roar or hum of distress. Some 

 colonies not queenless, under a state of excitement 

 will give off the same noise. As a rule, any queen- 

 right colony should give off a very low and contented 

 hum, but we doubt whether the average bee-keeper, 

 at least, would be able to determine the approximate 

 location of the queen by the method you describe; but 

 it is a fact that bees will sometimes indicate her posi- 

 tion by their general behavior; but when the hive is 



opened, and a little smoke is blown over the frame, 

 the natural status of the colony is so changed that or- 

 dinarily we can not tell, for the moment at least, in 

 what part of the hive the queen is.— Ed.] 



folded paper instead OF chaff tray. 



I see that you are on the right track on wintering 

 your bees on summer stands with the deep telescope 

 cover. But you do not need that tray on top, or at 

 least I do not out here. I have wintered my bees the 

 last ten years with a deep telescope cover with paper 

 laid on top of the super cover ( sealed down i , the paper 

 reaching down on the sides and ends, some with old 

 carpet on, but mostly newspapers. I have not lost a 

 single colony. 



The space under the frames is M inch. I take a 

 strip or block that reaches clear across the entrance, 

 and cut out a notch ->8x6 inches, and lay that in front, 

 leaving the entrance Jtxe in. Another thing, I have 

 never had an entrance clog with dead bees nor had to 

 clean dead bees out; but in the spring I lift the hives 

 off the bottom-boards and clean the cuttings of the 

 comb out. This is the best way and the only way to 

 winter bees. H. Mansperger. 



Lewistown, Mo., Nov. 22. 



TO PREVENT BEES FROM FLYING OUT OF THE ALEXAN- 

 DER feeders WHEN THE SYRUP IS POURED IN. 



In your issue for Oct. 1, p. 611, Mr. H. A. Moody gives 

 his plan for keeping bees from rushing out when us- 

 ing the Alexander feeder. My plan is this: Bore a K- 

 inch hole about the middle of the feeder-cover. Lay 

 a small block over the hole and drive a small nail 

 through one corner of the block into the cover to 

 make a hinge for the block to swing on. Provide a 

 funnel to fit the hole, and a cup that holds the amount 

 you wish to feed. With the end of the funnel push the 

 block around out of the way, sliding the funnel over 

 and into the hole as you do so, and pour in the feed. 

 Not a bee need escape. 



Beresford, Fla., Nov. 4. C. S. Gailbreath. 



BEE-SHED MADE OF BALED HAY. 



Would you please advise me whether a bee-house 

 laid up of baled hay would be warm enough in this lo- 

 cality to winter bees successfully? 



Forest City, Iowa, Dec. 3. RUFUS R. WAGNER. 



[We have had no experience with bee-houses built 

 of baled hay, and we do not feel competent to advise 

 in regard to the matter. It would seem, however, that 

 such a building should be warm enough, providing 

 the cracks between the bales, etc., could be kept cov- 

 ered up.— Ed.] 



THE FLOUR METHOD OF INTRODUCING A FAILURE. 



I have tried the flour method of introducing queens 

 time and again, and not in a single instance have I been 

 successful. I could not decide to give the plan up, as I 

 realized that, if I could but learn to manipulate it 

 successfully, it would be of great value to me as I in- 

 tend to install a great many queens next spring. I 

 should like very much to know what Dr. C. C. Miller 

 thinks of the plan. J. B. MARSHALL. 



Big Bend, La., Nov. 25. 



THE FLOUR METHOD OF INTRODUCING QUEENS NOT A 

 SUCCESS. 



I tried this plan of introducing, but without success. 

 The bees and queen get busy with the flour, so there 

 is no notice taken of the new queen at first; but in ev- 

 ery case as soon as they got rid of the flour they balled 

 the queen. 



Merino, Col., Nov. 22. T. J. Landrum. 



HONEY FROSTING. 



Here is a good plan to make honey more suitable for 

 those who can not eat it ordinarily. Boil some comb 

 honey, or, better, extracted, until it is crisp when 

 cooled. Dip in and well cover any plain or fancy 

 crackers, and when cool they are fit to serve. 



Seabright, N. J. HERBERT S. HALE. 



SEALED COVERS UNDER GROUND CORK. 



I use sealed covers with a super on top filled with 

 ground cork, such as grapes are shipped in from Ita- 

 ly, etc. Dampness in the hive is thus reduced to a 

 minimum, and the bees winter well. 



Philadelphia, Pa., March 28. R. P. Zebley. 



