Oct. 1, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



635 



25? If left to themselves I think they would be strongest just between 

 clover and fall How. 



5. How do you think bees would winter out-of-doors with oil- 

 cloth over the frames, sealed down at the sides, with a super of chaff 

 on top; I use these all summer under the covers; they are very con- 

 venient. Would they do as well as a thin board sealed down, if cov- 

 ered with a chaff-packed super? Ohio. 



Answers.— 1. I should hardly say the honey had lost its flavor, for 

 it has a pretty strong flavor, although not the very best. Judging 

 from the sample, it was probably extracted when hardly ripe enough, 

 the ventilation having perhaps nothing to do with it. Very likely 

 you can improve it if you suliject it to a pretty high temperature, not 

 covering it closely. Try setting it on the reservoir of a cook-stove. 

 But don't put it where it will be heated to more than 150 degrees. A 

 mild heatapplied for a number of days is the thing wanted. 



2. What you probably object to is principally the llavor of the 

 honey itself, perhaps accentuated by the lack of ripeness. There is 

 very little souring in the case. 



3. A hot, dry place — at least have the place dry, a place where salt 

 will keep dry. It ought generally to be all right iu Ohio, in a shop 

 without lire. 



4. It ought not to be a dilBcult matter to keep colonies weak till 

 August. AH that is needed is to start a sufficient number of nuclei, 

 and then draw frames of brood to strengthen the nuclei and weaken 

 the full colonies. But you had Ijetter try it on a small scale, for it is 

 somewhat doubtful if you will like the results. 



n. With a warm covering of chaff, you would likely find the oil- 

 cloth all right, just about the same as a thin board. 



Weight of Colony for Wintering. 



How much should bees, hive and frames — an ordinary S-frame 

 dovetailed — weigh in order to be strong enough in bees and honey to 

 winter on the summer stand ? Nebraska. 



Answer.— For wintering in the cellar, I aim to have each hive 

 with its contents, its cover, and its bottom-board, weigh as much as 

 50 pounds. For out-doors there should be 5 or 10 pounds more. If 

 the combs are new, and if they do not contain much pollen, a smaller 

 weight would do, but it is best to be on the safe side. A little too much 

 honey in a hive for winter is just enough. 



Queer Experiences wltti Swarming. 



1. On .June 14, colonj' No. Ill cast a prime swarm (it was hived in 

 a new hive). June 21 — the eighth day — just at evening I cut all queen- 

 cells from the old colony, cut the caps from the most advanced cells, 

 and let the ([ueen run out into the hive. July 9 — the 3(ith day after 

 the first swarm — they swarmed again; the swarm was just an ordi- 

 nary-sized second swarm, and wishing to examine the comb to ascertain 

 if possible the cause of the unusual occurrence, I run the swarm into a 

 box and overhauled the hive. I found a little capped brood in three 

 combs, quite a little on one side of one of the frames, and a few scat- 

 tering cells of brood in two other combs and seven queen-cells, one of 

 which had the whole side torn out of it Ijy the bees. The cap showed 

 no evidence of having been opened. One, from which a queen had 

 lately emerged, two with dead inmates all turned black, and three with 

 good, lively queens in just ready to come out, and five or six patches of 

 drone-brood capped, but quite young yet. When I cut the queen-cells 

 I had shaved the heads off all the drones, no eggs or uncapped brood 

 in the combs. Can you explain the cause of the unusual occurrence? 



2. What is the best method for handling swarms from the colonies 

 three or four weeks old? I know you do not think such colonies 

 swarm again the same season, for a correspondent asked you the latter 

 part of the winter how to prevent new colonies from swarming again 

 in about four weeks, and you said, Oh, but they don't. But, Doctor, 



they do with me, and with otiiers around here, if there is any honey 

 coming in, and I have tried every way I know to prevent it. 



