April, 1910. 



American ~Bee Journal 



to BO to work. Sunshine not only makus 

 better workers, but better honey." I <ion't 

 know who eave that answer, but it sounds as 

 if it had been given on tlie spur of tlie mo- 

 ment, without time for thoutrht. No answer 

 is Kiven to the question. " What do you want 

 shade for?" but what conies after seems to 

 take it for granted that it is wanted for tlie 

 bees. Many beekeepers, myself among the 

 number, want shade for the bee-keeper 

 rather than for the bees, in which case a 

 shade-board docs no good whatever. I want 

 the shade for my own comfort when sitting 

 beside a hive, and for that purpose it is hard 

 to have anything better than a deciduous 

 tree, which allows the sun to shine upon the 

 hive early in the year, but not during hot 

 weather Localities differ. There are places 

 where it is better for the bees to standout 

 in the open; and in some places they need 

 the shade. What is best for a Wisconsin 

 bee-keeper may not be best down South. In 

 your locality I should like hives under trees. 

 1. I don't know, but I think good locations 

 may be found there. 



Repairing Broken Comb, Etc. 



1. We have a lot of comb in frames, some 

 of it is broken and looks rough. Will the 

 bees patch this up? It is my intention to 

 give this comb to the first new swarm. 



2. Some of this comb has a lot of some 

 liquid substance that looks dark, and glis- 

 tens. The cells are partly filled with this 

 stuff. Will the bees be able to clean this 

 out. or can I remove it before placing it in 

 the hives? lOWA. 



Answers.— 1. Bees are marvelously good 

 repairers. No matter how much the cells 

 may be broken down, if the midrib or mid- 

 dle'wall still remains, the bees will soon put 

 all to rights. If the midrib be entirely gone 

 at any part, the bees will restoreit. but there 

 is danger that any holes thus filled will be 

 filled with drone-cells. You may. however, 

 avoid this by fitting into thevacancies pieces 

 of worker-comb, tying them in if necessary, 

 and the bees will fasten them together 

 nicely. 



2. Likely it is only pollen and honey, and 

 the bees can take care of it. 



Cleaning Out Hives Wliere Bees Died 



What is the best method of using up the 

 honev of about 20 colonies of bees that died 

 last winter? It is all honey-dew and dark 

 honey, and only fit for bee-feed. It is in 8- 

 frame dovetail hives, and they are about 

 half full; and some of it is quite damp. I 

 cleaned out most of the dead bees and stored 

 them in the cellar, but I am afraid they will 

 get moldy if left in there very long. I lost 20 

 colonies out of 45. and think it was on ac- 

 count of the honey-dew. If I would set them 

 out. putting 3 or 4 hives in a pile, and leaving 

 a small entrance for the bees to clean them 

 out. would it cause the stronger colonies to 

 try to rob the weaker? If I did that way 

 would you put them out now? And would 

 you put them all out at the same time? 



Iowa. 



.-Answer.— The only object in leaving a 

 small entrance is to keep the bees from 

 tearingthe combs when the combs are few' 

 compared with the number of bees to work 

 at them. In the present case the combs are 

 so many that such care need not be taken. 

 Moreover, brood-combs of some age are not 

 likely to be torn. So you should set the 

 whole out, fully exposed to the bees, prefer- 

 ably a few rods distant, and in 2 or 3 days the 

 job will be done. It ought to cause no rob- 

 bing if you do nothing foolish in the way of 

 opening up hives while the work is eoing on. 



Strengthening Weak Colonies — Golden 

 Queens — Getting Increase 



I. I found a colony yesterday which, from 

 spring dwindling, had gone to only a few 

 handfuls of beesand a queen. As it is warm 

 weather here with many wild flowers in 

 bloom, and the bees carrying in any amount 

 of pollen from the maples. I proceeded as 

 follows, and want to see what you think of 

 the plan: 



I went to a strong colony, taking a frame 

 covered with about 10 square inches of 

 brood, and brushed the bees off so as not to 

 get the queen, and placed it in a weak col- 

 ony. Then I moved the strong colony about 

 6 feet distant from its former stand, and set 

 the weak one in its place. Since it has a 

 queen and weighs about 50 pounds with the 

 honey, and has been strengthened with that 

 brood and the field-force of the other colony. 



do you think it will come through? Will 

 that usually work? 



