1890 



Gi.EAKi:NGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



177 



brought 15 or 18 cents. In fact, we paid 15 

 cents at wholesale during the past season 

 for nice honey in sections. Honey that is 

 broken out, or that can not be used other- 

 wise, we get rid of in the way you mention, 

 at from 10 to 12 cents a pound. 



We solicit for this department short items and questions of 

 a practical nature; but all questions, if accompanied by oth- 

 er matter, must be put upon a SEPARATE slip of paper with 

 name and address. 



JAPANESE AHEAD FOR GRAIN AND HONEY. 



Japanese has yielded splendidly with us this sea- 

 son, and for honey it is just as good if not better 

 than the silverhull or brown. It averaged over 62 

 bushels to the acre. A. A. Genter. 



Springfield Center, N. Y., Feb. 1. 



plant gets, the more honry it seems to yield, and 

 the quality improves too. C. E. Barber. 



Langford, Col., Feb. 4, 1890. 



Qm QaEgwieN-B% 



With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



All queries sent in for this department should be briefly 

 stated, and free from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions should be written upon a separate slip of paper, 

 and marked, "For OurQuestion-Box." 



Question 15.5.— Jh your opinion, is a single-walled 

 hive made of thric-inch duff, dovetailed at the corners, 

 practicahle when the cover and bottom-honrd are made 

 of one-inch liimher? If not, what wmdd he the ohjec- 

 tions? 



INDICATION OP AGE IN yCEENS. 



How can you tell the age of your queens? 



St. Anthony, la., Jan. 30. W. R. Haslet. 



[The experienced bee-keeper will tell an old 

 queen by her looks pretty accurately. The differ- 

 ence, while not quite as apparent as in the human 

 family, is plainly to be seen in much the same way. 

 An old queen gets small in size, more or less dou- 

 bled up, and in her movements seems to be decrep- 

 it and feeble. Her wings, the luster of the cover- 

 ing of her body, her feet and limbs, all exhibit indi- 

 cations of age. Some bee-keepers indicate the age 

 of a queen by the manner of clipping the wings. 1 



UNIFORM TEMPERATURE IN CELLAR. 



Thermometer outside, 50° above zero, eight o'clock 

 this morning. It has been thawing, and is misty 

 and muddy. Thermometer in my bee-cellar regis- 

 ters 48 above zero. I have not watched it this win- 

 ter; but from the cellar this side of it, it probably 

 has not varied more than two or three degrees one 

 way or the other. V. W. Keeney. 



Shirland, 111., Feb. 4, 1890. 



Yes. 

 Michigan. C. 



A. J. Cook. 



THE NORTH VS. THE SOUTH FOR HONEY. 



Please let me know if bee culture succeeds as 

 well in the South as in the North, especially East 

 Tennessee, Northern Alabama, or Western Caro- 

 linas. W. D. Tabler. 



Trilla, 111., Feb. 10. 



[Bee culture can be carried on as successfully. 

 and perhaps more so, in the South, because there 

 are no serious winter troubles to contend with; but 

 the honey of the North, as a general rule, is of a 

 finer quality, and, of course, commands a higher 

 price.! 



WHICH WAY SHALL THE ENTRANCES FACE? 



Does it make any difference whether hives are 

 faced south or west? I have mine faced west. 



Hegins. Pa., Feb. 8. J. H. Dunkelberger. 



[It does not make any real difference. We have 

 our hives facing all points of the compass. We 

 prefer, usually, to have the entrance face the east, 

 so that the bees may have the benefit of the morn- 

 ing sun. providing that bees may be able to identi- 

 fy their homes without confusion. See Introduc- 

 tion to A B C] 



THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF HONEY-BEARING ALFALFA. 



Bees are taking a boom here now. We have al- 

 falfa here by the thousands of acres — that is, 

 there are several places in three counties here 

 where the bees could reach a thousand acres in a 

 two-mile flight, and on one of these big farms the 

 honey-flow lasts from June till September, almost 

 the same one day as another; and the older the 



I should say It would be a bungling affair. 



Ohio. N. W. H. R. BOARDMAN. 



I never used any thing thicker than %, hence 

 I can't say. 

 Louisiana. E. C. P. L. Viallon. 



I don't know. I never had such a hive, neither do 

 I want one. 

 Vermont. N. W. A. E. Manum. 



We prefer a %-inch wall all around, as we can pro- 

 tect it in winter without having any incumbrance 

 in summer. 



Illinois. N. W. Dadant & Son. 



Yes, and it'is " practicable " to plow with a stick; 

 but what Is the use, when there is a better way? 

 Ohio. N. w. A. B. Mason. 



Yes. I should prefer It to half-inch for this cli- 

 mate. Why not have the bottom and top as thick? 

 and wouldn't a straw hive be lighter and better? 



New York. C. P. H. Elwood. 



I think such a hive would be undesirable; Ji lum- 

 ber is as thick as is required. Such hives would be 

 too heavy. I regard It very essential that hives be 

 as light and easy to handle as possible. 



Connecticut. S. W. L. C. Root. 



Such a hive would be heavy and clumsy, and no 

 better than one of inch lumber, to exclude cold; 

 that is, with an open entrance and a one-inch 

 bottom. 



Illinois. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I don't think a hive made of three-inch lumber 

 would be enough better to offset the great weight of 

 the hive. I would rather use inch lumber and 

 chaff' stuffing. 



Wisconsin. S. W. E. France. 



I never saw hives made of such thick lumber. I 

 should think they would be too heavy and cumber- 

 some, and a useless waste of material, and no bet- 

 ter than those made of inch lumber. 



Wisconsin. S. W. S. 1. Freeborn. 



In my opinion, no. Because size, weight, and 

 cost of hive would be increased without correspond- 

 ing benettts. Whatever advantages such a hive 

 might possess can be secured easier and in a great- 

 er measure by the use of double-walled hives pack- 

 ed with suitable material. 



Cuba. O. O. PoppLETON. 



