January, 1914. 



American l^ee Journal 



oiiKhly tried out by the Ijees. It is possibl u 

 that it might be advantageous for those who 

 have difficulty in getting bees to worVi 

 promptly in sections. I don't have any dif- 

 licultyof that kind, so I can hardly believe 

 I would gain by it. 



2. There was no cast-iron rule about it. 

 but generally it was like this: When the 

 first super was well started, perhaps half 

 tilled, or well crowded with bees, a second 

 super was put under it. and generally an 

 empty super on top of all. After that, when- 

 ever the bottom super was about half filled 

 the top super was put at bottom and an 

 empty super put on top of all. 



!. Like enough the result last season 

 would have been about the same, because 

 of the continuously long season, but how 

 could I tell in advance whether the season 

 would close in three days or three months r* 



4. No. because none is left on long enough 

 to be darkened: moreover, each super is 

 raised higher before the sealing, and sec- 

 tions are darkened after the sealing, and 

 when sections are high enough from the 

 brood-chamber they are darkened very 

 slowly, if at all. 



5. I would expect them to begin on the 

 lower super. 



6. Those who use the two kinds of supers 

 put the extracting super on first. But I 

 wouldn't think of doing a thing of that kind 

 unless I preferred to have the extracted 

 honey. 



Sour Honey 



1. How tar from the public highway does 

 the law require an apiary to be to insure 

 one from all damages ? 



2, Will honey extracted from comb freshly 

 built and not capped over sour if placed in 

 a can ? If so. how would you iirevent this ? 



^. Will comb and extracted honey put in 

 regular honey buckets sour if kept any 

 length of time ? Indiana. 



Answers.— I. That depends altogether 

 upon the the local or State laws. Generally 

 I think there is no law about it. but if you 

 are wise you will not risk having your bees 

 close enough to the highway to endanger any 

 one passing by. If your bees are very gen- 

 tle it may be safe to have them close to the 

 roadside. Some bees are not safe lo rods 

 away. 



2. Maybe, and maybe not. Sometimes 

 honey is sealed before it is ripened, but 

 generally not. The remedy is to wait until 

 the honey is sealed before extracting. Even 

 if it never soured, it will be money in your 

 pocket in the long run if you never put any- 

 thing on the market but the very best ripen- 

 ed article. 



3. Either kind may be kept for years with- 

 out souring if well ripened by the bees, and 

 then kept in a dry place where it will not 

 attract moisture. Keep it in a place where 

 salt will keep dry. If salt gets moist in a 

 certain place, so will honey unless it be ex- 

 tracted honey tightly sealed. 



tine the- bees nearly all out of the house- 

 after transferring quite a little brood and 

 some empty combs into an empty hive. 

 There was about lou pounds of honey we 

 gave to the owner, and we put 25 pounds in 

 an empty super for the bees. I am not sure 

 whether the old queen remained outside 

 with a few bees or not. Anyway, these few 

 bees left a good swarm and queen in the 

 hive. The swarm was gathering pollen yes- 

 terday. 



The other swarm was nearer the ground, 

 and was taken out quite easily. The queen 

 remained outside with a small cluster of 

 bees for several days, and finally when I 

 found her I introduced her to the main part 

 of the swarm by the smoke method, I'he 

 colony is doing well. I now have 1^ colonies 

 of my own and three on shares. I never knew 

 bees to gather pollen from dandelion as ours 

 are doing this month. My bees are in ex- 

 cellent shape for winter, J. W. Stine. 



Salem. Iowa. Nov. 20. 



Winters Successfully Out-of-Doors 



I have had a very good year with my bees. 

 I had 4<j colonies, spring count, and increased 

 to 88. I have taken 4300 pounds of honey. 

 2600 pounds of comb and 1700 pounds of ex- 

 tracted, and of the very finest quality, and I 

 have it nearly all closed outat good prices. I 

 doubled some of my colonies, and put them 

 into winter quarters in good condition. I re- 

 duced them to 80 colonies. I winter them in 

 the apiary. 



I build a close fence about 30 inches high, 

 and place the bees in front of this fence on 

 hive stands facing the east. I leave a 4-inch 

 space between the fence and the back of the 

 hives, and about 3 inches between hives, I 

 shelter the front of the hives with lo-inch 

 boards over the entrance, and on these 

 boards I place on edge 8 inch boards. I then 

 pack all this space about the hives with dry 

 leaves. I leave one empty super on each 

 hive, and lay crosswise over the brood- 

 chamber two or three corncobs to make a 

 passage-way for bees over the frames. I 

 then spread a burlap cloth over these and 

 fill the super with oat chaff, then put on the 

 hive cover, completely coverall with leaves, 

 and roof of prepared roofing. 



i have been very successful in wintering 

 bees in thfs way. B. A. Manlev. 



Milo. Iowa. Dec. i. 



This Ohio Report Shows Up Well 



We had a very good year with the bees. 

 We started the season with 12 colonies, in- 

 creased them to 26. and only had 4 swarms. 

 We bought 18 colonies, and caught one stray 

 swarm. We secured i;oo pounds of honey. 

 1000 pounds of comb and "ou pounds of ex- 

 tracted. We have now 35 colonies, with 

 plenty of stores for winter. 



Edward Blackstone. 



Cumberland, Ohio. Nov. 17. 



and was afraid of the bees. He told me ' 

 might have the bees if I would take them 

 out. 



We first built a scaffold up under where 

 the bees were and proceeded to tear the old 

 weather-boarding off. I succeeded in get- 



The Influence of the Bee Journal 



I only had 23 colonies. spring"count, and I 

 averaged 200 pounds of honey per colony, 

 one-third extracted and two-thirds comb, 

 but the bees had to draw all the foundation 

 out. Attached are two pictures of my api- 



An Excellent Crop 



I began the season of 1013 with 14 colonies, 

 increased to 20 by natural swarming, and got 

 2723 pounds of extracted honey. My bees 

 are in a good healthy condition for winter. 

 Fred Bechly. 



Searsboro, Iowa, Nov. 17. 



430 Pounds from 2 Colonies 



I work on the railroad and have only morn- 

 ings and evenings to attend to my bees. I 

 had 2 colonies in the spring, and they gave 

 me no increase. I took 430 pounds of honey. 

 200 in sections, and 230 in brood-frames. How 

 did I manipulate my bees? Just watched 

 them work and gave plenty of super room; 

 that is all I had time to do. 



1 sell my honey at home, and have no trou- 

 ble in getting 15 cents per pound. I could 

 sell a lot more if I had it. I keep in touch 

 with the .American Bee Journal and get 

 honey money: keep your money and get lit- 

 tle honey. H. C. Springer. 



McCallsburg, Iowa. 



Removing Bees from a House 



I have been having some experiences with 

 our bees this fall that"have"been rather in- 

 teresting to me. anti I thought possibly it 

 might be new to at least some of the readers 

 of the " Old Reliable.' In October a friend 

 of ours in Lee county asked me to take two 

 swarms of bees from the north side of his 

 house, as he wished to put on new siding. 



Fic. 



"Bee Gums," likewise breeding places for disease. Limited capital and energy 

 will transform these boxes into honey yielding hives. 



