October. 1915. 



351 



Amarican l^ee Joarnal 



laws of heredity have yielded new prin- 

 ciples and methods in the selection of 

 breeding stock and of breeding, so that 

 at present methods founded on scien- 

 tific bases can be employed to obtain, 

 by means of selection, the desired 

 qualities. 



In conclusion, the following are 

 some statistics concerning bees and 

 honey. On Dec. 1, 1912, the total num- 

 ber of bee-hives in the German Em- 

 pire was 2,019,891, the highest on rec- 

 ord. East Prussia, Wurttemberg and 

 Baden have had the greatest increases. 

 The importation of wax amounted to 

 2952 tons, worth 409,500 pounds, the 

 exports to 1430 tons, worth 210,500 

 pounds. Duty was paid in 1912 on 

 129,3(50 pounds of honey. 



German beekeepers attempted in 

 1913 to unite all their associations into 

 one in order to defend their interests 

 vigorously, but they have not yet suc- 

 ceeded in the proposed unification. 



[America has some cause to be proud 



of this late progress in German bee- 

 keeping. The hive described has 

 trames just a little smaller than those 

 of the Dadant-Blatt hive adopted in 

 Switzerland some 25 years ago. It is 

 evidently a copy of that hive. The 

 contents of the brood-chamber are a 

 trifle less than those of the 10-frame 

 Langstroth hive. The top-opening sys- 

 tem is thoroughly American, and in 

 strong contrast with the Berlepsch 

 side-opening system. The next thing 

 needed now is for them to do away 

 with their hybridized native bees by 

 rearing enough of the better races to 

 entirely change the strains, as has been 

 done in many States of America. We 

 have much to learn in science from 

 Europeans, but our people can lead 

 them easily in actual practice.— Editor.] 



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



Dr. C. C. Miller. Marengo. III. 



He does not answer bee-keepine questions by mail. 



Sllngless and Other Races or Bees— 12-Frame 

 Hives 



I What is the stinjless bee. and is it 

 as good tor honey gatherinK as the bees that 

 sting? 



2. Are all breeds of bees of the same size ? 

 If not. wtiich are the largest breeds ? What 

 is the main color of the so-called gray Cau- 

 casians ? Are they gray or black, and are 

 they as good workers as the Italians ? 



3. What is the difference in 3 band, s band, 

 leather colored and golden Italian queens. 

 and will the young bees that come from 

 these queens be of the same color as the 

 queen herself ? 



4. Would a 12 frame hive be all right to use 

 up here in nortnern United States ? Would 

 the bees swarm as much as they do in 8- 

 frame hives, or would it prevent swarming? 



Wisconsin. 



.Answers. —1- .Stingless bees are of no 

 interest to practical beekeepers, can't live 

 in the North, and are of little value in the 

 tropics. 



2. Honey bees are practically the same in 

 size. Caucasians look so much like common 

 black bees thai you couldn't tell them apart 

 by their looks. Opinions differ as to their 

 gentleness and storing qualities. While 

 some prefer Caucasians, the majority pre- 

 fer Italians. 



3. When talking about these kinds of bees, 

 the workers and not the queens are consid- 

 ered. A queen that produces 3 banded bees 

 may be quite dark, but a queen that pro- 

 duces 5-banders or goldens. is generally 

 quite yellow, although queens are not by 

 any means always like their workers in 

 color. 



4. Some use 12 frame hives with great sat- 

 isfaction. Although they will not prevent 

 swarming entirely, there will be much less 

 swarming than with S-frame hives, and with 

 them you should get as much honey. 



Spreading American Fouibrood— Other Questions 



[. .\fter shaking one or more colonies of 

 bees that had American fouibrood. should 

 the smoker and all tools used be disinfected? 

 If so. how ? I put the smoker, gloves, veil. 



etc.. in a jar and poured on them lots of 

 gasoline, then I covered all with many sacks, 

 weighted them down, and left them this 

 way for one week. Do you think this will 

 be sufficient ? The gasoline was still strong 

 and would burn vigorously after one week. 



2. One of my affected colonies I moved to 

 my home about eight blocks and screened 

 the entrance, the big side was up. I thought 

 they might, in flying ou>. go back to their old 

 stand, and others might get in some of my 

 other colonies. I put them in a shady place. 

 I brought them home it 10 o'clock a.m. and 

 at 5 p.m. they were all smothered, having 

 clogged up the entrance. Where did I make 

 my mistake? They were shaken on full 

 sheets of foundation and the foundation 

 now has small specks of honey all over it. Is 

 it safe to use this foundation and frames 

 for another colony ? 



3. The bee inspector was here not long 

 ago and found most of the bees affected with 

 American fouibrood Now. isn't there much 

 danger of him spreading this disease by the 

 tools he uses, and also with his hands? He 

 did not disinfect his tools in a half day's 

 work. 



