64 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 



off of the box-hive and place the forcing-box 

 on top of the hive instead of on the bottom 

 and then pound the hive, and would the 

 bees not cluster in the forcing-box .just the 

 same ? , , ..... 



2. In working for extracted honey is it best 

 to put a super with combs in on the hive as 

 soon as the bees begin to bring in pollen in 

 the spring, or is it better to wait until the 

 flow is on and they have stored some in the 

 brood chamber ? Will the queen lay brood 

 in these frames if put on early ? If she 

 starts to lay in them in the spring will she 

 lay in them all summer ? 



3 Last fall when 1 had extracted I put the 

 combs back on to be cleaned, but there was 

 still a little honey coming in from the fields 

 so they stored a little in the frames (not 

 enough to cap). Will they work in these in 

 the spring as well as in empty ones? 



4. If the Queen lays eggs and brood hatches 

 in extracting combs and then the bees store 

 honey in them afterwards, will this honey, 

 when extracted, be darker than that from 

 combs in which no brood has been reared ? 

 Will there be any difference in the quality 

 (taste) ? How can the queen be prevented 

 from laying in the supers without an ex- 

 cluder ? , , , . J J, 



5. If honey is extracted about the middle 

 of July will it keep until the last of Septem- 

 ber in open tanks or barrels? The ther- 

 mometer sometimes reaches loo degrees and 

 over in July and August. How long will 

 good honey keep in bottles or jars ? Will it 

 granulate when bottled ? 



6. About how many colonies of bees are 

 there in the United States ? In Nebraska ? 



7 Early in the spring before there is any 

 field work for the bees, if you feed the bees 

 small amounts daily, will the queen begin 

 laying? , , , r .. 



8. Please explain the best method of unit- 

 ing two weak colonies. Would the two 

 store more honey united than separate ? 

 Would they be liable to swarm ? 



g. In wintering bees I have read one 

 should make a frame of screen to lay on the 

 frames and then the mat or other absorber 

 on top of this so the bees can move freely, 

 from one frame to the other. Can t they 

 move just as well from the bottom ? How do 

 they get from one frame to the other if the 

 mat or absorber is laid directly on the 

 frames ? . , , ■ , j 



10 —In requeening should the old queen 

 be killed before the new one is introduced ? 



II. Is there any way to make a home-made 

 bee-escape that is cheap and practical ? 

 Should the bee-escape be put on the day be- 

 fore the super is to be taken off or can you 

 get the bees out of the super the same day ? 



12 Is there enough honey produced in the 

 United States to supply the demand oris 

 there place for more beekeepers ? 



Nebraska. 



Answers.— I. Generally a box-hive has the 

 top nailed on and the bottom not nailed; 

 hence the instruction to invert. If the top 

 can be lifted off, then there is no need to in- 

 vert, whether the bottom be tight or loose. 



2. It is not best to put the extracting-super 

 on before it is needed, as it makes just so 

 much more room to be kept warm when all 

 the heat is needed below to keep the brood 

 warm. The queen Is likely to lay in the 

 second story, and to continue it. However, 

 if the brood-chamber be small, it may be a 

 desirable thing to have the queen lay in the 

 second story at least until the harvest. 



3. The bees will work just as well— possi- 

 bly better— with some honey in the extract- 

 ing-combs. but that honey that is leftover 

 winter in the combs is pretty certain to be 

 candied, and to hasten granulation in the 

 honey that is freshly stored. 



4. It is generally considered that honey 

 stored in combs which have been used for 

 brood-rearing is just as good as any in color 

 and taste: but some think there is a little 

 difference. It is a difficult thing to prevent 

 the queen from laying in the upper story 

 without using an excluder, although I think 

 she is less likely to go up if the extracting- 

 combs be shallow. Perhaps Editor Dadant 

 will tell us about that. I think E. D. Town- 

 send keeps the queen down by having full 

 combs of honey in the story next the brood- 

 chamber, adding additional stories above 

 this story instead of under. 



5. There is a big difference in honey as to 

 the tendency to granulation. Some will 

 granulate within a week or two, while some 



will keep liquid a year. I should expect that 

 your honey, if thoroughly ripened, might 

 remain liquid until the last of September; 

 yet it mifht not. Bottled honey may keep 

 good 10 years or more, but will generally 

 granulate unless heated to above 130 degrees 

 and sealed. 



6. The 1910 census gives about 35.000.000 col- 

 onies for the United States, and 46.000 colo- 

 nies for Nebraska. This counts only bees 

 on frames and does not list those in cities. 



7. Yes. if you were in a place where there 

 was an utter dearth of bee-pasturage, with 

 warm weather, you could get the queen to 

 lay by feeding. In your region you probably 

 cannot make a day's difference in the time 

 she begins. 



8. Very early in the season you can gen" 

 erally unite bv merely lifting the combs 

 with adhering bees out of one hive and set- 

 ting them in the other. At other times put 

 a sheet of newspaper over the top bars of 

 one hive and set the other hive over it. The 

 bees will tear away the paper and unite of 

 their own accord, and in four or five days 

 you can move the occupied combs from the 

 one story into the other. The united colony 

 •may store more and it may store less than 

 the two separate colonies— depends upon 

 whether they are too weak to be built up for 

 the harvest. The united colony will be more 

 likely to swarm than one of equal strength 

 not united. 



