December, 1019 



G I. E A N 1 N G S IN B E p: C U E T U K E 



801 



i:iiii]i;iy('. (3) Til case there was but little 

 biootl ill hive "e" you could probably have 

 hurried matters uji eonsiderably by placing 

 hives "a'' and ''e" both on a platform, 

 leaving them so arranged that the bees 

 could enter "e" only thru "a." If this 

 could have been done the bees of "a" would 

 soon have robbed out "e. " 



Question. — Is it common for queens to lay more; 

 than one cs:g in a cell? S. H. Hailey. 



Tennessee. 



Answer. — Queens often lay several eggs 

 in a cell when they become old and practi- 

 cally worthless, but even a good queen may 

 lay more than one egg in a cell when she 

 first begins laying. If she continues doing 

 this, however, she should be discarded and 

 a better queen introduced. 



Question. — Is there any satisfactory dip that can 

 be used for bottom-boards? If a dip that is pene- 

 trating is used, it would eliminate the painting of 

 the joints before nailing. I think this joint-painting 

 pays. Geo. Harrison, Jr. 



Maryland. 



Answer. — In our own experience we have 

 never found it necessary to paint the joints 

 in the bottom-board. In fact, we have found 

 that it hardly pays to paint them at all since 

 they are not exposed to the weather, and we 

 cannot see that those painted last any longer 

 than those unpainted. 



Question. — Do you know of any blind men who 

 are in the bee business ? If so kindly send any 

 information you have in regard to them. I am try- 

 ing this business for an experiment. 



Alabama. Wm. C. Smith. 



Answer. — You doubtless know that Fran- 

 cis Huber, the Swiss naturalist, who lived 

 1750-18.S1, made many valuable observations 

 concerning bees. He lost his sight complete- 

 ly when a young man. With the help of his 

 servant, however, he made many valuable 

 observations and experiments wath the bees. 

 It has been said that Huber was probably 

 a better apiarist because of his blindness. 

 We are unable to give you the address of 

 any blind beekeepers, but possibly some of 

 our readers may be able to do so. 



Question. — I introduced a young Italian queen 

 into a nucleus. The Ijees accepted her and she 

 started to lay. In about three weeks the bees 

 started queen-cells. I found the queen on a frame 

 of brood, but she was very feeble and instead of 

 being yellow she wa.s almost white. What was the 

 matter with her ? Ervin Hogarth. 



,• Ontario. 



Answer. — We frankly confess that we do 

 not understand what could possibly be the 

 trouble with your queen. In fact, we have 

 never heard of a similar instance. We won- 

 der if it is not possible that the old queen 

 that you introduced was killed, or died, and 

 the one you saw later had just hatched. 

 Queens just hatched are sometimes very 

 light. 



Questions. — (1) How long will honey keep or 

 preserve foods and fruits of different kinds? (2) 

 Do you have to be overly careful to make air-tight? 



New Jersey. Dr. H. T. Mason. 



Answers. — (1) Honey when used in cakes 

 and cookies keejis them moist for some time. 



In fact, we have known cookies kept over 

 a year to be even better in flavor than when 

 (irst made. The exact length of time they 

 might be kept l)efore becoming stale would 

 (h^])end upon the other ingredients, especial- 

 ly the kind of shortening and the amount of 

 eggs used. (li) Any canned fruit having 

 honey as an ingredient should be sealed just 

 as tightly as tho the honey were not present. 



Question. — I have been requested to ask you of 

 the use of honey in sugar diabetes cases. Please e.\- 

 plain why lioney may be used instead of sugar. 



California. A. S. Leins. 



Answer. — Years ago, cases of diabetes 

 were very rare; but, as the consumption of 

 sugar continued to increase, this disease in- 

 creased accordingly, until it has come to be 

 the belief of many that an excessive use of 

 sugar is a direct cause of the trouble. If 

 people could be induced to use honey instead 

 of sugar, the disease would doubtless dimin- 

 ish. However, after one already has dia- 

 betes, honey could not of course cure the 

 disease. We know that many doctors rec- 

 ommend the use of honey instead of sugar 

 in such cases. Honey is a predigested food 

 and, therefore, does not overtax the diges- 

 tive organs as does the sugar. 



Question. — I note in the ABC and X Y Z of 

 Bee Culture that it says a nuclcius should be strong 

 in bees when one puts the queen-cell in. Will you 

 please advise me why they should be strong in bees? 

 and will a strong one raise any better queen than 

 a weak one ? It seems to me that all the feed has 

 been given the queen before the cell was capped, 

 and just so there were enough bees to keep the cell 

 warm enough to hatch that it would be all right. 



Virginia. W. W. Likens. 



Answer. — The nucleus may be small if 

 there are enough bees to keep the queen- 

 cells warm, and if the nucleus is not so 

 small that it swarms. 



.ANSWER BV E. K. ROOT. 



Question. — I am having a somewhat strange and 

 unusual experience with some of my extracted hon- 

 ey this year. The honey of a particular season upon 

 being extracted is more fluid than that of other sea- 

 sons. When granulating it works itself out of the 

 jars. These are not filled to the brim. When taken 

 out of the hot wafer, after restoring to liquid form, 

 it begins to foam if it is disturbed, but it becomes 

 normal if left alone. For this reason, I have been 

 having a little trouble with my cu.stoiners. I would 

 greatly appreciate your advice, Mr. Root, as to what 

 the cause may be and what can be done about it. 

 Michigan. John P. M'^enzel. 



Answer. — It is apparent that the honey 

 you secured this year was not thoroly ripen- 

 ed. The fact that it is "more fluid," and 

 that it "works itself out of the jar" when 

 granulating are both pretty good evidence 

 that the honey in question was not thoroly 

 ripened. The" further fact, that it is inclin- 

 ed to foam after you liquefy it, is another 

 evidence. If you heat it thoroly, not over 

 1-10 F., and then let it stand in open cans in 

 a warm room it will thicken. In some parts 

 of California honey behaved itself in that 

 way last summer. The only thing to do in 

 such cases is to heat the honey and then let 

 it stand in open cans or open vats. 



