810 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 17, 1903. 



more. Spots will still remain ; scrape 'era well with the jack- 

 knife — and then another round of soap and cold water — and 

 then a second scrape with the knife. Last of all, warm 

 water and soap. Cold water makes propolis so bi'ittle that 

 it will powder up ; while under hot water it just masses to- 

 gether. But when there's not much left but stain, then 

 warm water and soap get ahead best. Any good soap fit for 

 heroically dirty hands. My experiment with Lava soap 

 didn't please me. Altogether too much lather ; and too long 

 afterward the fingers smelled and tasted. Alcohol and kero- 

 sene and vinegar, and probably lots of other chemicals, are 

 good — for those who incline to like them — but the above 

 racket, using no kept-a-purpose article, seems to me to be 

 the "orthodox " way. Page 712. 



NON-SWARMING IN LARGE APIARr BY CBI.I.-CUTTING. 



Yes, Sister Wilson, King Abimelech didn't like to have a 

 woman slay him, but you and I can manage it. Glad to be 

 slain (ought to be, whether I am or not), and know that large 

 apiaries are actually taken through the season, with more or 

 less of non-swarming success, by the process of cell-cut- 

 ting. I honestly thought that was " book farming " except 

 where the colonies were few. Page 713. 





Dr. Niller's Answers 



] 



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

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



Don't "Drown" Queens for Introducing. 



" A Tork County Bee-Keeper," in the Canadian Bee Journal, 

 quotes one of my replies in this department as saying that in introduc- 

 ing a queen the queen is to be held under water till "nearly or entirely 

 drowned," and he seems to think that if entirely drowned a queen 

 would not be of great value. After consulting the dictionary, and 

 making a careful search among my assortment of excuses, the only ex- 

 cuse I can find that tits the ease is ignorance — pure, unadulterated 

 ignorance. I was not familiar enough with the English language to 

 know that when a person or thing was drowned that person or thing 

 was dead, dead. I thought that upon being submerged in water, 

 when it ceased to move it was drowned. I should have said to hold 

 the queen under water till she nearly or entirely ceased to struggle. If 

 my York County friend will continue to help me in gaining a knowl- 

 edge of the English language, I'll promise never again to advise the 

 drownii;g of a good queen. C. C. Miller. 



Wintering and Swarming in Tenement Hives-Hard 

 Pine for Hives— Sweet Clover. 



1. Will bees winter well in a double-wall tenement hive (4 in one) ? 

 3. How can I prevent bees in a tenement hive from swarming? 

 Can I make brush swarms? 



3. Will hard pine do for hives, or will the smell of pitch harm the 

 bees? 



4. Is sweet clover a good honey-plant in this locality? If so, how 

 much seed is required to sow an acre ? What time of the year should 

 it be sown? Where can I get it, and what is the price? 



Indiana. 



Answeks. — 1. Yes. 



3. Yes, you can brush swarms in tenement hives, and the prevention 

 of 'prime swarms is the same as prevention of prime swarms in other 

 hives; but if one of the colonies can be moved only by moving the 

 whole four, prevention of after-swarms will not be so easy as with 

 colonies in separate hives. 



3. I don't know, but I hardly think there would be a sufficiently 

 strong odor of pitch to make trouble. 



4. It is one of the best. About 10 pounds of seed will sow an acre. 

 Sow when farmers in your vicinity sow red clover. You can get it 

 from most dealers in bee-supplies, or from seed stores, at about 13 

 cents a pound. 



Spraying Fruit-Trees-Rendering Wax-Domestic 

 Goldenrod. 



1. Is there a law against spraying fruit-trees when in blossom in 

 New Jersey. 



3. Late this fall I found eggs in a number of my hives, and think- 

 ing I would watch to see how late the bees would breed, I opened that 

 hive a coupleof weeks later, and found that every egg had disap- 

 peared. What became of the eggs, and is this a usual thing to happen? 



3. Can you give a simple plan to render wax in small quantities, 



for one who does not care to get the implements usually used for that 

 purpose? 



4. Sometimes late in the fall, or early in the spring, when there is 

 snow on the ground, there come warm days when the bees fly out, 

 and many of them drop, and, getting chilled in the snow, never rise 

 again, but die there. (I winter bees outside.) Would there be any 

 objection to conlining the bees in the hives on such days? If so, do 

 you know of any remedy to prevent the loss of bees from this cause? 