To illustrate: I got my first swarm June Vi, and .Iiine 14 I had 10, 

 and hived tliem in six hives June 15. Six swarms hived in four hives 

 July 1; one of those colonies swarmed just ISdays after being hived; 

 left the hive full of brood and honey, one super full, and the other 

 well under way. The next day, July 2, two more of them swarmed, 

 ami up to last night (July's) nine of those new colonies had oast 

 swarms. Of course, it is awful, right in the height of the honey-fiow, 

 to have them break up that way, and something has to be done to 

 keep them together. I am using now two methods — one is to kill the 

 old c|ueen, return the swarm, and then cut out the queen-cells the 

 eighth day : the other way, I take four frames of brood from the hive 

 and replace with four fr;imes filled with foundation. There are ob- 

 jections to both methods— one is not always sure, the other you lose a 

 valuable queen (for I think it takes a pretty good queen to fill an 8- 

 frame hive with brood and eggs in 18 days) ; and it is not sure, either, 

 if you happen to miss a cell. 



Can you suggest any better plan? Minnesota. 



Answers.— 1. When a queen is unsatisfactory, one of the first 

 things is to rear a successor. A good many years ago I had a queen 

 reared by a very weak nucleus. She laid just one egg, and that was in 

 a queen-cell, and then she disappeared. Your colony swarmed 18 days 

 after you let the queen out of the cell. That would hardly allow time 

 for queens to mature from her eggs, and the only guess I can make 

 is that eggs had been left from the old queen undeveloped until after 

 the time of your overhauling. Dzierzon says that bees sometimes 

 keep eggs in that way. 



2. If I understand you rightly, a swarm was sent out by a colony 

 which 18 days previously had been hived as a swarm. This, although 

 not a very common occurrence, has been know from time immemorial, 

 such a swarm being called a virgin swarm. That was not the thing I 

 disputed, but I claimed that a colony would not swarm if it had a 

 queen reared iu the hive during the current year; and even in that it 

 seems I was mistaken. The best suggestion 1 can make is to gel into 

 the hive a young queen after the harvest opens. 



Swarms— Introducing ttueens. 



1. How can that man in Arkansas get a swarm of bees 

 in 14 days from a new colony when it takes 21 days to 

 mature a bee ? 



2. I saw iu tlie Bee Journal the way Dr. Miller intro- 

 duced queens, by drowning- them. I don't approve of that. 

 My way is to place the queen in a cage, fill the hole in the 

 cag-e with sug-ar, then put the cage between the top frames, 

 and by the time the bees get her out they will be acquainted 

 with the new queen. 



I have had some experience with bees. Last spring I 

 did not have any bees at all, but I placed some empty hives 

 out and 2 swarms came to me ; then I cut down 3 bee-trees 

 and now I have 5 colonies in good condition. Iowa. 



Answer. — 1- It is hard to understand how a swarm 

 could be thrown oflf by a swarm hived only 14 days before, 

 unless a frame of brood were given to the swarm, which is 

 not an uncommon thing. It takes 21 days for a worker to 

 mature from the time the egg is laid, but only 1.5 or 16 for a 

 queen, and if a frame of brood were present and a 

 queen were started from a grub, a young queen might 

 emerge in 12 days or less. 



2. Your way is the usual one, and is good. I don't 

 Icnow whether the drowning plan will always succeed, but 

 if it does there is a saving of time over your plan. 



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Bee-Keeplng in Kentucky. 



This has been a very favorable year for the 

 busy bee. White clover has been in bloom 

 longer this year, in this section at least, than 

 was ever known before — nearly four months; 

 whereas the usual length of time to bloom is 

 less than two months. The reason for the 

 splendid honey-fiow the present season is due 

 to the fine rains which have continued every 

 few days. There is an abundance of golden- 

 rod, from which the b^ps are gathering con- 

 siderable honey ; this honey has a fine flavor. 



Kentucky is far behind some of the other 

 States in the matter of honey-production. 

 There is no organization here, each " goes it " 

 alone, and such a "go" ! 



The Emerson Binder 



This Emeraon stiff-board Binder with cloth 

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 but 60 cents; or we will send it with the Bee 

 Joarnal for one year— both for only $1.40. It la 

 a fine thing to preserve the copies of the Jonr- 

 nal as fast as they are received. If yon have 

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