Febi-uary, 1916. 



American Hee Journal i: 



iron of the greatest importance. On 

 the same ground are ripe fruits so val- 

 uable for nourishment; for the afore- 

 mentioned materials are unqualifiedly 

 requisite for the upbuilding of the tis- 

 sues ; lacking them there arises sick- 

 ness, anemia, etc." 



If all the people believed this and 

 acted upon it, where could enough 

 honey be obtained to supply the de- 

 mand ? But how many know it ? How 

 many even among beekeepers ? How 

 many women beekeepers and beekeep- 

 ers' wives really believe that honey is 

 much more wholesome as an article 

 of diet than sugar ? How many women 

 use honey instead of sugar in cookery ? 

 How many women beekeepers insist 

 that honey shall be used in hot drinks 

 in place of sugar ? How many chil- 

 dren in beekeepers' homes are brought 

 up on a diet of bread and milk with 

 honey ? 



It is not by any means claimed that a 

 moderate amount of sugar is injurious, 

 but that beyond a certain amount the 

 preparation of sugar for proper assimi- 

 lation throws too heavy a burden upon 

 the digestive organs. The average 

 consumption annually in this country 

 is more than 80 pounds for every man, 

 woman and child. Physicians are gen- 

 erally agreed that that is too high an 

 average. If the average is too high, 

 what must be said of those who eat 

 much more than the average ? But 

 while the Doctor warns against the evil 

 of too much sugar eating, he does not 

 sufficiently emphasize the fact such evil 

 may be overcome without any self- 

 denial, simply by taking the sugar in a 

 form ready for immediate assimilation 

 as lound in ripe fruits and honey. 



A bee journal is not the best place in 

 the world to preach to the general pub- 

 lic the gospel of health, but it is a good 

 place to ask what beekeepers them- 

 selves are doing. Sister beekeeper, how 

 about you?- home ? 



Transferring Bees 



1. I caught a fine swarm last May in a 

 half barrel with two cross sections, but 

 as I had never had bees before I did 

 not know how to remove them to a 

 hive, nor how to get out the honey. 

 Please tell me through the Bee Journal 

 how to move them to a hive and when. 



2. Will they winter without protec- 

 tion in Mississippi ? 



3. At what time of the year is the 

 honey removed ? 



4. How many hives and supers need 

 I buy in the spring to be prepared for 

 swarms ? 



[Mrs.] Jerome S. Withrow. 

 Grenada, Miss. 



1. You can transfer into a proper 

 hive in fruit bloom, but nowadays it is 

 considered better to leave the bees in 

 the old hive until they swarm. Then 

 hive the swarm in the new hive, setting 

 it on the old stand, with the old hive 

 close beside it. A week later move the 

 old hive to a new stand perhaps 10 feet 

 away. Then two weeks later still, or 

 three weeks after hiving the swarm, 

 drum the bees out of the old hive, leav- 

 ing them on the same stand in a new 

 hive. If you wish, you can cut some of 

 the best worker-comb out of the old 

 hive and fasten it in the frames of the 

 new hive. Possibly you may find some 



of the comb containing honey fit for 

 table use. The balance of the combs 

 you can melt up for wax. 



2. As far south as latitude 34 degrees 

 the winters are quite warm, and your 

 bees will probably need no protection ; 

 but it will be no harm to pile against 

 the hives something to break the force 

 of the chief winds, and also to keep 

 them a little warm on top. 



3. You can take the honey any time 

 you find it sealed in the surplus apart- 

 ments, removing all when the honey 

 flow is over. 



4. If you proceed as directed you 

 will need two new hives. The fact that 

 the swarm last summer was very strong 

 will probably make no difference now. 

 Like enough provision for 100 pounds 

 of honey in supers will be enough. 



Be sure to let us know how you get 

 along, and don't be afraid to ask too 

 many questions. 



Double-Walled Hives 



I have just been reading of Dr. Mil- 

 ler's success in producing honey in 

 sections, and I am wondering if you 

 have any printed matter on the subject 

 which I could buy. Would you tell me 

 if bees can be wintered successfully in 

 double-walled hives without further 

 protection? I am located 20 miles north 

 of Detroit. 



I have 14colonies in the Root double- 



walled hive. Should I give them more 

 protection ? MiCHiCAhf. 



