186 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 19, 



thermometers differ, and your cellar may be as cold for the 

 bees at 50- as your neighbor's at 40^, for there may be 10- 

 difference in the thermometers. A dry cellar will allow the 

 bees to be quiet at a lower temperature than a damp one. So 

 you see you must cut and try. If putting a fire in the cellar 

 makes the bees noisy at first, you needn't feel troubled about 

 that, but if the fire keeps the cellar at 50^', and the bees con- 

 tinue noisy for 24 or iS hours, then you better let the fire die 

 down and build one again a week later. If you can keep the 

 fire going all the time, and hold the temperature day after 

 day at that point where the bees are the most quiet — and that 

 will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 45^ — then 

 keep a steady fire. Otherwise put in an occasional fire, and 

 in the case of an occasional fire you can let the temperature 

 run higher than if you kept it going all the time. It will do 

 no harm if the temperature runs up for a short time to 60- or 

 more, but it might be dangerous to keep a constant fire at 

 that. 



^ I ■ 



Variety of BrooiI-Coinb§— marking Hive-En- 

 Irances — Tlirown-Oiit Brood. 



1. I have a lot of brood-combs which I intend to use at 

 swarming-time next season. There are a lot solid full of foun- 

 dation, and just as many frames solid with straight worker- 

 comb, a lot empty, with a little over l/lBxJ^ inch wax 

 starter instead of foundation, and a few dozen that contained 

 drone-comb, little patches which I cut out. Now how could I 

 use all of these the best, or with the best results? Would it 

 do to have them mixed, or each kind alone, when hived on 

 small quarters, or will they build out the partly-filled frame 

 again with drone-comb ? How about the starters ? I always 

 prevent after-swarming by moving the parent hive on the 

 eighth day. 



2. I see at these packed bees (sheds) on a warm day that 

 bees fly, they don't know which is there own home. They 

 don't fight, but fly from one bridge to another, 4 inches apart; 

 each bridge being 16 inches wide. How would it do to put 

 some kind of a mark above each entrance, and when I re- 

 move the sheds this spring to putthe same mark on each hive, 

 or wouldn't you mark them ? 



3. I bought a colony in a box-hive from a neighbor, moved 

 them home, and sometime in January I noticed chilled brood 

 at the box-hive entrance, and among the packed ones at this 

 date, I couldn't see any pushed-out brood, just as if they were 

 not at breeding. January was not so cold, and bees had sev- 

 eral flights, but February was colder, sometimes a little below 

 zero. Without knowing how the packed ones turn out, would 

 you think there was no chilling nor brood pushing out ? Each 

 packed colony has about 30 pounds of honey, and good sugar 

 and water fed early to some to make the 30 pounds. 



Brickerville, Pa. E. B. K. 



Answers. — 1. The first thing to do is to cut out all drone- 

 comb starters and melt them up. Don't think of saving any- 

 thing by using it for starters in any comb in which the queen 

 is ever expected to lay. With droue starters the bees are more 

 likely to continue building drone-comb. Very likely you'll do 

 best not to mix the foundation and empty combs. Bees are 

 more likely to build worker-comb the first few days after 

 swarming than they are later. So it may be a good plan to 

 crowd a swarm onto four or five frames, and when those are 

 about filled give the balance of the frames filled with founda- 

 tion. 



2. Yes, it's a good plan to have something by which the 

 bees can mark their own entrances. A post or a board stand- 

 ing between two entrances is a good thing. Any kind of a 

 mark will help. 



3. I think you needn't be very anxious about the brood 

 you saw thrown out. You'll probably find them all right in 

 spring. 



Traiiirerring During iTIaple Bloom. 



To-day (Feb. 18) my bees are coming in loaded with pol- 

 len and honey. If this continues, would it do to transfer ? 

 The soft maples will be in bloom in about two weeks, and the 

 bees work on them more than on fruit-bloom, at least here at 

 my place. My bees have a good deal of honey. If I transfer 

 I can put this into the new hive. W. D. M. 



Ferris, Greg. 



Answer. — Having no personal experience in the matter, 

 I wouldn't like to speak positively, but I suspect that it will 

 be well to wait till later than maple bloom. Even if the bees 

 work more on maple than on fruit-bloom, the weather during 



soft-maple bloom is not so warm as in fruit-bloom, and after 

 being transferred the bees need weather warm enough to work 

 wax in good shape so as to make all needed repairs. You 

 could tell by trying a single hive during maple. 



