March 12, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



169 



1. When you ^'et a si-foiui uolony you can try it and see. I doubt 

 it you will tind any Uillerunce. 



S. As I looli out of my window just now, I see the ground covfred 

 with snow. It I were to say that all points in Illinois were eovcred 

 with snow, you would be likely to tell me that I must not conclude 

 that, just because there is snow as far as I can see. Just so as to all 

 the essential points of bee-keeping. The works you mention arc ex- 

 cellent as far as they go, but as you journey farther in the realm of 

 bee-keeping you will lind many points not covered by them, soini; of 

 these points being essential to the best success in bee-keeping. I 

 think I will be doing you a favor to advise you before your apiary at- 

 tains very large proportions to secure one or more of the excellent 

 text-books that cover the ground more fully. 



0. Between you and me, " Cieorge," that doesn't sound as if that 

 cyclopedia knew much about honey. Comb changes it color with 

 time, if left in the hive, but when the honey Is kept in good condition, 

 either in or out of the hive, it remains of the same' color. There is 

 honey that is " of a yellowish and even reddish tint," but it has that 

 tint when tirst gathered by the bees. 



One who at 16 writes so neat a letter is likely to make a successful 

 bee-keeper, for neatness is one of the most important things in bee- 

 keeping. 



Ca.s;lng a Virgin Queen— Bees Died In Hive. 



1. How can a virgin queen be caged and held before being mated i 



2. I have IS colonies, packed and well protected oui-of-doois, but 

 I just left the supers on the same as in summer. Now I notice ."> colo- 

 nies are dead; they had enough honey to have lasted them until 

 spring. They are in clusters between the frames and combs, just the 

 same as though they had frozen to death. I began to rake the dead 

 ones out with a stick, but the odor was so bad I could hardly work 

 with them. Is it possible it is dysentery * 1 am sure I do not under- 

 stand it, although it have worked with bees for 1.5 years. 



Illinois. 



AsswEKS.— 1. Perhaps from one to three weeks. But it is better 

 to have the time just as short as possible. Caging doesn't do a virgin 

 queen any good. 



2. Yes, it is very possible dysentery or diarrhea is present, although 

 it is barely possible that the honey is up in the super where the bees 

 couldn't reach it, and so they starved to death. But in that case it 

 hardly seems the odor should be so Jaad. 



Taking a Colony Out of a Tree-Foul Brood. 



1. 1 have found a colony of bees in a tree, about l.'j feet high. 

 What is the best way to get them out of the tree without hurting the 

 bees f 



3. Can I take the bees out of the tree in February ? If not, when 

 is the best time ? 



3. How can I tell when a colony of bees has foul brood ? 



Minnesota. 



Answers. — 1. When it is warm enough for bees to fly you can fell 

 the tree and then split it open, providing the fall does not split it. 

 Better still, if you are willing to take the trouble, and conditions are 

 favorable, cut off the tree just below where the bees are and let it 

 down with a rope. Perhaps you can first cut off the tree above where 

 you think the bees are, making it easier to let down. 



2. It you fell the tree, belter wait till it is warjn enough for the 

 bees to tly. If you cut or saw it off, letting it down carefully, you can 

 do that in February; and if cut above and below the bees you may be 

 able to haul the section of the tree with the bees to your home, setting 

 it up as a hive to await warmer weather before getting the bees out. 



3. You can tell by examining the brood to see whether you find 

 present the symptoms described in your text-book. 



Getting Bees from a Roof— Hoffman Frames— Increas- 

 ing Fast— 10-Frame Hive. 



1. I have a colony of bees in the roof of a house. How can I hive 

 them in a frame hive without taking up the roof ! 



2. What time would be the best to transfer them ? 



3. How would you winter bees on the summer stands ? 



4. Are the self-spacing Hoffman brood-frames the best ? 

 b. What is the best way to increase bees fast ? 



6. How would the 10-frame dovetail hive be for comb honey ; 



Illinois. 



Answers — 1. That depends altogether upon the circumstances. 

 It is possible that there is no feasible way without taking up the roof. 

 It is possible that you can get at them from inside without the least 

 difliculty. If so, give them enough smoke so you can cut out the 

 combs, then fasten these in frames, get the bees on them, making .-^ure 

 that you have the queen, then, when .you've got all the bees, close the 

 hole or holes through which they have been entering, so that not a 

 single bee can enter. 



2. Probably it would be well to do so as soon as the weather is 

 warm enough for them to tly nearly every day. 



3. Study up carefully all that is said on the subject in your text- 

 book, and then adopt the measures that seem best suited to your con- 

 ditions. It anything in the text-book is not entirely clear, ask nil the 

 questions you like in this department. As you are only a little tiorth 

 of latitude 41 degrees in Illinois, it is possible that bees would winter 

 with very little protection of auy kind, only so that there be some- 

 thing to prevent the wind froui blowing directly into the entrance. 



