March 5. 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



153 



needed in their old one. And miffht the queen of No. 1 get 

 balled? And niipjht the overabundant nurses with noth- 

 ing' else to do insist on rearing young queens? Mr. S. says 

 No. 2 gives up the idea of swarming. That is r>.asonable. 

 M^ould it be worth while for us to find out whether any pos- 

 sible case of swarm-fever might not be halted by ruthlessly 

 getting away all the young nurses too callow to lly home ? 

 Page 67. 



M.\I.T EXTRACT AS A SOURCK OK SUGAR. 



Ah, but, but ! Malt extract is not taken simply as a 

 source of sugar. It is hoped that that curious presence- 

 action, which is one of the wonders of chemistry, resides in 

 it. Chemicals sometimes do their duty when certain 

 " boss " substances are present, and neglect their duty when 

 the boss is away. If Dr. Hutchinson will go to work and 

 prove that honey is a better digestion-boss than malt ex- 

 tract, that would be something like. At present I believe 

 the dominant word is that honey itself is easy of digestion, 

 but that it interferes with the digestion of other things. 

 Page 67. 



FELT LIKE GETTING RAMBLER BACK. 



And Rambler gone, too ! When I heard it I felt a little 

 bit as Orpheus did when he heard Eurydice was dead — felt 

 like getting him back again. Page 68. 



SWARMING AND AFTER-SWABMING. 



I rather guess that Mr. Darling is right, on page 69. 

 It's concerning the period after the prime swarm has gone, 

 the period when after-swarming, with its vexations and its 

 unreasoning persistence, is on the carpet. Queens in the 

 cells mean another swarm ; but the idea advanced is that a 

 lot of liberated queens running around on the combs rather 

 constitute an influence in the opposite direction. Imagin- 

 ably, I should say, you might get a swarm inside of an hour 

 by liberating a lot of queens ; but if they stay an hour they 

 will swarm no more unless you have missed a cell. 



MUSTACHED CANUCK NEEDN'T STAND ON HIS HEAD. 



And that chap who has no other beard than a mustache 

 which a bumble-bee might select for nesting purposes — the 

 Canadians seem to think that he had best stand on his head 

 when he eats bread and butter and honey. Exception in 

 case the honey is best Canada, when merely inverting the 

 slice would do. Page 70. 



(Questions and Answers. 



CONDUCTED BY 



£>R. O. O. MILLER. Mareago, III. 



[The QnestiouB may be mailed to the Bee Jonraal office, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers bv mail. — Editor.1 



Cleaning Moldy Comfis. 



What can I do with mouldj- comb < Is there any special way to 

 clean comb in which brood and bees have died ! Colokado. 



Answer. — Nothing is needed to be done with either mouldy combs 

 or those in which bee.s have died except to give them in care of the 

 bees. They will clean them up in short order. A good way is to put 

 a hive full of such combe under the hive of a strong colony. Then let 

 the bees take their lime to clean them. 



What Was the Trouble? 



1. One of my colonies of bees came out to-day at 12 o'clock, and 

 settled on the ground near the front of the hive. I looked in the 

 bunch of bees for the queen, but did not see her. I then looked in the 

 hive to see what could be the trouble. Everything seemed to iie all 

 right. I found 'J roaches, and saw a little sign of worms, but unly a 

 small web at one side at the bottom of tbe frame. They had i< or N 

 pounds of honey in the hive. The temperature was about Tu degrees 

 to-day. What could be the matter with them, and what made them 

 come out ; I put them back and they seem to be satisfied this evening. 



2. Is G or 8 pounds of honey enough to keep them until March 1.5. 

 with ordinary weather .' North Carolina. 



Answers.— 1. I don't know what the trouble was, nor wli.v the 

 bees came out. unless it was that they had been confined for some 

 time, and became very much excited when the weather warmed up 

 enough for them to fly. Bees that have been wintered in a cellar 



swarm out in that way sometimes when taken out in the spring. Hut 

 I suppose your bees were wintered outdoors, and it is not likely that 

 they had been coniined very long; so the best answer I can give is to 

 say I don't know. I'll be glad if some one can give the right answer. 

