1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



729 



wire side down, between two of the frames, so that the bees 

 in the hive will have opportunity to communicate freely with 

 the queen and bees in the cage, and thus enable them to be- 

 come acquainted with each other. If the frames are covered 

 with board, it will be betterto substitute a heavy cloth for this 

 until the queen is released. Leave the bees and queen in the 

 cage on the hive for two or three days, and then open the hive 

 and hunt out the old queen, being careful to disturb the bees 

 as little as possible. As soon as the old queen is found, cage 

 her or kill her at once and close up the hive as expeditiously 

 as possible. Remove the board from over the candy, and turn 

 back the wire-cloth just a little ways, so the bees in the hive 

 can have access to the candy, and then place the cage back on 

 the hive the same as before. Some cages have a plug in the 

 end containing the food, so that it is only necessary to remove 

 this to give the bees access to the candy. Close up the hive 

 and leave it alone, and in a short time the bees will eat their 

 way into the cage and release the queen and bees, and the 

 work is done. 



A colony treated in this way will not be queenless to ex- 

 ceed two or three hours, and but little time will be lost, as the 

 new queen is apt to commence laying the next day. Queens 

 can be introduced in this way at any season of the year, and 

 there is no danger of loss if these instructions are carried out 

 properly. Dealers, if they so desire, can keep several queens 

 on a hive, in the way suggested above, for a week or more at 

 a time, and then introduce any one of them to the colony 

 whenever they wish, after the third day, as the bees would 

 accept. any one of the queens thus kept on the hive. 



" The Principal Household Insects of the 



United States," is the title of Bulletin No. 4: (New Series), just 

 issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Division of Entomology. The authors are Professors L. O. 

 Howard and C. L. Marlatt. It also contains a chapter on 

 •" Insects Affecting Dry Vegetable Poods," by F. H. Chitten- 

 den. Every housekeeper will want a copy of this Bulletin, as 

 it not only tells all about the various pestiferous household 

 insects, but also how to annihilate them. Send to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for a free copy. 



Bee-Keeping: Editors. — Mr. D. Talmage, of 

 Podunk, N. Y , has lots of sympathy for the editors of bee- 

 papers, and tells about it in this language in the^October Pro- 

 gressive Bee-Keeper: 



One of the great trials of the editors of bee-papers, is that 

 they are compelled to see more sham than any other part of 

 the profession. Through every bee-journal office day after 

 ■day go all the weaknesses of bee-keeping ; all the vanities of 

 yellow 5-banded bees that want to be puffed ; all the revenges 

 that want to be reaped ; all the mistakes that want to be cor- 

 rected ; all the dull writers to be thought too smart: all the 

 meanness that wants to get its wares noticed gratis (where 

 meanness has been baptized and called religion, it is as deadly 

 as the small-pox) in order to save thp tax on the advertising 

 column. All the bee-keepers who want to be set right, who 

 never were right, and never will be; all the cracked-brained 

 would-be professionals ; through the editorial rooms all the 

 follies and shams of bee-keeping are seen day after day, and 

 the temptation is never to believe in God, man or woman. It 

 is no surprise to me that in the profession there are some 

 skeptical men. I only wonder that bee-keeping editors believe 

 anything. 



We fear that Mr. Talmage hasj under estimated the abili- 

 ties of most bee-editors to withstand such] a deluge, as] he 

 enumerates. Why, they get accustomed to'everything — even 

 are compelled, some times, to endure] the rasping] dishonesty 

 of a bee-keeper who will continue to take and read a tee- 

 paper for two or more years, and then call the publisher a 

 fool for having trusted him ! But there is some satisfaction 

 in the belief that such fellows will get their just deserts some 

 day — if not in this world, then hereafter. 



It is rather trying, after one has endeavored]to be accom- 

 modating, to learn that the one receiving the favors was en- 

 tirely unworthy. Still, we must not " weary in welldoing," 

 " for in due time we shall reap if we faint]uot." 



See"" Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page 717. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. O. O. MIT^LER, AIARMNGO. ILL, 



IQuestions may be mailed to the Bee Jour4al, or to Dr. Miller direct.] 



Keeping Combs Over Winter. 



The "A B C of Bee-Culture " recommends wintering bees 

 on six frames, placing chaff division-boards in the hive in place 

 of the two outside frames taken away. How are the combs 

 removed from the bees to be kept free from moth-worms ? 



I have some old, odd-sized frames, very well stored with 

 pollen, that I acquired in trade, and I am puzzled to know 

 how to protect them until I can give them bees to occupy 

 them. Thus far I have had them taken care of by placing 

 them under a colony, with queen-excluding zinc between. 



St. Louis, Mo. W. 



Answer. — There is probably no better way to keep the 

 combs not in use than the way you have already used, namely, 

 keeping them under a colony, and it is hardly necessary to 

 have a queen excluder over them. If for any reason you do 

 not want to keep them under the bees all winter, there need 

 be little fear that any harm will come to them from worms 

 from this time till late next spring, when you can again give 

 them in charge of the bees. Or, after the winter is over, and 

 they have been subjected to severe freezing, they may keep 

 all right in a cellar, although it might be well to look occa- 

 sionally to see whether worms had hatched in them. 



Three Colonies in One. 



I purchased a colony of bees last March, from which two 

 swarms issued during the summer. The first swarm came off 

 in June — a strong one — which I put into a large section of a 

 hollow log. I intend getting the frame hives next spring. 

 They stored, I should think, about 70 pounds of honey. The 

 second swarm issued a few weeks later from the original hive. 

 This was a small swarm. They were also hived in a hollow 

 log. They stored but very little honey — about 17 pounds. 

 The second swarm was robbed of all its honey, and having 

 killed its queen, I moved their hive and placed the hive con- 

 taining the strong colony in its place. The bees robbed of 

 their queen were easily induced to enter the large hive. The 

 original colony not having sufficient honey to winter on, was 

 treated in the same manner. It was a small colony. Is there 

 any likelihood of this being a success — three colonies in one 

 hive, with sufficient honey to keep them ? 0. L. S. 



Little Sioux, Iowa. 



Answer. — There is probably no reason why the combined 

 colony may not do well. But after you have increased the 

 number of your colonies to some extent, you will find you can- 

 not repeat the same thing with the same result. You put a 

 strong colony in the place of a weak colony, and the two 

 united all right, the bees of the strong colony following their 

 hive and accepting the new location. If a number of colonies 

 had been sitting around, the result might have been somewhat 

 detrimental to the strong colony. For instead of finding their 

 own hive, they would probably have united with the colony 

 that stood nearest their own old location. 



Using Vnlinishcd Sections Anotlier Season— Leav- 

 ing Supers of Sections on During Winter. 



1. If I take sections filled, or partly filled, with nice 

 white comb, and keep them so during the winter, fill supers 

 with them and put them on the hives in the spring for the 

 first flow of honey, will my customers complain of "fishbone?" 

 Will honey put in a section from a " starter " be any nicer or 

 more tender than the other? I never have any trouble get- 

 ting bees started in supers, but if so, I could use some of them 

 for baits. I have plenty of foundation, and do not want to 

 spoil my honey crop by using these filled sections on a venture 



2. I have a good many supers still on the hives, filled and 