2. Did you ever use any golden queens? Do 

 you think that there is anything to the 

 story of their being poor winterers in this 

 State? 



3. What do you think of the plan of in- 

 crease by giving a queen and 2 frames of 

 brood to a colony and setting it on the stand 

 of a colony, as I proceeded above? What 

 plan of increase do you advise? 



Illinois. 



Answers.— I. Usually the plan will work, 

 but there is danger that the queen of the 

 weak colony will be killed. It is safer to 

 brush some bees on the ground a little dis- 

 tance in front of the weak colony, so that the 

 older bees will fly back home and the young 

 ones crawl into the hive of the weakling. If 

 only a few are added in this way. the queen 

 will not be endangered. Then the the next 

 day more can be added, and for several days 

 if desired. Each day the danger will be less 

 from larger numbers beingadded. as there is 

 a larger number in the hive to defend the 

 queen. Or. after a few have been added in 

 this way. a frame of advanced brood with 

 adhering bees may be added. 



2. Yes. I've had such queens. There rnay 

 be good and there may be poor wintering 

 among them. 



3. As you may have guessed from the first 

 answer. I don't like the plan. The best plan 

 depends upon circumstances. For some it 

 may be natural swarming, for some the 

 nucleus plan. etc. Study up the whole mat- 

 ter carefully, and then decide which will fit 

 you best. 



Bee-Trap — Swarming — Transferring — 

 Clipping Queens 



1. Do you advise the use of a queen-and- 

 drone trap? 



2. How soon would you put on the trap 

 again after swarming the first time in the 

 spring? 



3. How often would you allow a colony of 

 bees to swarm in one season? 



4. When would you advise transferring 

 bees into new hives from old boxes to get 

 the best results? 



5. When would you advise clipping a 

 queen's wings? ILLINOIS, 



Answers.— I. It is desirable in a case 

 where a swarm is expected to issue with no 

 one on the watch. It merely holds the queen 

 until the bee-keeper can deal with the case. 

 It is also useful in some cases to catch un- 

 desirable drones. But many bee-keepers 

 find no use for one. 



2. Generally there is no need of a trap for 

 the queen at all. after swarming. But if it 

 be needed to catch drones, don't have it on 

 a hive with a virgin queen until perhaps 10 

 days after her birth. 



3. That depends. If honey and no increase 

 is desired, then it's better to have no swarm- 

 ing at all. if you can prevent it. If you care 

 for increase alone, then bees will hardly 

 swarm too much. Generally, where some 

 increase is desired honey is also desired, in 

 which case it is better not to have more than 

 one swarm from each colony. 



4. Wait till the bees swarm, hive the 

 swarm in a good hive, and transfer 21 days 

 later. 



5. Clip any time convenient as soon as 

 bees are gathering, and after that clip each 

 queen as soon as convenient after she has 

 begun to lay. 



Too Early Dividing for Increase 



In P'arm Journal, in the column for bee- 

 keepers, appears the following paragraph: 



"April 15th is a good time to divide colo- 

 nies for increase; and if only a few colonies 

 are split up for increase, one can make in- 

 crease and secure a surplus at the same 

 time." 



Would not a few words of caution in the 

 April American Bee Journal, in your Ques- 

 tion-Box. help to carry some innocent bee- 

 keepers through April and most, if not all. 

 of May. without thus spoiling good colonies? 

 Subscriber. 



Answer.— Something depends upon the 

 interpretation put upon the last clause of 

 the sentence quoted. Some may understand 

 it to mean that in an apiary of say 50 colo- 

 nies. 5 or 10 may be divided .■\pril 15. leaving 

 the remaining 40 or 45 for surplus; and thus 

 there would be an increase of 5. 10. or more, 

 and a good surplus from the 40 or 45 not 

 divided. Likely, however, a larger number 

 will understand it to mean something like 

 this: If you have only a few colonies, and 



want to increase and at the same time get a 

 reasonable crop of honey, you can easily do 

 so by dividing your colonies April isth. for 

 by dividing thus early each part will have 

 plenty of time to build up good and strong 

 for the harvest. 



