102 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U r. T U R E 



Fkbriarv, 1919 



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QUESTIONS. — 

 ( 1 ) W li n t 

 has become 

 of the famous 

 Alexander plan for 

 a plurality of 

 queens in one hive? 

 Was Mr. A 1 e x - 

 ander the only one 

 who ever made a 

 success of it, and 

 is it entirely aban- 

 doned? (2)Ten queens in 10 hives each with one 

 or two pounds of bees will develop very slowly, ow- 

 ing to a lack of bees to take care of the brood. These 

 same 10 queens in one colony of 10 to 20 pounds 

 of bees will each have plenty of bees and heat enough 

 to cause them to commeince laying eggs at 100 per 

 cent rate. Such a colony after three weeks ought to 

 produce frame.s of hatching brood every two days, thus 

 giving one full-colony increase every other day. In 

 other words, one strong colony on May 1, provided 

 with 10 good queens, ought to produce 15 good colo- 

 nies in each of the months of June, July, and Aug- 

 ust, and each of these colonies would have enough 

 time to gi-ow into excellent colonies for wintering, 

 the cost of these 45 colonies being only thei price 

 of 10 queens in May and some feed. Will this theory 

 come true? (3) If several queens in the samei hive 

 (without excluders) are tolerated only during the 

 honey flow, will they be tolerated if the colony is fed 

 daily with a thin sugar syrup? Emil Wyldert. 



New Jersey. 



Answers. — (1 and 2) By a little calcula- 

 tion it will readily be seen that theoretically 

 15 good colonies could be built up in 30 

 days, as you suggest, using only 10 queens 

 and a large quantity of feed. However, in 

 actual practice we find queens and bees re- 

 fuse to behave with mathematical exact- 

 ness. Moreover, a plurality of queens in 

 one hive is not successful. At the time 

 Alexander brought this plan before the bee- 

 keepers, many tried it, but the method was 

 dropped in a very short time. At the pres- 

 ent date, we believe the only way it is be- 

 ing tried is simply to use two queens in 

 the same hive during the summer, usually 

 having two queen-excluders intervening be- 

 tween the chambers containing the different 

 queens, it generally being found, if only 

 one excluder intervenes, that sooner or 

 later one of the queens will disappear. (3) 

 We see no reason why this might not be 

 done immediately following the honey flow, 

 and yet we have never tried the plan; in 

 fact, except in cases of supersedure,' we 

 have never been successful in having more 

 than one queen in the same compartment. 



Question. — An old box-hive beekeeper told me to 

 wash the inside of the hive with salt and water, and 

 the bees would not swarm out, but stay every time. 

 Do you know if this is true ? Ernest Peterson. 



Illinois. 



Answer. — No. We wish it were. 



Questions. — (1) How many colonies would it be 

 best to keeip for about 50 acres of alsike clover, pro- 

 vided there is a good stand of clover, nO' other honey 

 plants in the vicinitv, and the weather and moisture 

 are suitable? (2) Why is alsike cut for seed the first 

 caitting? Isn't there as much seed in the second 

 cutting? (3) Is alsike clover the best yielder of all 

 the clovers ? If not the best, what is better ? 



Illinois. Walter R. Suhre. 



Answers. — (1) In a good locality, during 



GLEANED by ASKING 



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lona Fowls 



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a goo d season, 

 50 acres of al- 

 s i k e clover 

 would probably 

 supply consider- 

 able surplus for 

 2 colonies o f 

 bees- This would, 

 of course, vary 

 from year to 

 year, and it is therefore difficult to give a 

 definite answer. (2) Eed clover is fertiliz- 

 ed to a great extent by bumblebees since the 

 corolla tubes are so long that honeybees are 

 generally unable to reach the nectar. Since 

 only the queen bumblebee lives over, there 

 is no chance for fertilization of the first 

 cutting. Alsike, being fertilized by bees, 

 bears seed for the first cutting and accord- 

 ingly is probably exhausted by the second 

 growth so that it does not mature properly. 

 (3) Altho white sweet clover and alfalfa 

 are very good yielders, we know of none 

 more reliable than alsike. 



Question.. — Will it be safe to feed bees with comb 

 honey which has been treated with carbon bisulphide 

 to kill moth larvae and eggs, after such combs have 

 been aired 10 days or two weeks? 



Nebraska. C. W. Farrington. 



Answer. — The combs of honey will be per- 

 fectly all right to feed the bees; in fact, 

 the honey may be ea'ten by human beings 

 without any danger of poisoning. 



Question. — A beekeeper in Minnesota told me that 

 if a hot uncapping knife is used, the ends of the cells 

 are so singed or melted that bees do not like to 

 lengthen or build them up again. Is there anything 

 to this ? J. W. Beckley. 



Oregon. 



Answer. — No, not in our experience. 



Question. — Will you please tell me what preserva- 

 tive! to put in honey to prevent it from fermenting? 



Brilish Honduras. Donald A. Spratt. 



Answer. — In order to prevent honey from 

 fermenting it should be left on the hive 

 until it is thoro!y ripened. As the bees 

 ripen the honey it becomes thicker and 

 thicker, and is thus less liable to fermen- 

 tation. Honey should be kept in a warm 

 dry place. The best temperature is 70 to 

 90 degrees Fahr. No preservative should 

 be put in honey in order to keep it. Even if 

 such a chemical could be found which 

 would not injure the flavor of the honey, 

 the beekeeper would still be prevented from 

 its use by the pure food law. Well-ripened 

 honey in a place such as we have indicated 

 ought to keep for years. 



Question. — I had 1 een planning a winter case that 

 would hold four hives, giving one entrance on each 

 side, when I found in Gleanings, page 598. almost 

 the identical thing I had been planning. The va- 

 cant space at the center T da not likej but see no 

 way to prevent it and still have one eintrance on 

 each side. Mr. Foster gives the mea.surement as 

 48 inches by 49 V^ . It seems to me this would 

 cause a great waste of lumler, but by cutting all 

 pieces 48 inches and nailing up one end in, and 

 the other out, as you would in putting in inside 

 forms for concrete work, you would have a box 

 47 V4 inclu's scjuare, provided yor.r lumber was 



