March 19, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



185 



It is nice to be able to take out empty combs and re- 

 place them with combs filled solid full of honey — the nicest 

 and most satisfactory way of feeding- that I know <it. But 

 you have to look ahead and have your combs of hoi:oy in 

 order to do this. We have about 250 combs filled full of 

 honey ready to give our bees this spring if they need ihem. 

 I gave myself a little pat on the back as I wrote th.it, and 

 thought, " Doesn't that sound well ? 250 nice combs of 

 honey." But let me whisper to you, I don't think we ever 

 had so many before ! 



It takes a good bit of foresight and determination to 

 have these combs of sealed honey ready for use in the 

 spring. Make up your mind good and strong nozv tliat you 

 will be ready HdM'/ spring, if you have to set aside part of 

 your colonies next summer to do nothing else but to fill up 

 brood-combs full of sealed honey. 



Preventing- Bees from Flying! 



One day last week I was called to the telephone, and a 

 woman wanted to know what she could do to prevent her 

 bees from flying out of the hives. She wanted to know if 

 there was not some way by which she could fasten them in. 

 She said many of them were dropping on the ground, and 

 she was afraid that they were lost. 



Poor little bees ! Think of fastening them in the hives 

 and preventing them from flying when it was the very first 

 time since last fall that they had had a chance to fly ! It 

 was a beautiful day, too. The bees were, no doubt, having 

 a grand time, and she little realized the good it was doing 

 them. It is a little strange that while we have had an 

 unusually mild winter, there was no day after November 

 warm enough for a flight until Feb. 26. After such long 

 confinement no doubt some bees would fly out never to re- 

 turn again, but where .one was lost dozens would be bene- 

 fited. I wonder how often we fail to recognize our bless- 

 ings just as that woman did. 



A Good Furniture Polish. 



For a good furniture polish take one pint of turpentine, 

 add two ounces of beeswax cut in small pieces. Use a tin 

 basin and set it in the oven when not very warm, so as to 

 melt the wax without burning the turpentine. Stir con- 

 stantly. Apply to the furniture with a woolen rag, and rub 

 vigorously with another. — Chicago Daily News. 



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Questions and Answers. 



CONDUCTED BT 



OR. O. O. aHZLLEIt, JUareago, Ul. 



[The Qaestlons may be mailed to the Bee Journal office, or to Dr. Miller 



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



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editor.] 



Transferring Bees— 8-Frame Hives. 



1. I have a large box full of bees. I see in ttie book how to trans- 

 fer, but this box has 2 holes in front, and a hole in the top, over 

 which to put a box to get honey. -Vow if I stop up the holes in front 

 and put a patent hive on top, and drum, would they go into the hive ; 

 The hive would hang over the box a good deal. 



2. Why do the prime swarms always swarm again in a month after 

 hiving ? 



3. I use the S-frame hives. Are they too small for comb honey ; 

 I think I will put supers op, the end of this week, for the bues are 

 very busy on almond, acacia, and gum-trees. You would think they 

 were swarming to hear them to-day. I had to open all their entrances 

 wide a week ago. 



The worst time is in August and September; the wasps ^,'0 for 

 them so I have to close them up. If I don't look out they will turn 

 the bees out of the hive. I am getting Holy Land queens to iry, but 

 will keep my brown ones for they do not get mad, and are tin. work- 

 ers. A man has some Italian bees a distance from here, but mine beat 

 them, and store better honey and do better capping. I will .-i ;id you 

 a box this spring, to see how you like it. The people that 1 " Tk for 

 let me keep bees on their place, and give me two hours in tli- after- 

 noon and most of .Sunday, so I do well. I love bees, and wat' '. them 

 all day on Sunday, and fix them up. 1 got stung once on ii:e chin, 

 but it was my fault. I took a lot of bees out of a roof, n- no one 

 would tackle them, and I got \h percent. I took them out io m min- 



utes, they were under the shiu;:! 

 when I have time. 



I have another lot to take out 

 Calikoknia. 



Answers.— 1. I'm afraid they would be rather slow about going 

 up through so small a hole. Of course It would be no harm to try it, 

 and if it didn't work then you could mm the hive upside down. It 

 doesn't matter much if the two hives are not close-fitting. Smoke 

 them a little at first, so they will not come out and stingyou, and 

 after they get fairly started they won't mind if the fit is imperfect. 



