28 



January, 1914. 



American ISee Journal 



it has more than three combs covered with 

 bees. This in summertime; in the spring 

 plenty of colonies have only two or three 

 combs covered with be«s. 



1. The advantage is that a prime swarm 

 with a clipped queen will return to its hive 

 because the queen cannot go with it. 



4. Yes; if started early enough in a good 

 season it will make a good colony. 



5. Yes. she will sting another queen, and 

 in very, very rare cases a worker. 



6. A queen, perhaps 2 years; a worker 6 

 weeks in the working season; a drone until 

 the workers drive it out. 



Questions from Japan 



1. In some parts of Hokkaidow enormous 

 lily Hewers are found, and I can not speak 

 too highly of their beauty and perfume — 

 Howers are used to make perfumed water. I 

 wish to know if bees work on them. 



2. How many colonies do you have in your 

 home apiary ? How many acres about your 

 apiary do all the colonies work ? Japan. 



Answers.— I. I don't know: but you can 

 tell by watching. I think they are likely to 

 yield nectar. 



2. The season closed with toi colonies. I 

 have only the one apiary now. It is hard to 

 say how much t-round they work on; per- 

 haps all within i]? miles. Within that range 

 will be found fields of one to 20 acres of 

 clover, and also much ground yielding little 

 or nothing. 



Bee Houses—Good Location 



1. I propose to build a bee house in the 

 apring of 1914. for protection against too hot 

 summers and the cold months of winter. 

 Our summers are not long, but sometimes 

 very hot; the winters short and not very 

 cold, occasionally in winter the therm o me 

 ter will fall as low as 15 degrees above 

 zero. Kindly give your advice on this ques- 

 tion, also the advantage or disadvantage. 



2. Name the different kinds of vegetables 

 that bees gather nectar from to convert into 

 honey. There are thousands of acres of 

 vegetables and cotton planted in this sec- 

 tion that is within a radius of 5 miles of the 

 city. 



1. From the brief description here given, 

 what do you think of the locality? There 

 are no bees within a distance of 7 miles of 

 where I propose to locate. 



South Carolina. 



•Answers.— I. Bee houses, such as you con- 

 template, were more or less in use some 

 years ago, but have been mostly abandoned. 

 They have the advantage that when the bees 

 are handled in summer thev will not sting 

 so much as outdoors, and they are safer 



from thieves. But it is hot and inconvenient 

 for the beekeeper, and bees do not gener- 

 ally winter so well in them. In spite of the 

 fact that one does not generally relish ad- 

 vice against one's own inventions I advise 

 you to let bee houses alone. 



2. Likely the flowers of almost any vegeta- 

 ble are utilized by the bees when present 

 in quantity. Among those that have been 

 known as good honey-plants are peas, beans, 

 onions, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, 

 and other vines, radishes, etc. 



3. My guess would be that the location 

 ought to be excellent, as cotton alone is im- 

 portant. 



Extra Bees for Nuclei 



1. When buying nuclei is it best to buy an 

 extra pound of worker bees to each frame, 

 so -as not to keep the queen from laying, 

 and would it not make the colony build up 

 quicker ? 



2. What is best for a large colony a i-story 

 hive or I'A or 2 story ? 



3. Is the dovetailed hive a good hive ? 



New Hampshire. 



Answers.— I. Yes. the stronger a nucleus 

 the more rapidly it will build up. and if you 

 can have an extra pound of bees added at a 

 moderate cost it might pay well. Generally, 

 however, if a stronger nucleus is wanted 

 both combs and bees are added. 



2. A single story is generally all that a 

 strong colony needs to start with in spring. 

 Then it depends upon size of hive ;8-frame. 

 10-frame. or more) whether it may need an- 

 other story before harvest. When the har- 

 vest comes, then the first story is enough for 

 the brood-chamber, and additional room 

 must be given for surplus. If for extracted 

 honey, some use stories the same as brood- 

 chamber, and some use shallower stories. 

 For section honey, shallow supers taking 

 only a single tier of sections are generally 

 used, and these may be tiered up 2. 3. to or 

 7 high. Extracting stories are also tiered up 

 in a good season. 



