Nov. 26, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



763 



queens^ f so Xh^ l"' ^'"''^^ ""^^ '=°'°°y P''°''"'=e ^'>y 

 ?hrou^h thL^^ fi / ''"'' "^^' summer would you go 

 lexpfcUo^^d^o, h-'^^'I'r'- =^"1 how many queens would 

 1 expect to hnd to a hive ? I expect to clip all queens' wine-s 



tu "*■ J,^aye ooshade on my ground, exceptine close to 

 putC^'ra'^'f ''""^' l°f •*.''^'°^ '^"'^^ prop'^rt/l caTno? 

 fome kin^ ^r;r^1f' ^"' ''"' *^y ^ quick-growth vine of 

 low that! nf^ t'"'^' °" "" ^'^°'- '^'^at seed would you 

 sow that .8 of quick-growth and makes a good shade ? 



8 or 10 fr°amp r ""^"f ^'''''• '^""''^ y°" =^"°^ to a one-story 

 quart? ' '=^'<="'^ti°8: measurement by the pint or 



beri's fined u~'^'°P"*^"P"^ °" ''^^^-'^ ^rood-cham- 



clovLt^drhTne'yrfl^^'t^'LVr""^ ^° ^° ^""-'^ °" ^ ^°°'^ 

 retafn JL^f^l?^ ^ brings on one or more queens, would you 

 Lav and /wf *''7 ^^^ °'^ °°^ ^ ^°d ^hat is the best 

 fo7emer/enfi 7° ?'^t°' ^"^ ""^^P ^^''^ ^"^ens in reserve 

 iToIft ^ , ^ "^'^ "■^°' '° '■'=°ew about every 2 years ? 

 pet en JinP T"" ^"o"? ''^^ '^^^^ ''^"^^ '^an running my 

 scriber^totA.A"'^-^''°^;,^°°'^'^ Manual, and I am f sub 

 about bees I.w.Th^'' ^.'l ^°"'°^'' ^"^ ^" information 

 expect to h/. well digested : and if I live long enough I 

 cSfon ™e"ber of the National Bee-Keepers' Asso- 



MlSSOURl. 



tn »i^^/r^''^'~-'^; ^^ ^ understand you rightly, your plan is 

 to get 5 frames of brood and bees and put these in S hives 

 jSw wo^ldhe ^^'=^,^-«- A l-frame^uc?eus in June"; 



iae perha«i -^^ ^°^ becomes very strong before divid- 

 of all vo.f^u ,'S'°^ y°"'' *^''^* nucleus in May. But, first 

 hive a^eood knn'' T/^ thoroughly your bee-book, so as to 

 keeping Tndvn-wF °^ ^^^ general principles of bee- 

 mfstakf: ^ "^'^ *^^''^*'y ''^^^^^'^ f'-°°i ^^^y a serious 



nota'thZf''o''r°"'-*^'"^^, P^"'^" '° the acre. Buckwheat is 

 re^uu; h»-^ J P"°^ planting, the time of sowing for best 

 Stni ff^'thefe r 'M^'"""'? °""°« t° the first of Ju!y 

 poseit miP-ht h """'•"^ <=l^e the bees can work on, I sup- 

 pose it might be sown toward the last of April. P 

 find anv^e^tr° ''^P)"°"'"°^<3'y°"^^^ not likely to 

 season^ wl '^^^"^ '° '^^ hives any time through the 

 stro°"-enoui'h''"tn?%^''^ ''"^'■''' "''^° ^ =°'°"y becomes 

 the fifst swafm tl. * ^ ^'^^™' "'^ ^^°"' eight days after 



4 W?M /.^ the young queen will begin to emerge. 

 wouM ^swer TH."' '"°'-°'°/-g>°-y. nasturtium, and hops 

 ably te!ryr"of s^m'eXrs. °' '"''' ^'^'^'^-'^-'i can proi 

 6 qutrtY. ""^^ "^^"^ *''^ ^'°°"°' °^ ^'ces in a fair colony, S or 



6. No, nor is it advisable. 

 six miffi'^h^.*'^" '^ff nothing nearer, they might go five or 

 ti!rd"of?haVdisU°nce. '"'^^^ '^"^'^ profit'abl/mofe thlVI 

 a^ase InTnlT^"^'^"^ ^°"' question, but I don't believe 

 old quein Re ° r'" '° ^^'""^ '' '^ advisable to kill the 

 nucleus "^"^"^ ^'^ ""^P' '° °"clei, one in each 



unhed^wUh't'i,"^' strength. The weakest colonies may be 

 Ki fi Z I'^^'^e considerably stronger, and you will orob- 



first unite h.lTf.? ° ","'*^ ^^°^^ "^"^y eq^al •» strength, 

 thf rest nit w-i,*^^ ''°''?P^' """^ ^°" °^ fi^-e ^ays later add 

 o^etherthlf \ ^! "^^M t° ^ave the colonies sitting close 

 together that are to be united. Then when you have fin- 

 ished uniting take away the empty hive, and \Z field-bees 

 ^f'lr?'"'"" "^'^-^ '^« united colony. 

