July 2, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



425 



three supers so as to keep the bees busy. I also tried put- 

 tings an empty hive under for a new swarm, and they work 

 all right. I have some of them piled up three hifjh, and 

 they are full of beautiful white honey. I expect to have five 

 tons of extracted, and several hundred pounds of section 

 honey, but I do not know exactly how many yet. 



Yes, I do all the work and raise chickens, turkeys, pigs, 

 calves, colts, and oversee the whole ranch. My husband is 

 a carpenter by trade, and gets his S3. 50 per daj-. As we 

 want to get ahead this year we thought I could do the work 

 here and let him work at his trade this year. But next year 

 he will stay at home I hope, as his help is needed very 

 much. I am going to increase up to 15(1 colonies next year, 

 and trj' to keep that many on hand all the time. I do not 

 want any more than that. 



We have a foot-hill ranch of 320 acres, S miles from 

 town or neighbors. One small apiary is all there is near 

 us, and that is over a mile. White sage is just beginning 

 to bloom, and I do not think that there is any better honey 

 than that produced. 



I like to read the sister bee-keepers' letters and their 

 experiences. I have three children, the oldest a boy of 16. 

 He will help me extract, but the stock takes up most of his 

 time, and my two girls will be lots of help now. Our school 

 is just out, and I am not sorry. I stay alone most of the 

 time, but I do not notice it, because I am so busy all the 

 time. I make frames, get my hives in the knock down and 

 put them together. I had Simplicity hives at first, but did 

 not like them, so I got the Langstroth, and then I built a 

 chicken-coop. Well, I do any kind of carpenter work for 

 anything I need. I think a woman can just do anything 

 she wants to. My husband says that when I get hold of 

 anything I haven't sense enough to let go. But it is just 

 pure stubbornness in me, nothing else. He said he was 

 afraid to leave me with the ranch to run, and everything to 

 do, as it was so hard for me. But I have made out, and 

 now it is vacation, and things will work along fine. I will 

 get everything done up in shape, and in September go to 

 the coast for awhile. 



I do cot see how our corner in the Bee Journal can be 

 improved, unless the sisters write oftener. I always read 

 that corner first. What I know about bees does not amount 

 to much, but I can learn, and I am going to try hatching 

 eggs over bees, and will let you know about it. If I try it 

 myself then I will know for certain. 



Does Mr. York buy honey direct from the bee-keepers? 

 I should like to avoid the middle man. 



Riverside Co., Calif., May 22. Mary E. Avkka. 



Well 1 you certainly do have your hands full. You 

 certainly are a helpmeet, indeed. How nice to be able to 

 have the help of your three children — nice for you, and for 

 them, too. I think you are pretty brave to stay alone 

 most of the time 5 miles from town or neighbors. I hope 

 you may be able to take that well-earned trip to the coast 

 in September, and that it may be a very enjoyable one. 



I shall watch with interest to learn how those eggs turn 

 out. 



I think Mr. York has sometimes bought honey direct 

 from the bee-keepers. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the office o( the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



Transferred Colony Desertlcg or Swartnlnj;. 



I am having some experience with the bees that is dif- 

 ferent from anything I have met with before, I am hand- 

 ling bees for some of my neighbors. Mr. H. called me to 

 transfer a swarm from a box to a Langstroth hive. The 

 next day he found them all back in the box, which had been 

 standing a short distance away. I drove them into a small 

 box and cut the comb out and tied it into the frames of the 

 new hive. They appeared to be contented for eight days 

 when they came out and left without settling or even halt- 

 ing. They built two pieces of new comb as large as my 

 hand. Now, please tell me why these things are thus. 



Georgia. 



Answer. — It isn't entirely clear from what you say just 

 how matters were. You say you transferred, and the next 



day cut out the combs. From that I suppose that the first 

 day you merely drummed out the bees into an empty hive, 

 and it would be nothing very strange for them to desert 

 that and return to their old home. I don't know about the 

 swarming eight days later, but if they were transferred and 

 put on their old combs it hardly seems possible they would 

 totally desert, but it looks more like a case of genuine 

 swarming. 



Laying Workers— Removing all aueen-Cells. 



1. Will you kindly answer, through the American Bee 

 Journal, what I am to do with a colony of bees that has a 

 laying worker? The hive is full of drones, also quite a 

 number of workers. 



2. What will be the consequence of removing all queen- 

 cells from a colony that eight days previous had cast a 

 swarm ? Will the colony have to be re-queened ? 



Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. The hive being full of drones, there are 

 probably not many workers, and the few that are left are 

 quite old, so the best thing is to break up the colony, distrib- 

 uting the combs, bees and all, to other colonies. 



2. Very likely the colony would be all right, for a young 

 queen may have hatched already, but if no young queen has 

 emerged the colony will be hopelessly queenless. 



Queen Mating Twice. 



Thirty years ago I was a breeder of Italian queens in 

 Indiana. I have seen many queens leave the hive on the 

 bridal trip, but never knew nor heard of one leaving the 

 hive on two days in succession, and in both cases leaving 

 unmistakable evidence of a successful trip. Did you ever 

 know of such a case ? 



The way I came to know this to be true was by seeing a 

 queen in May, just past, leave the hive and return. The 

 next day, about 2 p.m., I was taking the drones out of a 

 trap that I had set at this particular hive, as I did not want 

 it heavily stocked with drones now, that this young queen 

 had made her bridal trip. While clearing out the trap this 

 same queen flew down upon the landing of the front of the 

 hive and went in and leaving, as on the previous day, posi- 

 tive evidence of a successful trip. 



I call attention to this in order that if it is common per- 

 sons should not destroy the drones until the queens begin 

 to lay eggs. Kansas. 



Answer. — No, I never had any such case come under 

 my observation. I have read of one or more cases occurring 

 across the ocean, but I think this is the first case I ever 

 heard of in this country. The case is interesting for its 

 rarity, but I think it is of such infrequent occurrence that it 

 need not make any difference as to the keeping of drones. 

 Possibly, however, it is of more frequent occurrence than I 

 think. 



Keeping Bees-How, Why, and What For? 



1. How do you keep bees ? 



2. IV/iy do you keep bees ? 



3. Would you advise me to keep bees ? If so, wkal for? 



Washington. 



Answers. — 1. Your question is such a comprehensive 

 one that it is impossible to find room for a full answer in 

 this department. Indeed, I have written a whole book in 

 trying to answer the question, and it is none too fully 

 answered then. Answering in the most general way, I 

 keep bees in dovetailed hives and run for comb honey. If 

 you will specify any particular point you want me to tell 

 about, I'll be glad to answer further. 



2. Partly for the enjoyment of it, partly for the money 

 in it, and partly for the intense interest in unsolved prob- 

 lems all the time coming up in connection with the pursuit. 



3. I don't know. I'd like to get pretty well acquainted 

 with you before answering. You might invite me to spend 

 a fortnight with you at your home when I have leisure, so 

 as to learn something of your habits, tastes, and capabili- 

 ties. But then I hardly expect to have the leisure short of 

 twenty years, and you might not want to wait so long. 

 Answering the last part of your question first, you might 

 want to keep bees for the sake of your health, if you are 

 kept indoors most of the time ; if your taste runs strongly 

 in that direction yon might keep a few for pleasure ; if you 