3. It is the one in most general use. and 

 generally considered the best. 



A Room for Colonies Carniolans and Caucasians 



1. Is it possible to keep several colonies of 

 bees in a building, using a window as a com- 

 mon entrance for all ? 



2. Would you consider Carniolan or Cau- 

 casian bees superior to Italians in a fruit 

 country, because of earlier breeding in the 

 spring ? 



3. Do you consider a brood-chamber con- 

 taining 10 Hoffman frames large enough at 

 all times, first for Italians, second for Car- 

 niolans, or would a i2-frame brood-chamber 

 be better ? New York. 



Answers.— I. Yes. with proper precautions. 

 The room must be light enough so bees can 

 easily find their own hives after they are in 

 the room, or else a tube for each hive must 

 run from the entrance of the hive to the out 

 side, and there must be no chance for a bee 

 to get out of the tube into the room. In the 

 first case (the light room; precaution must 

 be taken against bees flying against the glass 

 where they cannot get out. The window, or 

 windows, must have an opening at bottom 

 and too of eat/i window. 



2. I don't know, but I don't believe they 

 would do any better than Italians. 



3 There are times when a good queen of 

 either kind would find 12 frames too few. 

 Generally, however, either 10 or 12 will an- 

 swer. 



Which Hive to Use? 



1. Which would be the best for me, the 8 

 or 10 frame hives ? I do not want to let my 

 bees swarm in the spring. 



2. Which kind of hive do you think is the 

 best, the dovetailed or Wisconsin ? I have 

 my bees out-of doors all the year around. 

 Some tell me I should have the Wisconsin 

 because it has more of a front to shelter it 

 from the rain. But I began with the 

 dovetailed 8-frame hive. I ordered three 

 new hives last spring. I shall order the 

 Wisconsin after this if it is best for the 

 weather. I see in the catalog the Hoffman 

 brood-frame; will fit both kinds. 



3. Which is best for extracting, the full 

 depth or the shallow supers ? 



4. Which do you think is the best wood for 

 a hive, white pine or cypress? 



5. Which kind of hive is best for comb 

 honey ? lOWA. 



Answers.— I. The larger hive will prob- 

 ably be better for you. 



2. Doubtful if you will find any difference. 

 A front that protects against rain also gives 

 protection to spiders. But you will do well 

 to have only one kind. 



3. Except for the inconvenience they can- 

 not be used interchangeably in the brood- 

 chamber, theshallow frames are considered 

 better for extracting. The queen is less 

 likely to go up into them, and their shallow- 

 ness makes them easier to uncap. 



4. I have had no experience with cypress, 

 but have an idea one is about as good as the 

 other. 



5. There is probably nothing better than 

 the 10-frame dovetailed. 



Mr. S. Beebe in His Small Apiary at Beede Plain. Vt. 



Supering 



1. I read an article by Dr. Bonney in the No- 

 vember issue of the American Bee Journal 

 about cutting out chunks of finished lioney 

 to fit sections and then putting them on the 

 hives for about 36 hours for the bees to 

 fasten. This seems reasonable to me. what 

 do you say about it ? 



2. In the December Bee Journal I note that 

 you had some colonies this season with as 

 many as seven supers on them. Were these 

 supers added one at a time to the top. or 

 were the top supers lifted off each time 

 and the new super put next to the bottom ? 



3. If all seven of the supers had been put 

 on at once, would you have had as much 

 honey, and would the sections have been as 

 well filled? 



4. When you have so many supers on a 

 hive for any length of time, will not the first 

 filled sections become darkened from travel 

 stains by the bees ? 



. 5; If you should put two or three supers on 

 at onceat the beginning of a big How, would 

 the bees begiii storing in the top or bottom 

 super first ? 



6. If you would run a colony for both ex- 

 tracted and section honey, which super 

 would you put next to the brood, the section 

 super or the extracting super ? 



KENTt'CKV. 



Answers —I. You never can be sure about 

 a thine of that kind until it has been thor- 