4. If bee-glue is not troublesome where you are you will find them 

 excellent. If glue is plenty, thi-y are bad. 



2. There area great many dillerent ways of artificial increase, and 

 what is best for one is not always best for another. It vou are experi- 

 enced sufliciently you will find the nucleus plan good. It would be 

 out of place to give a full treatise on artlflcial increase in this depart- 

 ment, and you will do well to study up the principles in your text- 

 book. Vou will fiud the subject tjuite fully treated in the book 

 •' Forty Years Among the Bees." 



G. For many it is excellent. Some like a still larger hive, but in 

 that case they use for part of the year two stories of Sframe hives. 



Question on Queen-Rearing. 



On page 700 (li)U2), Mr. Bartz has an article on queen-rearing. 

 What is his object in using an excluder under the whole hive instead 

 of an entrance-guard or queen-trapi Missouri. 



Answer. — I don't know what his object is, but tlie plan is good. 

 It may be that he does it because the bees will have greater freedom 

 than merely to have the entrance closed with excluder-zinc. Of 

 course, the mere closing of the entrance with the zinc would prevent 

 the issuing of the queen just as well, but it would give a better chance 

 tor air to have the excluder the full size of the hive and the entrance 

 under it, especially it there is a deep bottom-board; and it would 

 allow still better ventilation to have both hive and excluder raised an 

 inch or so by a block under each of the four corners. 



While you ought to secure excellent queens by the plan pro- 

 posed, you must not be disappointed if in some cases the bees be- 

 come dissatisfied with the queen for the continued failure to swarm, 

 thus causing the loss of the queen. Neither should you expect to 

 have queens as prolific as those mentioned by Mr. Bartz. Indeed, I 

 think there must be some mistake it he means that each of his queens 

 keeps 40 or .50 Langstroth frames filled with brood. 



Pollen in Sections of Comb Honey. 



1. What is the very best plan for a comb-honey producer to prac- 

 tice in Older to keep pollen out of the sections' 



2. Is it caused by hiving swarms on starters only ? If so, what 

 can we do to prevent iti I had quite a lot of very nice sections ruined 

 with it the past season. Wisconsin. 



Answers. — 1. I don't have very shallow brood-frames. Any- 

 thing that tends to have the queen lay in the sections encourages pol- 

 len there, so queen-excluders are good to keep pollen out. But you 

 don't need queen-excluders. I don't use them, and perhaps not one 

 section in a thousand has pollen in it. Have thick top-bars, and fill 

 the sections/"// ot foundation. The thick top-bars make the queen 

 less likely to go up. If you have only small starters in sections, the 

 bees will build the drone-comb in them, and then the queen will go up 

 to lay in the drone-comb, and pollen will follow. 



2. Y'es, if you hive a swarm on small starters and give it the 

 supers with sections well>inder way, the queen will be quite likely to 

 go up in the supers. And she is likely to do the same thing if your 

 brood-frames are filled with foundation. Either use a queen-excluder, 

 or else don't give the supers till the bees have made a start in the 

 brood-chamber and the queen has begun to lay there. 



Weight of a Colony Honey Candyin? in Dtifinished 

 Sections— Taking Bees from Cellar. 



1. How much is the dovetailed hive — honey, comb, bees, etc. — 

 supposed to weigh just before putting them into the cellar ? 



2.. Is there any danger of the honey candying in unfinished sec- 

 tions before time for use next spring i 



3. Is there any danger of the moth-millers getting in them? I 

 have them in the supers all ready for use, stacked up in the honey- 

 house. If so, what shall I do to prevent it; 



4. When is the proper time to take bees out of the cellar here in 

 Wisconsin i f 



5. How far apart is it best to have bees on the summer stands ! 

 and how far up from the ground! 



6. What do you think of this locality (Polk Co. I for keeping 

 bees* Wisconsin. 



Answers. — 1. I want my 8-frame hives to weigh at least 50 

 pounds. Ten-frame hives ought to weigh 10 pounds more. 



2. Y'es, you may safely count that every one will candy. 



3. There is no danger of their making a start at this time of year, 

 and it they are where they will freeze, that will kill not only the 

 moths and the larva', but the eggs as well. 



4. About the time red or soft maples are in bloom is a favorite 

 time, providing the weather seems warm enough at that time. 



5. Raise them 3 inches or more above the ground, and set them IV 

 feet apart from center to center each way, providing you have abun- 

 dance of room. If room is scarce set them in pairs, the two hives of 

 each pair almost touching each other, and leave a space of about 3 

 feet between the pairs, having the rows (> feet apart or more. If yo u 

 want to economize room still more, set the hives in pairs iu a row as 

 already mentioned, and then set another row close beside it, letting 

 the hives of the two rows stand back to back. 



6. I don't know anything about your particular locality, but Wis- 

 consin, in general, is a good State for bee-keeping. 