Q. No; in cold weather they can move from 

 one to another over the top. where it is 

 warm, more readily than under the bottom, 

 where it is cold. If a mat is laid flat upon 

 the top-bars, a little stick, or something of 

 the kind should be under the mat to afford 

 a passage under it. 



10. Yes; although the new queen may be 

 caged in the hive a day or more before the 

 old one is killed. 



11. Possibly you might make a cone-escape 

 with wire-cloth. Generally you will not get 

 the bees all out before the next day. [Page 

 108. June. lois, J. E. Crane gave the descrip- 

 tion of a home made bee-escape, cheap and 

 practical. A solid honey-board is placed 

 under the super and the bees come out at 

 the end of this board in the manner shown 

 in the illustration.— Editor,) 



12. The demand is so little that many bee- 

 keepers feel they do not get enough for their 

 honey. Yet it would be for the good of the 

 nation if ten times as much honey were con- 

 sumed as is now produced, and if the peo- 

 ple were sufficiently informed as to the 

 value of honey, that amount might easily be 

 consumed. 



Queen-Excluder— Hybrid Bees — Sail lor Bees 



Basswood Trees — Honey-House — Bee-Cellar 



1. I purchased ten wood and wire queen- 

 excluders, and as my bees are all of the 

 black strain the queens go through. I will 

 need some more bees. Would you advise 

 metogetthe same kind or what would you 

 do? 



2. Could you tell me of a good reliable 

 place to buy queeens without paying too big 

 a price ? 



3. How long does it take a man to get im- 

 mune to beestings, being stung two or three 

 times daily, and when immune will it last 

 from fall until spring ? 



4. Would it pay to run an outyard with 

 only 20 or 25 colonies at home and about that 

 many at the outyard? I have an auto and 

 can find a good location about three or four 

 miles from home. 



5. A neighbor beekeeper tells me that a 

 hybrid bee is more cross than a pure Italian 

 or a pure black. Is this so ? 



6. Will it injure honey to let it stand in 

 a galvanized tank ? If so. what can be done 

 with it? 



7. Would taking whisky be any help to a 

 person when real sick from bee stings ? 



8 What is the reason bees work so much 

 on salt? Would it pay to leave salt some 

 place for them ? 



0. How many basswood trees for each col- 



ony would you want before you would con- 

 sider it a fairly good place for an outyard 

 with white clover on the side ? 



10. What does it cost to join the Beekeep- 

 ers' Association, and who do you see about 

 it ? 



11. If I build a honey house with a cellar 

 under it for my bees, would carpenter work 

 in this house bother the bees in winter ? 



Iowa. 



Answers.— I. If the queen-excluders are 

 all right, neither black nor Italian queens 

 should go through. Other things being equal 

 I suppose the wires are preferable to the 

 stamped zinc, but I surely wouldn't want 

 those that would let queens through. 



2 I must refer you to the advertising col- 

 umns of the Bee Journal. I think any of 

 those advertising will furnish good queens, 

 and you can compare prices yourself. 



3. I don't know very definitely, but I sup- 

 pose that in such a case a man might be- 

 come immune to a good extent in two or 

 three months, and I think the immunity 

 should last through the winter. But if you 

 mean by " immune " that a bee-sting doesn't 

 hurt at all, then I think there are very few 

 that ever become really immune. I have 

 been at it for more than 50 years, and a bee- 

 sting hurts me like sixty now. But the hurt 

 doesn't last very long, and it swells very 

 little. 



4. That depends on the location. It would 

 be a very poor location that would not sup- 

 port 40 colonies. If the location is fairly 

 good it will hardly be advisable to start an 

 outapiary until you have more than 75 or 100 

 colonies. 



5. It is very often so. 



6. I hardly think it willdo any harm for the 

 few days it should remain in the tank before 

 being put in permanent containers. 



7. It would likely do more harm than good. 



B. I don't know, but I suppose the salt sup- 

 plies some need, and as they seem to care 

 for it it might be well to give it to them. 



0. I don't know. I have seen it estimated 

 that one tree was enough for a colony, but I 

 don't know how correct that is. 



10. If you cannot join through some local 

 association near home, you can join directly 

 by sending $1 so to the secretary. Prof. F. 

 Eric Millen. Ames. Iowa. 



11. With only a single-board floor over the 

 cellar and with much heavy pounding. I 

 should be afraid of results. With a double 

 floor and something to act asadeadenera 

 little pounding would hardly do much harm. 



ARCHDEKIN'S FINE ITALIAN BEES 

 AND COMBLESS BEES 



April. May. Junequeens warranted purely 

 mated. $1.00 each; six for $5. 00: per doz.. $9.00. 

 Bees per lb. $1 25. With untested queen, 

 $2.00 per lb. I have originated a pkg. light 

 but strong; saves you bees and express. My 

 guarantee is prompt shipment, safe arrival, 

 perfect satisfaction. No disease. Small 

 deposit books your order. 



J. F. Archdekin Bordelonville, La. 



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