426 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



answered by 



Marengo, III. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sufficient special interest to 

 require replies from the 20 or more apiarists 

 who help to malie "Queries and Replies" so 

 interesting on another page. In the main, it 

 will contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly interest beginners.— Ed. 



Maple Sugar for "Wintering. 



What kind of a feed for bees would 

 maple sugar or syrup be, especially for 

 •wintering ? That is, diluted with water 

 to the common proportion of granulated 

 sugar syrup. T. E. D. 



Lexington, Ohio. 



Answer. — Root's "ABC of Bee-Cul- 

 ture " says : "Maple sugar, poured into 

 wired frames while hot, makes excellent 

 bee-candy. Cakes of maple sugar laid 

 over the frames answer equally well." I 

 have some doubts whether it would be 

 as well made into syrup, for there is 

 some tendency in maple sugar to attract 

 moisture, and it might become too thin. 

 Very likely there is a difference in this 

 respect in different lots. On the whole, 

 I think I would rather have granulated 

 sugar syrup if I couldn't have good 

 honey. 



Untested. Queens in the Fall. 



1. Do you consider the fall of the year 

 a good time to introduce young laying 

 queens? 



2. Would you advise a person to buy 

 queens this time of ihe year, or not ? 



3. What do you think of the young 

 queens that are being offered at 50 

 cents apiece? Are they just the thing 

 for one to buy for the purpose of improv- 

 ing his bees ? Or would It be better to 

 wait until spring, and buy tested queens? 



Anamosa, Iowa. 



F. M. W. 



Answers. — 1. I have often seen it 

 stated that fall is a good time for intro- 

 ducing queens, and I don't remember 

 seeing anything to the contrary. Not 



having much direct experience myself, 1 

 have just looked over a number of books, 

 and am surprised to find nothing about 

 it. 



2. A queen successfully introduced in 

 the fall has the advantage that in the 

 spring there is no stoppage in laying 

 caused by introducing, and queens can 

 be bought for less money in the fall. On 

 the other hand, there is the danger of 

 loss in wintering. 



3. At the same price, I'd rather have 

 a tested queen in the spring than an un- 

 tested one in the fall, or indeed any 

 time. But if from the same breeder I 

 can get three or four untested queens in 

 the fall for the same price as one tested 

 queen in the spring, I believe I would 

 take the untested queens. For if he is a 

 reputable breeder, the probability is 

 that most of his bees are purely mated, 

 and in the three or four you would stand 

 a good chance of having two queens as 

 good as his tested one. If a breeder has 

 a lot of queens to get rid of in the fall, I 

 don't know any reason why they should 

 not be just as good sold at 50 cents each 

 as if he sold the same queens for a dol- 

 lar. But I think some breeders claim 

 that they cannot be afforded at so low a 

 price. 



Keeping Honey in Barrels. 



Will honey in barrels keep good ? Or 

 is there danger of it getting sour in a 

 warm climate ? E. M. K. 



Cape Charles, Va. 



Answer. — I've had no experience in 

 that line, but from what I know of 

 honey in general, I should think there 

 might be danger. C. F. Muth is the 

 man who can tell. In any case I should 

 want such honey thoroughly ripened, 

 and if possible taken from combs with- 

 out pollen. 



Fall Extracting and Uniting. 



I make one artificial swarm a season 

 by dividing, and have got to the limit of 

 colonies I wish to keep, and now require 

 some information. After the breeding 

 season is over late in the fall, can I ex- 

 tract good, clean honey from the frames, 

 using a honey extractor ? Can I return 

 these frames to the hives, which are 

 porticos, nailing wire-cloth over, put 

 them in a cool, dry place, and in that 

 way preserve them for next season's 

 use ? 



Then what shall I do with those bee« '.' 

 Will it do, after killing off the old queen, 