 _. The only way you can keep the queens will be in 



quetns ^t Ira^X" ""' '^ ^"^'^ ^ ^^" *° .epen^dl'^ew 



White Pine for Hives. 



WiUfZ^u^^ P'°^ X"?"^ material of which to make hives ? 

 Will the bees accept it as a home equal to poplar ?c:ZIl 



Indiana. 



u../\^^'^'^'^-'7^^'^^ P'°« '^ probably the sole material 

 used by manufacturers of bee-supplies, unless it be in Cali- 

 fornia, for making hives, and bees accept it without protest. 



Sowing White Clov er Seed- Bee-Eggs Hatching. 



1. When should white clover seed be sown ? 



2. What IS the longest time an egg was ever known 'to 

 remain in the hive without being hatched ? T _ 



Answers.—!. It may be sown at different times, ^- 

 s rin°° ''"^ than when vegetation first starts in the 



nf JirJh^"' u°?7'w"^''®"®™''" rigrhtly, Dzierzon tells 

 of eggs. being held about two weeks and than hatching. 



Feeding Bees for Winter. 



^ I have 2 colonies of bees that came here last spring 

 l<rom the largest we got about 40 pounds of honey- the 

 other hive we did not open. We put them down into the 

 cellar and covered them with a blanket. I think we de- 

 stroyed one colony, as they did not gather any honey all 

 through September, and there was plenty of clover around 

 i here are only a few bees in the hive. Will I have to feed 

 them 7 If so, what is the best to give them ? Illinois. 

 ^ Answer.— Bees do not generally gather from clover in 

 September, even though blossoms are seen. The small 

 number of bees in a colony left to itself through the sum- 

 mer, makes it doubtful whether they have a queen If 

 queenless, it is only a waste to feed them. The best thing 

 for feed is combs of sealed honey, and the next best for 

 this time of year, candy made according to the instructions 

 given in your beebook. 



Wintering Bees in a House-Late Drones. 



Basswood for Making Hives. 



in th^°winfe'r """'^ '"^^^ ^°°^ '''""■ °^ '^""^'^ '' ^^' *°° damp 



Missouri. 



war^''arr;w-^^' f ° ' basswood shrinks and swells, and 

 hTvror"n',,r-Xura^'j.i:e". ^"^"' '''' ''' "^ ^' ^^ ^ 



Uniting Colonies and Saving Queens. 



r.^„V-"^"°'^*-^^^*^^°"'''e"P "-^ colonies in the spring 

 reduc ng my 3o colonies to 17 or 18, or one-half, when woufd 

 I better do It? And how will I proceed ? Or can you tell 

 me of some better plan to keep my number down around -=;^ 



Would?t\Vbeulrr!eT Z^ '^eVr"i%^ou?g"q:-n"'^^h:n 



^on^tk^oTit^fiTet! ^°" -'" '''''■-4&^::^^^ 



rpf (^ fl®^'^'*^"T^ M,°!*^ ■" ^^-'^ ^P"°^ ^°y ''-ne after bees 

 ret to flying. It will be as well not to unite directly two 



1. I am thinking how to winter my bees, and have a 

 mind to put them in a small, dark, warm house, shut each 

 hive with screen, and not let them out until in the spring 

 Will this do? r &• 



2. Do bees need more air in winter than in summer. 



3. Is oilcloth good to put on top of the frames, or is it 

 too cold ? 



4. Would paper folded and laid on top of the frames be 

 warmer, and absorb the dampness better than oilcloth ? 



5. Two of my hives have some drones yet. Why is it ? 



Nebraska. 

 Answers.— 1. Not very well, I'm afraid. By no means 

 should they be fastened in the hive with wire-screen. It 

 will only make them worry the more to get out. Unless 

 you can keep the temperature pretty evenly at about 45 de- 

 grees, any kind of a house above ground will not be likely 

 to work very well. 



. 2. No, not so much ; but they do need some, and it should 

 be pure as possible. 



3. It will do if covered over warmly with somethine- 

 else. ^ 



4. Paper is warmer than oilcloth alone. But if you use 

 paper, you must have burlap or some other cloth under it to 

 keep the bees from tearing it to pieces. 



5. I'm afraid they're queenless ; yet it sometimes hap- 

 pens that drones are suffered late where there is a good 

 queen. 



