Aug. 6, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



505 



the leading papers ? I'm thinking the supply of money 

 would run out before much result had been realized. 



Of course our Editor is right, that the supply of honey 

 would fall short if the whole people were enlightened und 

 gently stirred on the subject. We have heard that many 

 times, to be sure, but still we don't travel on it as mucli as 

 we might. 



ALFAH'W COMING HAST. 



Honey from alfalfa at Fond du Lac. Not a little merely, 

 but honey by the thousand pounds. That's suiely well to 

 the north, and at least not a-west the great river. It's com- 

 ing. " Spring ! spring ! spring 1 soon be here 1 " is what 

 the little bird would say. Page 39S. 



THE SOT^AK WAX-EXTRACTOR. 



Yes, indeed, Mr. Doolittle putting into the solar extrac- 

 tor material that will absorb all its own wax when melted, 

 and a lot more from surrounding stuff — well, the boy who 

 does that the second time should call himself one of the 

 flats. Page 398. 



A IvONG-CAGED QUEEN. 



Perhaps I'm wrong, but my idea of the thing is that in- 

 jury (if any) by suddenly compelling a laying queen to cease 

 laying would all come in the first week. Twelve weeks no 

 worse than six so far as the laying matter is concerned. As 

 to the wearing grind of improvement there would be a good 

 deal of difference ; and twelve weeks of caging with the 

 queen still unharmed is quite a record. Page 403. 



ANOTHER TWIST ON THAT TWISTING COVER. 



I see our mutual friend wants to prevent domestic hair- 

 pulling by arbitrating the twisted cover. Hardly looks 

 right to arbitrate the laws of mathematics — but I guess we 

 may thank him for the main thing he called attention to. 

 If the wood has a twisty disposition in its soul a cover ig- 

 idly cleated at both ends will still manage to twist some. 

 The mathematical laws pertaining to a circle and its tan- 

 gent do not apply when the ends are kept straight lines. 

 Page 403. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

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



Combs of Honey from Diseased Colonies. 



What shall I do with 30 frames filled with honey, pollen 

 and brood, taken from colonies affected with disease, prob- 

 ably black brood ? Mass. 



Answer. — I think I should try treating them with form- 



Queen-Bees of the Brown or German Race. 



Do you know where I can get a queen of the brown or 

 German race, undoubtedly pure and purely mated ? 



Answek. — No, I don't. Fifty years ago they occupied 

 the land as the common bee of the country, and in spite of 

 all efforts to drive them out it is probably a hard thing to 

 find a spot in all the country where traces of black blood 

 may not be found in the vicinity now. But to find pure 

 stock is another matter. Does any one know of any un- 

 doubtedly pure stock of the kind anywhere ? 



Getting Rid of Plies and Mosquitoes. 



1. Please tell me what effect cobalt has on flies, and 

 how to use it ? 



2. Is it offensive or dangerous ? 



3. What preparation is best to use ? 



4. What kind of plant will be offensive to mosquitoes ? 

 and is there any drug which, placed in the room, will drive 

 them away, or prevent them from coming in. 



Maryland. 

 Answer. — The only way I have seen colbalt used for 

 flies was to sprinkle it on a plate and wet it with sweetened 



water. The flies would eat it and shortly die. It is a poison, 

 and care should be taken not to allow children to get hold of 

 it, but there is nothing olicnsive about it otherwise. I 

 know of no particular preparation, just ask for cobalt. 



I have some doubt whether there is any plant or drug 

 that would keep the musquitoes out without being offensive 

 to the occupants of the room. 



Using a Division-Board or Not. 



In my 8-frame hives, by crowding all together, there is 

 a space at one side wide enough to put in a division-board. 

 Now, in hot weather, would you keep in the board, or 

 divide the distance up among the frames, with the board 

 taken out 7 Nebraska. 



Answer. — Keep the board there all the time. If you 

 leave it out in hot weather, the bees will build out the combs 

 so you cannot space them close again. Besides, there is no 

 reason for given more space in summer, and that board or 

 dummy is a good thing to make it easier for you to take out 

 the frames. I wouldn't do without a dummy in each hive 

 for a good deal of money. 



An Experience in Transferring— Feeding Bees. 



I have an apiary of about 90 colonies and have been 

 handling bees three or four years for the pleasure I found 

 in it. I commenced with box-gums, hollow logs, etc., but 

 principally soap-boxes of all shapes and sizes. After get- 

 ting the " A B C of Bee-Culture," Prof. Cook's and Lang- 

 stroth Revised, Miller's "A Year Among the Bees," and 

 having had the American Bee Journal to read for the past 

 three years, I came to the conclusion that there was but 

 one right way to handle bees — and with movable frames 

 was the way. So my enthusiasm led me on to get a suitable 

 hive and frames. I at last settled upon the 8-frame hive. 

 And then came the task of transferring. Without asking 

 any questions through the Bee Journal, I scanned all the 

 back numbers and found what Dr. Miller had to say to the 

 beginners on that subject, and put that with my own com- 

 mon sense and went to work. 



In the first place, Dr. Miller says the best time is dur- 

 ing fruit-bloom, when the combs are lightest ; but here it 

 was in July (the 4th), I was to undertake this intricate task, 

 when the combs were supposed to be full. However, I 

 thought I would try one colony, anyway, and if I make a 

 success of it I might try some more. So I- got ready by 

 lighting the smoker, got a lot of string, a good knife and 

 a table to work on. I followed Dr. Miller's plan pretty 

 nearly through. I smoked the bees all in this hive and 

 then lifted it off the stand, and then instead of having a 

 " decoy " box I took the super off and used it for a " decoy," 

 to catch the flying bees. I had to pry the box-hive open, as 

 the bottoms were nailed hard and fast to the hive. When 

 I got the bottom loose I turned the hive upside down and 

 placed the forcing box over it and commenced drumming. 

 Very soon I had the greater part of the bees up into it. 

 Then I took the forcing box off and ran the remaining bees 

 out by smoke into the super, now on the old stand. When 

 all were out I removed the super and put the forcing-box on 

 the bottom-board on the old stand and placed the super on 

 top. Then I closed the entrance to a very small space to 

 prevent suspicious robber-bees investigating what was go- 

 ing on. When all was through, and ready, I took the old 

 hive to the honey-house some distance away to make the 

 transfer of the combs. The old box-gun had only top-slats 

 for frames, without side or bottom-bars, which left the 

 comb hanging to the top-bar and to the sides of the hive. 

 Generally what I transferred had tolerably straight combs 

 for box-hives. I found very little honey in them, and, find- 

 ing this the case, concluded that no better time could be to 

 transfer than when the combs were the most free of honey. 



So I then proceeded to cut out the combs, which were 12 

 inches long by 10 inches deep, and fastened them into 

 standard Langstroth frames. The combs came very near 

 fitting in width. I had to trim off a little of the bottom, 

 which did not injure the combs in the least. After all were 

 in I carried the hive carefully back to the old stand and 

 lifted the old box and super off and put the new hive with 

 the transferred combs on the stand, and right here ray plan 

 began to differ from Dr. Miller's. He says : Place the hive 

 on the old stand and empty the bees out in front and let 

 them run in. But I differ from him in this respect, for rea- 

 sons which I shall give after I am through explaining my 

 method of transferring. Instead of emptying them out in 



