May, 1916. 



American Hee Journal 



169 



center ? In 1912 I tried it, making a 

 ventilation cover. Here is the bill of 

 material for it: 2 pieces 20x45sxU; 

 2 pieces 4x4^x'.( ; 2 pieces 13?sx>ix>^ ; 

 2 pieces 7x'/ixyi. At each side will be 

 one of the 20-inch pieces, and between 

 them, one at each end, the 4-inch pieces. 

 These will be nailed upon the 13% 

 pieces, one at each end, and the 7-inch 

 pieces will come at the inside ends of 

 the 4-inch pieces. We now have a 

 cover with a central opening 12x4's 

 inches. This is laid upon the super with 

 the K-inch-square pieces uppermost, 

 and on this is placed the usual cover. 

 If desired, this ventilation cover can 

 be lightly nailed to the hive-cover, to 

 be removed at the close of the super 

 season. These ventilating covers have 

 not been thoroughly tested, but give 

 promise of being an acquisition." 



The foregoing is not as complicated 

 as it sounds, and is worth trying. 



Questions on Beekeeping 



1. What is the difference between the 

 leather-colored Italian and the nutmeg 

 Italian ? 



2. I once hived a new swarm on the 

 old stand and moved the old colony 

 away. The next day the bees swarmed 

 again. What was the reason ? Does 

 it often happen that way ? 



[Mrs.] Mary L. Hines. 

 Holly, Colo. 



1. The leather-colored Italian is one 

 which has three bands, not bright yel- 

 low, but more nearly approaching the 

 color of what is called fair leather. 

 There is no bee generally known as 

 the nutmeg bee; but it is likely that 

 some one has given that name to his 

 bees, just as you would call a colony of 

 bees the Smith bees, or the Iron City 

 bees, if you had bought them from Mr. 

 Smith, of Iron City. 



2. Such a thing happens only too 

 often, and generally because the place 

 is uncomfortably warm for the bees. 

 For the first week after a swarm is 

 hived, it is a good plan to give abun- 

 dant ventilation, either by raising the 

 hive on blocks or shoving the cover 

 forward so as to leave an opening 



above. Better than either one is to 

 do both. It is well also, if the hive is 

 not in a shady place to shade it in 

 some way. One way is to put an armful 

 of fresh-cut hay, or something of the 

 kind, on the cover, anchoring it there 

 with something like two or three sticks 

 of stove-wood. 



Lady Beekeeper Scores Highest Average 

 in British Columbia 



The honey crop reports for 191.5 in 

 the Province of British Columbia have 

 been tabulated, and show an average 

 of 23 pounds to the colony; not a bad 

 record for what is asserted by our 

 oldest beekeepers to be the poorest 

 season in 30 years, this being the bee- 

 keeping life of our oldest, and, I believe, 

 the best beekeeper in the Province. 

 The highest average is 83 pounds from 

 14 colonies, and is reported by Miss 

 Violet Ruddick. 



Miss Ruddick was born and reared 

 on the ranch. When the district in- 

 spector visited the ranch in 1911, he 

 found about a dozen colonies in a 

 rather derelict condition, and he in- 

 duced Miss Ruddick, then about 20 

 years of age, to undertake the respon- 

 sibility of them, giving her a very little 

 instruction as a starter. For a year or 

 two she made but little headway, but in 

 1914 she raised 919 pounds from 14 

 colonies. That was rather a good sea- 

 son, when almost everybody got a 

 crop, so she deserves all the more 

 credit when she increased the yield in 

 a very poor season to 1169 pounds 

 from the same number of colonies. 



To show the eflfect of systematic in- 

 struction the following figures tell the 

 story: Estimated crop of British Co- 

 lumbia in 1910, 20 tons; reported crop 

 of 1913, 50 tons; crop of 1914, 150 tons; 

 crop of 1915, 100 tons. 



Victoria, B. C. F. Dundas Todd. 



One cannot help wishing Mr. Todd 

 had told us a little as to why this lady 

 beekeeper should have out-distanced 

 her competitors of the male persuasion. 



Being reared on the ranch, it is pos- 

 sible the superior climate accounts for 

 her superior achievements ; but a sus- 



picion arises that the instructor may 

 not have been entirely impartial. 



At any rate, we are thankful to Mr. 

 Todd for telling us about it. 

 .♦-•^^^ 



Cross-Building of Combs 



I use full sheets of comb foundation 

 in the brood-frames, yet the bees build 

 across from one frame to another. 

 After they have filled the sheets they 

 are hard for me to get out of the hive. 

 I use the super on top for comb honey. 



Wedderburn, Oreg. Etta Moore. 



If your frames are properly spaced 

 the only way in which the trouble you 

 mention could occur is by the weight 

 of the bees upon the foundation break- 

 ing it away from the top-bar because 

 not properly fastened. It would have 

 been better if you had made an exami- 

 nation within a day after the bees were 

 put upon the foundation. 



Th t thing to do now is to cut away 

 any comb fastened to the wrong frame, 

 press it back into its proper place, and 

 then fasten itthere by means of strings. 



In some cases you will need to use 

 pieces of broken sections, or some- 

 thing of the kind, to make the center 

 of the comb come in the center of the 

 frame. 



In three or four days the fastenings 

 may be removed. 



AN ILLINOIS APIARY 



Divided Brood-Chamber 



I am enclosing a leaf from a booklet 

 which I have marked. I would like to 

 know when rearing queens by that 

 method. Article 4, what will prevent 

 the bees from building queen-cells in 

 the compartment from which the queen 

 has been transferred ? 



A Woman Beginner. 



The paragraph referred to reads as 

 follows : 



4. "A Divided Brood-Chamber. — For 

 this purpose a hive of not less than ten- 

 frame capacity should be used. The 

 bottom-board should be nailed on. 

 Make two tight-fitting zinc division- 

 boards, bound with wood. Let these 

 fit securely on the bottom-board, and 

 come up even with the top of the hive. 

 They must be made to fit so nicely that, 

 when thehive is closed, no bee can find 

 a passage above, below, or around the 

 sides of them. Place them parallel in 

 the middle of the brood-nest in such 

 a manner that the same is divided into 

 three compartments of equal dimen- 

 sions — one on each side of them and 

 one between. Each of these compart- 

 ments will be capable of obtaining 

 three frames. The central one is for 

 two frames of unsealed brood and a 

 frame of cells. Always put the cells in 

 the center. The other two compart- 

 ments are to be occupied by the queen, 

 she being transferred from one to the 

 other as occasion demands, thus keep- 

 ing the combs well supplied with 

 brood." 



When the queen is transferred from 

 one compartment to the other there is 

 nothing to prevent cells from being 

 started except disinclination on the 

 part of the bees. There is free passage 

 through the excluders from one com- 

 partment to another. In such cases 

 cells will not usually be started al- 

 though the bees will respect cells given 

 them which are already started. 