2. Oh, they don't. In niosi, places it is a very rare thing tor a 

 prime swarm to send out a swiuui till the ne.xt year. It is something 

 unusual if yours always do so. 



3. No, there are probaljly more 8- frame hives used for comb honey 

 than any other size. But for best success you will need two stories 

 for a strong colony up to the time of putting on supers. 



Using Unfinished Sections— Worldng wltli Tents. 



1. I have about 300 unfinished sections left from last year, and do 

 not know whether I ought to use them this season or not. I tried 

 some last year but was not satisfied. Some time ago I read an argu- 

 ment between Doolittle and someone else, the former stating that it 

 worked all right, while the latter said it was not. What is your opin- 

 ion ? 



2. I see some advocate using tents while working with bees. Do 

 not bees in trying to fly get entangled in the netting ! Illinois. 



Answers. — 1. Of those who have made any observation in the 

 matter, probably the majority have had the same experience as you, 

 that unless the least and last bit of honey has been cleaned out by the 

 bees before it has granulated, the sections will not be satisfactory to 

 use again. There are some (but I think very few) who say they have 

 had good results. Whatever unfiiiished sections you have at the close 

 of the coming seasbn, plan to have emptied out by the bees, and such 

 sections will be of great value as baits at the beginning of the honey 

 harvest. 



2. I never had the slightest trouble of that kind, and I never 

 heard of such trouble. 



. .*-•-» 



Lazy Bees on Old Combs. 



1. I have several colonies of bees on very old and almost jet-black 

 combs, that are very lazy. Could I get them to work by giving them 

 fresh, clean foundation to draw out, or give them drawn-out combs I 



3. When is the best time to do so, and how i Wisconsin. 

 Answ-er. — 1. No, indeed, don't get into your head the notion that 



old black combs make bees lazy. If they did, most of my bees would 

 be very lazy. . . ,_,..,.. 



2. The best time to get new combs drawn out is in the height oi 

 brood- rearing and harvest; but so long as combs are straight and in 

 good condition I would never think of replacing them because they 



are old. 



^ • » 



Making Increase toy Dividing. 



I have kept bees for 12 years, and had foul brood among them all 

 the tiiue. I lost all of thefn once— 43 colonies. I lost the most of 

 them a second time, about 30 colonies, before I learned that it was 

 foul brood, and how to manage it. I have since made bee-keeping a 

 success. . ^ ,. , T 



My neighbors would not do as I told them, and their bees died. 1 

 commenced the winter with 60 colonies, killing 12 that were infected. 

 The bees went through the shingle root of my honey-house, and robbed 

 some of the infected honey. . 



1 I think the safest way would be to transfer the whole lot into 

 clean empty hives. (I thoroughly boil everything that the bees have 

 used). I would like to make 100 colonies from the (iO, and would like 

 to make as many as I can from a beautiful golden queen I have. My 

 bees are mostly blacks and hybrids. Can I start a colony with each 

 frames and starters, then carry away a strong colony when the bees 

 are flying strong, and place the hive with the frame of brood in its 

 place ; 



2. Will the frame of brood and flying bees make a good colony « 



3. Should I wait for queen-cells to be started before doing this* 



4. Can I successfully smoke or drum the bees out of the hive with 

 crooked combs, without breaking the combs ; 



5. How can I tell when I have the queen out of said hive if 1 do 

 not see her S ,_ • v 



G. Would it be safe to leave the young hatching bees in such a 

 hive to take care of the young brood, in swarming-time with a good 

 honey-flow ? , 



7. If so, can I shake these young bees after they hatch out, ana 

 start a good colony from them ! 



>s. How long should I wait for the bees to fill up with honey before 

 I shake them into another hive. 



9. What is tne best method of making them fill up ; 



10. Also tell me the best way to drum them into another hive, 

 when the combs are too crooked to lift out. Oregon. 



Answers.— 1. Yes, but it is hardly the best way. 



2. It may, if the colony removed is strong enough, and if the work 

 is done early enough in the season. 



3 You may have to wait pretty late for queen-cells to be started. 

 Let me suggest this ; Begin in fruit-bloom to build up the colony that 

 has your best queen by giving it brood from other colonies, the brood 

 as well sealed as possible, adding more brood every few days. No 