Dr. Miller has written a book of 320 

 pages, called " Fifty Years Among the 

 Bees," which gives in full detail just 

 how he manages his bees throughout 

 the year, and especially his manage- 

 ment for securing crops of section 

 honey. It can be obtained for one dol- 

 lar from the American Bee Journal, 

 Hamilton, III. 



Double-walled hives are supposed to 

 need no additional protection for win- 

 tering, and yet in some places they may 

 be the better for it. There is no small 

 ditTerence between a hive surrounded 

 on all sides by trees and buildings and 

 one fully exposed to the continuous 

 sweep of the winds. In the latter case 

 additional protection would help, if it 

 should be nothing more than corn- 

 stalks piled about the hive. 



There may also be some question 

 whether it might not be a gain for you 

 to adopt cellar wintering. You are a 

 little farther north than 42 degrees, 

 and most beekeepers so far north as 

 that find it better to winter their bees 

 in cellars. Still there are those even 

 farther north who winter outdoors 

 successfully. If you have wintered so 

 far successfully outdoors, it is a good 

 plan to let well enough alone; but if 

 your wintering has not been satisfac- 

 tory, it might be well worth while to 

 try at least part of your bees in cellar. 



Dr. Mill£r*s <^ Answers^ 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Pee Journal or direct to 



Dr. C. C. Miller. Marengo. II",. 



He does not answer bee-keepine questions by mail. 



What are Brood -Combs Worth? 



What do you estimate the value of a Hoff- 

 man brood-comb after the foundation is 

 drawn out ? For example, if I purchased ico 

 Hoffman frames at $j.25. used light brood 

 foundation in full sheets wired in with four 

 wires. The foundation costs me 58 cents a 

 pound. The frames were given to the bees 

 and were drawn out. After I extracted the 

 honey from them. they were totally destroyed 

 by fire. How much was my loss per frame ? 



New York, 



Answer— My guess would be about 25 

 cents each, which guess is subject to re- 

 vision by Editor Dadant, 



[Would say 20 cents each,— C, P. Dadant.] 



(Mr, Davenport was a popular bee writer 

 who all at once announced in the American 

 Bee Journal that he had made so great a dis- 

 covery about the prevention of swarming 

 that he did not deem it advisable to publish 

 it. It was rumored that this wonderful dis- 

 covery consisted in destroying the brood, 

 after the colony became populous. It would 

 indeed prevent swarming, but where is the 

 beekeeper who would use such a method ?— 

 C, P. Dadant,] 



Beekeeping Secrets 



I send you an old American Bee Journal, 

 dated March i, iuo6. in which, on page 185. a 

 Mr, C, Davenport speaks of a great secret 

 method of entirely preventing swarming, in 

 a very easy way. Did he ever let out that 

 great secret ? Perhaps if he had put his 

 scheme in book form, he might today be eat- 

 ing peaches and cream every day, I have 

 heard nothing about it since, I would like 

 to hear whether the secret ever leaked out, 



Indiana, 



Answers,— C, Davenport was the fwm ih- 

 />////;/f of C, Davenport Monett, of Chatfield, 

 Minn, So far as I know he never gave his 

 secret to the public, but I have an impres- 

 sion that enough was learned about it to 

 make it doubtful that there was anything 

 very new or valuable about it. He died in 

 IQ08. being burnt up in his own house, where 

 he lived alone. 



Queen Leaving Hive in December 



1 have a good colony of bees. On Dec 18 

 the queen came from the hive. I found her 

 about u inches from the entrance, almost 

 chilled and unable to move, but not dead. I 

 am afraid to put her back in the hive as she 

 could not get to the cluster. What would 

 you do in this case ? Oklahoma, 



Answer —I'd feed her and give her a good 

 warming up. pound on the hive so as to stir 

 up the bees, run her in at the entrance and 

 let her take her chances. Pretty certainly 

 there's something wrong with the queen 

 that would leave the hive Dec, 18— possibly 

 a played-out queen with a younger queen in 

 the hive— and nothing you can do will save 

 her anyhow. 



Size of Entrance for Winter 



What size of entrance would you recom- 

 mend in 8-frame hives for outdoor wintering 

 in this section ? Iowa, 



Answer. -^An entrance equivalent tq 



