Fioi-.RUAuv. 191 n 



G I- K A N I N G S IN BEE C U li T U R E 



% im-h. Tin's would give 5\^ inches of packing 

 on Jill side's. A. W. Lindsay. 



Michigan. 



Answer. — Apparently you have misunder- 

 stood tlie description of Wesley Foster's 

 ease. We believe he uses all 48-inch lum- 

 ber % inch in thickness. The dimensions 

 of 49Vi.' by 4S are the outside dimensions, 

 and the reason that the two sides are 1^2 

 inches longer than the ends, is because the 

 end-pieces are nailed on to the ends of the 

 side-pieces- The thickness of the %-inch 

 lumber at each end of the side boards, would 

 therefore make the sides 1% inches longer 

 than the ends. If the corners were lapped 

 serial!}', as we understand you to suggest, 

 the outside dimensions of the case would 

 be 48%x48%. if this same %-inch lumber 

 were used. However, if %-inch lumber 

 were used and half the boards cut 1% 

 inches shorter than the other, it would be 

 possible to have a perfectly square case if 

 the corners were lapped as in Wesley Fos- 

 ter 's case. There would, therefore, be no 

 material difference in the price of these 

 three cases, and the manner of matching 

 the corners woukl simply be a question of 

 personal preference. 



Question. — What do you think of the following 

 plan of winlerin;?, which I am now trying out? 

 Take ordinary 10-frame Langstroth hives, fasten 

 the bottom-board and roof securely, close the sum- 

 mer entrance, and turn the hive on end, the bot- 

 tom being to the front, then bore a 1-inch hole at 

 the bottom of the bottom-board for a winter en- 

 trance. Secure the hives with props, so that they 

 cannot blow over, and then leave without any 

 other protection. Washington D. Keyes. 



Penns.\ Ivania. 



Answer. — This plan has been suggested 

 by several other beekeepers, who intend try- 

 ing this method of wintering with double- 

 walled hives. The part of the hive that is 

 the top during the summer would need 

 some extra packing, and in some cases the 

 bottom also would need more protection. 

 This could, perhaps, be arranged by means 

 of a large telescope cover, but it is possi- 

 ble that the cost of such a cover might 

 make the regular Demuth style of winter- 

 ing preferable. We shall be glad to receive 

 a report from you next spring. 



Question. — How can I fasten foundation into ex- 

 tracting frames? Martin Seipp. 

 Minnesota. 



Answer. — To fasten foundation into ex- 

 tracting frames, the frame should be held 

 with the bottom-bar up, and leaning out a lit- 

 tle way from the operator. The triangular 

 piece may be removed from the top-bar and 

 the sheet of foundation then laid against 

 the shoulder in the bar and resting against 

 the wire. The piece of wood removed is 

 then laid against the edge of the foundation 

 where it con-,cs in contact with the top-bar, 

 and is nailed in place with two or three 

 small nails. After this the frame should be 

 placed over a block just the right size to 

 fit into the frame, the foundation being 

 next the block and the wires on top. The 

 wires may then be imbedded with a spur 

 wire imbedder, using only just enough pres- 



sure to imbed the wire in the foundation, 

 without cutting thru the foundation. If the 

 wires ( ut the foundation at any place, the 

 bees will j)robably remove a part of the 

 foundation there and replace with drone 

 comb. 



Question. — Do you consider the %-inch space 

 under the brood-frames too much? I find them 

 buildiny; burr-combs from the bottom-bars to the 

 hive lottom. A. W. Lindsay. 



Michigan. 



Answer. — We do not think %-inch space 

 any too much under the brood-frame, and 

 as far as their building burr-combs from 

 the bottom-bars to the hive bottom is con- 

 cerned, this would not trouble us. Of 

 course, if such burr-combs became so high 

 that there was danger of crushing bees 

 when returning the combs to the hives, it 

 would be necessary in those rare cases to 

 scrape the bottom-board. However, we do 

 not think you will have any trouble from 

 this cause. 



Question. — Please tell the surest and quickest 

 way to requcen a colony of bees having laying 

 workers. E. D. Howell. 



New York. 



Answer. — In the September issue of 

 Gleanings, under the department ' ' Gleaned 

 by Asking," you will find a method given 

 for introducing a queen to a laying-worker 

 colony. In addition to this we might say 

 that some good beekeepers simply exchange 

 places of the laying-worker colony and some 

 other good strong colony, and then requeen 

 in the usual way. 



Question. — We are just beginning in beekeeping, 

 but plan to branch out until we reach a full 50-hive 

 apiary. We are in a very fine country for bee pas- 

 ture. It could hardly be better. Would you advise 

 us to go in for e.xtracted honey or for comb honey ? 



Montana. W. A. Petzoldt. 



Answer. — Your locality is more suitable 

 for extracted honey than for comb on ac- 

 count of the cool nights. During the night 

 the bees build a great deal of their comb; 

 and unless the supers are quite warm the 

 bees will not go into them to carry on this 

 work. 



ANSWER BY MEL PRITCHARD. 



Question. — I am a beginner, and it is my ob.iect 

 to locate near Fort Myers, Pla., and build up an 

 apiary. I understand tlmt is a good location, but 

 would like your opinion con( erning it. 



Oregon. A. P. Applegate. 



Answer. — Three years ago I spent several 

 days wuth the beekeepers at Ft. Myers, and 

 . was not very favorably impressed with that 

 region as a location for honey production. 

 I found most of the beekeepers were rather 

 discouraged. The cattlemen burn over a 

 great deal of the land during the winter 

 in order to improve the spring pasture, and 

 this destroys the bloom of the saw palmetto, 

 which is one of the main honey plants of 

 that locality. If you are able to locate 

 where there is plenty of tupelo, you can be 

 reasonably sure of a honey flow from it. 

 This, together with orange and bloom that 

 is general over the State, would enable you 

 to get a good honey crop. 