 2. That depends upon how early the bees in your part of North 

 Carolina can gather anything in the spring. From the lime your let- 

 ter Was written till March 15 is 40 days, and during that time inuch 

 honey will be used in rearing brood, so that it is somewhat doubtful 

 whether they will have enough to last unless they have some good 

 source from which they can gather before the 40 days are up. 



Bees Sticking Frames Together. 



I am a beginner in the bee-business, and have the Uanzenbaker 

 hive. The bees slick the frames together so that it is impossible to 

 lift them out without jarring and making the bees ugly. Is there any 

 way to remedy the trouble i New York. 



Answer. — I know of no way of preventing bees from depositing 

 propolis where two surfaces come together as with closed-end frames. 

 Where propolis is troublesome I would rather forego the advantage of 

 closed ends, and use some kind of seU-spaoers with the smallest possi- 

 ble points of contact practicable. 



Bees in a Damp Cellar— Best Bees. 



What difficulties may be expected from keeping bees in a damp 

 cellar ? and how can these difhculties be overcome while the bees are 

 in such a cellar ? 



2. What is the best breed of bees known ! Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. Diarrhea is likely to result it the temperature is 

 not sufficiently high. Bees have been reported as wintering in 

 the best condition in a very wet cellar when the cellar was kept warm 

 enough and well supplied with fresh air. Obviously the thing to do is 

 to raise the temperature sutBcieutly, and to see that there is a suffi- 

 cient change of air. 



2. Opinions differ. Italians are quite general favorites. 



Dividing to Prevent Swarming. 



Being a new subscriber to the American Bee Journal I am not in- 

 formed on methods discussed regarding the dividing of bees to prevent 

 swarming. I am located in the "Alfalfa Belt," and would lil<e to 

 know the most successful way to prevent swarming; and to know if a 

 novice is justified in attempting to do it. Nebrasiva. 



Answer. — There is nothing dlBicult or complicated about the 

 matter of shaken swarms, and you may as well start in on it first as 

 last. So much has been said about the modus operandi that it is not 

 necessary, probably, to give any further instruction about it ; but if 

 there is any point on which you would like to have light, don't be 

 afraid to ask questions, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. 



Feeding Bees in Winter- Best Hives. 



A friend gave me 2 colonies last fall, and informed me the hives 

 were filled with honey and would last until spring. Jan. l.i I opened 

 one of the hives, on a fine day, and found the queen and MOO bees 

 dead, and no honey in the comb. I then wentito work (never did 

 such a thing before), took 2 pounds of granulated sugar and made 

 candy and shoved it down between the frames of the other.hive. Yes- 

 terday (Feb. 10) being a fine day, I opened the hive again and found all 

 the candy gone, and repeated the operation as before. 



1. I want to know whether there is a better plan. 



2. What is the best hive to have? A friend of mine has a hive 

 with a glass door in the back, and holes in the top for small boxes of 

 comb honey. New Jersey. 



Answers. — 1. Hardly, unless it would be to lay a cake of candy 

 on top of the frames and then cover up warm. 



2. Glass in a hive adds to it, but in a way of expense rather than 

 of value. There are differences of opinions as to what is the best hive. 

 For my own use I prefer the Dovetailed with .Miller frames, but have 

 no quarrel with those who prefer something else. 



Management for Increase. 



I have several oolouies of bees with the supers on the hive now. 

 Can I take them at swarming-time, as they are the same size of the 

 brood-chamber, move the old hive away wilh the old queen, and leave 

 the young colony in the place of the old one, and be all right ? Is that 

 a good way to increase my bees ; Te.xas. 



Answer. — If I understand you correctly, your idea is to take 

 away the lower story and put it in a new place, taking the queen with 

 it, leaving on the old stand the upper story, trusting to the bees to 

 rear a new queen in the story that is left on the old stand. The plan 

 may be successful to a certain extent, providing there is brood left on 

 the old stand, among it being eggs or very j'oung brood. But it will 

 be very much better to leave the old queen on the old stand, with the 

 story that has least brood in, for the whole field-force will be left at 

 the old stand. It will also be a good plan to give a c|ueen or a sealed 