5. Can you inform me where to get seed of domestic goldenrod? 

 It is very much like the wild goldenrod, except that it is much more 

 fragrant, and clumps of flowers are larger and deeper. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know; I think not. 



3. You are a closer observer than the average. I think it is not an 

 unusual thing for queens to lay after the workers have decided that 

 they will rear no more brood. Likely the workers eat the eggs. 



3. From " Forty Years Among the Bees," page 307, I quote: " An 

 old dripping-pan (of course, a new one would do) had one corner split 

 open, and that made the extractor. The dripping-pan is put into the 

 oven of a cook-stove with the split corner projecting out. The opposite 

 corner, the one farthest in the oven, is slightly raised by having a peb- 

 ble, or something of the kind, under it, so that the melted wax will run 

 outward. A dish set under catches the dripping wax, making the out- 

 tit complete. Of course, the material to be melted is put in the pan the 

 same as in the solar extractor." 



4. Better not fasten the bees in, but shade the entrance thoroughly 

 with a broad board or screen of some kind, so as to prevent the en- 

 trance of the light. 



5. No, I never heard of it before. 



Splints for Foundation— Crossing Bees— Ventilating 

 Hives. 



1. Dr. Miller says he puts foundation on with splints 1-16 of an 

 inch square. I would like to know where I can get the splints, as I 

 have no tools to make them. 



3. Is wire used when splints are used? 



3. Do you keep them k If so, what is the price of them? 



4. Most of the bee-keepers say that a cross between Italians and 

 the common bees is better than either. What do you think of a cross 

 between Italians and Carniolans, or a cross between Italians and Cyp- 

 rians? 



5. Do you ventilate hives at the top, when you unite on the sum- 

 mer stands? Virginia. 



Answers. — 1. Tou can have them made at any manufactory 

 where they have machinery for slicing, such as they use for slicing 

 separators. 



3. No wire is necessary. 



3. No, I keep no supplies for sale. I do not remember the cost, but 

 they are not expensive. 



4. I have doubts about a cross of Italians and blacks being better 

 than Italians. Some speak very highly of a cross between Italians and 

 Carniolans; but I think the other cross is not so much in favor. 



5. With some sort of packing — absorbents, as they are called — a 

 very slight chance for upward ventilation ia allowed. 



Cutting Out Drone-Comb- Honey Granulating. 



1. When is the best time to cut drone-comb out of the brood- 

 chamber, all things considered? 



3. Is a thin board fitted tight in a super, with a hole cut in it, and 

 wire-cloth over it, and filled with cut straw or sawdust, safe winter 

 protection ? 



3. Will pure clover honey, run out on a section, look like granu- 

 lated sugar and sparkle by drying and by age? .\ neighbor gave m9 

 a section, with the name of the bee-keeper printed on it, that is partly 

 covered with what appears to be sugar, from sugar syrup fed to bees. 

 It looks like fine, granulated sugar, and sparkles, tasting like sugar. It 

 is a question with me, and some other bee-keepers, whether or not 

 honey will look like this with age. New York. 



Answers. — 1. That depends. Perhaps the best time in general is 

 when a comb is empty and not in the care of the bees, so that you can 

 put a patch of worker-comb in place of the drone-comb without 

 interferring with the work of the bees. If the comb be in the care 

 of the bees, then any time when the bees are actively at work. 



2. I suppose you mean wire-cloth is over the hole. It will do 

 with cut straw ; sawdust might be a little solid. Planer shavings and 

 dead leaves are good. 



3. I don't know. It is just possible that honey might sometimes 

 have that appearance. 



What Trees to Plant. 



I have read Prof. Cook's " Roadside Tree-Planting and Reforest- 

 ing," on page 760. I would like to hear more on the subject of treo- 

 )iUinting. What trees are suitable for rooky hillsides, and along 

 streams, etc.? also, trees that are suitable for a colder climate than 

 California! Missouri. 



Answer. — Among honey-trees that might meet your desires are 

 hurd maple, soft or red maple, fruit-trees, tulip-tree (called also poplar 

 and whitewood), locust and inden, or basswood. 