Alfalfa Growing. 



A correspondent at Platteville, Iowa, which is on the 

 southern line of the State, writes as follows : 



"As I am thinking of sowing some alfalfa, I want to 

 know what kind of success it has had in Iowa. Will it grow 

 on any kind of soil ? What kind of soil does it favor ? Do you 

 think it would do well in southern Iowa ? How much seed 

 should be sowed to the acre? Which do you think the most 

 profitable, alfalfa or red clover ? When should alfalfa be 

 sowed and how should the ground be prepared ? Should it be 

 cut or pastured the first year? Should it be sowed with a 

 nurse crop ?" 



There are a good many instances of successful alfalfa 

 growing in Iowa, and a good many in the southwestern part of 

 the State. There are also a considerable number of failures, 

 some of which have been due to bad methods in sowing and 

 growing, and some to an improper selection of the soil ; for re- 

 plying to the second question put by our correspondent, alfal- 

 fa will not grow on every soil. It does best on a deep sandy 

 soil, underlaid by a loose, permeable subsoil. It will not grow 

 where there is an excess of water in the soil, nor where there 

 is hardpan between the surface and the permanent water table, 

 which should not be less than six or eight feet below the sur- 

 face. Success with alfalfa seems to depend upon large root 

 growth, and this root growth ceases if the roots reach water 

 too soon. We think there are many places in southern Iowa 

 where alfalafa would do well. 



The seed weighs 60 pounds to the bushel. For a hay crop 

 it is customary to sow from one-third to a half bushel, and for 

 a seed crop from eight to nine quarts, say from 15 to 18 

 pounds. As to which is the most profitable, alfalfa or red 

 clover, a direct answer is hardly possible. The feeding value 

 of alfalfa is nearly a half greater in protein than that of clover 

 of equal quality, one-sixth less in carbohydrates and somewhat 

 less in vegetable fat. Where both do well, the alfalfa is much 

 the larger producer, and it also has the advantage of being a 

 perennial, lasting with suitable management, soil and climate, 

 indefinitely. It has the disadvantage of being harder to cure 

 than hay, and it suffers greater loss from shattering of leaves, 

 which is the most valuable part of the hay. 



Alfalfa should be sowed or drilled as early in the spring as 

 the ground is warm and the danger from late frosts has passed. 

 The ground should be plowed deep and the surface should be 

 made smooth and mellow. The seed should be covered lightly, 

 not to exceed an inch, using a light harrow or brush, or if broad- 

 casted just before rain no harrowing or brushing will be nec- 

 essary. It should not be cut or pastured the first year, but its 

 chief enemy during the first season being weeds it will be ad- 

 vantageous to mow two or three times during the season with 

 the cutter-bar set high, leaving the cuttings on the field as a 

 mulch. It should not be sowed with a nurse-crop, although 

 there are some experiences where fairly good results have 

 been obtained without a nurse-crop, — The Homestead. 



Removal Xotice. — In order to get more room, we 



have removed from 56 Fifth Ave. to 118 Michigan St., 



where all our correspondents should now address us. We are 



on the 3rd floor in the large brick building on the southwest 



corner of La Salle and Michigan Streets — one block north and 



one block east of the Chicago & Northwestern Passenger 



Station. Remember, we are on Michigan Street, not Michigan 



Avenue. The latter is used almost wholly as a boulevard and 



residence thoroughfare, while the former (where we are) is a 



business street. 



< ■ » 



A Ne'w Binder for holding a year's numbers of the 

 American Bee Journal, we propose to mail, postpaid, to every 

 subscriber who sends us 15 cents. It is called " The Wood 

 Binder," is patented, and is an entirely new and very simple 

 arrangement. Full printed directions accompany each Binder. 

 Every reader should get it, and preserve the copies of the Bee 

 Journal as fast as they are received. They are invaluable for 

 reference, and at the low price of the Binder you can afford to 

 get it yearly. 



If any one desires two of the Binders — one for 1895 

 and one for 1896 — send 25 cents, and they will be mailed to 

 you. 