Again something depends. In the South, 

 in localities where bees swarm naturally 

 April i5th. conditions are different from 

 what they are in the North, where natural 

 swarms do not occur till in June. Most of 

 those who read the Farm Journal likely live 

 in the North, and it requires no argument to 

 show that in the North a colony divided 

 April isth will have a longer time to build 

 up for the harvest than if divided Juneist. 

 That has a very attractive look to the be- 

 ginner, who says to himself. " If I wait to let 

 the bees swarm naturally, that will seldom 

 be as early as the first of June, and the time 

 to build up for the harvest will be very short, 

 for clover will be yielding perhaps by June 

 loth. If I divide April 15th. the time for 

 building up will be so much longer that there 

 will be a great gain. But why not give still 

 longer time to build up. and thus get a rous- 

 ing crop. Glad I thought of it. March 15th 

 forme." 



But if he divides in March, he will find 

 that something more than time is needed. 

 If he divides 5 colonies, expecting to have 10 

 strong for the harvest, he is more likely to 

 find that part of them have died, and none of 

 the rest is very strong. Early in the season 

 a weakling is not likely to build up at all. On 

 the contrary, it remains stationary or be- 

 comes still weaker, showing no increase 

 until the weather becomes warmer, while a 

 colony of considerable strength can keep up 

 heat enough in the hive to increase right 

 along even through some very cold days. 



Another thing is the matter of queens. In 

 the North a queen reared much before about 

 June loth, is not likely to be of the best char- 

 acter, if indeed she does not disappear be- 

 fore she gets to laying. 



It can hardly be said with too much em- 

 phasis, that the average attempt to divide 

 early in the North, with the idea of increas- 

 ing the honey crop, can only end in dismal 

 failure. 



Winter Work in the Apiary 



You may suppose that there is nothing to 

 be done in the apiary during this cold 

 weather. .Sol thought, but passing through 

 my bee-yard this morning I happened to 

 notice that the entrance to one hive was 

 almost closed with dead bees. I at once 

 went to each colony, and with a small switch 

 pulled out the dead bees in much greater 

 numbers than I expected, so early in the 

 winter. , . 



This is a good time to repair empty hives 

 and to paint them nicely, using a little putty 

 to fill cracks and nail-holes. I have my hives 

 all painted in two colors— the brood-cham- 

 bers red. the supers white. This plan, to 

 my eye. gives a more attractive appearance 

 to the apiary. Were I skillful in free-hand 

 drawing. I would paint flowers on each su- 

 per. This certainly would add much to ap- 

 pearances, and when nectar failed in the 

 field, might help to pull the little bees 

 through until another flow ! 



If you are handv with tools, make a few 

 extra hives, and surely some extra supers. 



These are easily made, and w'e ought to 

 have at least 2 supers to each brood-cham- 

 ber. Some bee-men have 3 and 4. and tier 

 up when needed. In the December Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal is an account of two bee- 

 men, one of whom had but one super to each 

 colony, and as soon as this was full, not 

 waiting for capping and ripening, he ex- 

 tracted; it was so easy to throw the honey- 

 out when not capped. This man attempted 

 to ripen the honey himself, but failed, and 

 lost heavily as he could not sell the thin 

 stuff. The other man had extra supers, 

 tiered up. gave the bees time to cap and 

 ripen the honey, and he secured fine honey 

 and sold at a fancy price. 



Make your hives and supers now. and be 

 ready for the great white clover flow which 

 is predicted for iqio.-T. M. Barton, in 

 Farmers' Hojnc louriial. 



Noble Old Banner. 



While I talie two other bee-papers, and have 

 several books treating on bees, I could not do 

 without the American Bee Journal. Noble old 

 Banner, O long may she wave! 



H. E. Galveah. 



Rt. 1, Carsonville, Va. 