4. I have hybrid bees, and they are very 

 cross. I am going to buy queens, and thought 

 I would get Caucasians. I run for extracted 

 honey. Do you think I would have much 

 trouble with them swarming? 



S Is there much difference in the Italians. 

 3 banded, golden or leather colored? If so. 

 which do you prefer ? 



6. Do you think it safe to use frames (that 

 had American foulbroodi that were boiled 

 for 20 minutes in water with lots of lye in it ? 



7. The thin super cover you use under 

 your zinc-covered hive cover, does it break 

 easy when being pried off ? I thought it be- 

 ing so thin when the propolis gets thick it 

 might not last long. 



8. How are extra queens kept during the 

 winter months ? Iowa. 



Answers.-i. I don't believe gasoline kills 

 the spores, and so I doubt its being an ef- 

 fective disinfectant. A solution of carbolic 

 acid is used by some. Even carbolic acid 

 does not destroy thespores. and I am a little 

 bit doubtful of the need of anything more 

 than soap and water, only so that any re- 

 mains of the disease may be removed. 



2 Evidently it was a mistake to confine 

 the bees so closely after the excitement 

 ihey had been through. A screen over the 



top would have been all right. The founda- 

 tion can be used if all the honey on it be 

 thoroughly washed off. 



3. 1 have much faith in the intelligence 

 and carefulness of Iowa inspectors, and 

 have little doubt that all proper precautions 

 were taken. A tool might be used all day 

 without getting any of the diseased matter 

 upon it. in which case no disinfection would 

 be needed. 



4. I don't know. Some Caucasians are re- 

 ported exceedingly gentle, and some cross, 

 and I suppose there is a difference in their 

 swarming. 



5. The 3-banded. leather-colored are gen- 

 erally preferred. 



6. Probably there would not be much dan- 

 ger, if any. 



7. I use nothing but the regular hive cover 

 over supers, so have no experience. 



8. In nuclei, if at all. 



Packing for Outdoor Wintering 



I winter my bees on summer stands; all 

 my hives are 10 frame, and about one-half 

 double walled. I am thinking of making 

 cases covered with a good quality of roofing 

 to slip down over two or more hives, and 

 then pack the space between hives and 

 case box with straw. We bale our straw, 

 and as a consequence can get solid straw 

 "cakes" to slip between, then put lid on 

 that will slip down over the topa few inches 

 (3 or 4;. The cases will belike a hog crate 

 without any bottom, and covered with roof- 

 ing. I can have two thicknesses, one on the 

 outside and one inside of the crate, if 

 thought best. They will be light, and can be 

 slipped on over at the beginning of winter 

 and then the cover put on. Do you see any 

 objections to this protection ? Should mois- 

 ture be absorbed by the straw the lids could 

 be taken off days that would dry it. as they 

 will be light to handle. Ohio. 



Answer.— I would give more for one win- 

 ter's actual trial than for the guesses of all 

 the experts in the world. And that one win- 

 ter might be different from succeeding win- 

 ters. There is some danger that too much 

 protection may be given, so that when a 

 warm day comes the sun may make too slow 

 work in warming up the hive so the bees 

 shall fly. 



It is generally considered that the most 

 important part to protect well is the top. 

 and the least protection, if any. on the 

 south side. There surely should be advan- 

 tage in having more than one hive in the 

 same covering. On the whole. I should ex- 

 pect your plan to be successful. 



Queens and Swarms— Put Up Plan 



I. 1 want to tell you of a colony of bees 

 I have which swarmed on May )o. JuneS". 

 and July 3". Each time they were treated 

 by the put-up plan I want to ask what to 

 do with this queen? She has s.varmedout 

 three times so far. and has made twice as 

 much surplus in sections than any other 

 colony I have. She is a nice large queen, 

 very prolific, but I don't like this thing of 

 swarming. Would you breed from such a 

 queen ' I like her because she has such nice 

 workers, busy all the time, and, as I said, 

 made me more surplus by far than any other 

 colony. ,, , , . J 



2 I want to tell you how I get my good 

 queens when a colony swarms out I treat 

 them as I said before by the put-up plan, but 

 I take three frames of young brood from 

 three; different hives which are about equal 

 in stores. I then put these frames of brood 

 in an empty hive and then shake very nearly 

 all the bees into this new hive, set the su- 

 pers on top, then the parent colony on top 

 of all, as you advise in " Fifty Years Among 

 the Bees " In ten days I take ihese three 

 frames and make three nuclei, one in each 

 compartment. I cut out all cells but one on 

 each frame, and if either is lacking of a nice 

 cell one is cut out and fastened on it with a 

 staple, then a nice frame of brood is added 

 to each and a frame of honey. I think this 

 way of rearing queens is the best, as the 

 cells are built by a colony which under- 



