Feb. 8, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



87 



exudation from plants. It your bees had much of that for their 

 winter stores, they will not winter so well as-upon flower honey. 

 Sometimes, however, it seems to be all right. 



3. No bee-paper is publisht in this country in any other than 

 the English language. Some of our ablest beekeepers in this 

 country are German, but they are familiar also with the English 

 language in nearly all cases, and a German bee-paper could hardly 

 have a living support. Some, however, get bee-papers from Ger- 

 many, where-some able ones are publisht. We owe a deep debt of 

 gratitude to Germans tor their careful investigations, especially 

 to Dr. Dzierzon for the Dzierzon theory. 



Locating an Apiary. 



Inclosed is a rough drawing of a section of country in Winne- 

 bago County, Wis. I would lilje to get your opinion in regard to 

 which place you think would be the best to locate a bee-yard. You 

 will see by the drawing where they were last season, and another 

 place markt where 1 had some thought of placing them next sea- 

 son. This is a level country, no hills and no woods to fly over; the 

 river is about 40 rods wide,andagood many bees drop in the water 

 on days that are still and no wind, when they are loaded heavy 

 with honey. 



I have U4 colonies in the cellar, but they are not doing as well 

 as you say yours were Jan. 5. Wisconsin. 



Answer. — Your question is exceedingly difficult to answer. 

 As I understand the drawing, the question is between the location 

 you had last year and one a mile farther south. Last year's loca- 

 tion seems to be more fully in white clover, while the new location 

 brings you nearer a patch of basswood (which, however, was not 

 so very far from the old location.) and nearer a marsh of wild rice 

 and fall flowers. On the whole, as there is a good allowance of 

 white clover and a little better chance on the other things, it is al- 

 together likely that the southern location may be the best. You 

 can only be sure of the matter by trying a number in each loca- 

 tion in the same year. Even then, it is possible that another year 

 might not show exactly the same result. 



Getting Honey and Increase. 



In order to obtain the most honey and at the same time double 

 the number of colonies, would it be a good plan to take, about the 

 first of June, one frame with the queen and adhering bees to start 

 a nucleus with, allowing the parent colony to rear a young queen ? 

 Would this plan be likely to stop swarming, or would the bees be 

 likely to swarm with the first queen hatcht ? If you know of a 

 better method that is not too laborious kindly let me know. 



Subscriber. 



Answer. — You can hardly take a surer plan to make your 

 bees swarm than the one you propose. Instead of that, you might 

 take from the old hive all but two or three of its combs, taking 

 with each comb its adhering bees, putting these on a new stand, 

 leaving on the old stand the two or three combs with the old 

 queen, filling up with foundation. 



Perhaps Pickled Brood. 



We have had bees for about 15 years, and they had been very 

 bealthy until the spring of 1897, when I noticed dead brood in sev- 

 eral hives. I at once supposed they had foul brood. I read up care- 

 fully on the subject and again examined them, and decided that 

 they didn't have foul brood. 



About 5 or 6 colonies are badly affected, and two swarmed out. 

 I destroyed their combs. One colony got away, and the other one 

 I hived on empty combs and they did real well. 



While I was trying to devise some treatment, new honey and 

 pollen began coming in, and the disease disappeared as if by magic. 

 It did not appear again that year, or in 1S9S, that I noticed, except 

 one or two colonies I thought were slightly affected, but last year 

 (1899) it appeared again with a vengeance. I found evidences of 

 the disease in about 90 percent of my colonies, and am inclined to 

 believe that all were more or less affected. 



Stmtto.ms. — I winter my bees in the cellar. Last winter they 

 bad the dysentery before removing them, and their combs were 

 quite foul and moldy — the mold seemed to extend into the bee- 

 bread as well. I fed sugar syrup and placed corn meal within easy 

 reach of them to stimulate brood-rearing. Their first brood seemed 

 all right, but within less than a month the brood began to die. In 

 some colonies the bees would seem to shrink from the dead larvie 

 and leave them in the cell, while in other colonies they would re- 

 move the dead and you would hardly notice the disease. 



The dead larva? in the cells usually remained white for a day 

 or so, then they would turn a light brown color and became watery 

 and soft, but would not be "ropy," nor give off an ofl'ensive odor 

 as in foul brood. The larvae were invariably attackt just before 

 they were sealed, but some brood died after it was sealed. 



The old bees seemed to be affected, too, as the bees disappeared 

 from some colonies, and good young queens disappeared quite 

 often also. I know that my bees were thoroly disheartened, and 

 swarmed out very often. 



The moths that never used to attack my Italian bees seemed 

 to have perfect freedom to do as they pleased, and they workt 

 ^reat havoc. 



I read an article on pickled brood, and I suppose that is what 



ails my bees. I know that the bee-bread seemed to be moldy, and 

 as the year was a poor one, the bees ilid not replace it with fresh. 



What I would like to know is, what ails my bees and what I 

 must do to get rid of it. What ia pickled brood ? Is pickled brood 

 caused by mold in bee-bread ; Would it remove the cause of pick- 

 led brood to cut out all bee-bread in the spring and feed nour, 

 meal, etc., in its stead ; Would medicated syrup help to effect a 

 cure ? How can I remove pickled brood ? Is there any book on 

 pickled brood ? Iowa. 



Answer. — Answering yonr questions as a job lot, without 

 taking them in exact order, this matter of bee-diseases seems to be 

 getting more complicated all the time. At present they are having 

 a time in New York, especially the eastern part of the State, with 

 a disease that seems much like foul brood, but is now said with 

 posltiveness not to be that disease. Just what it is, and what is 

 the cure for it, seems left for the future. Your disease may be 

 pickled brood, but I don't know enough to say positively. There 

 is no book on pickled brood, I think, the nearest to it being a leaflet 

 publisht at the Bee Journal oSice. Page 577 of this journal for 

 1896, and page 5:i0 for 1898, give a good deal of information as to 

 pickled brood. Instead of becoming ropy and foul-smelling, the 

 brood seems to sour and become watery without any smell. Moldy 

 pollen favors the disease, and a plenty of fresh pollen favors its 

 disappearance. From that it would appear that youT suggestion 

 to cut out all pollen and give a substitute ought to be a benefit, but 

 I don't know for certain. There seems to be no testimony in favor 

 of feeding medicated syrup. 



A sample sent to Dr. Wm. R. Howard, 503 Main St., Ft. Worth, 

 Texas, might decide at least what the disease is. 



increase by Swarming and Dividing. 



I have 5 colonies of Italian bees and want them to swarm once. 

 Would it do after they cast a swarm to divide the old colony into 

 4-frame nuclei, and introduce a queen in each ? 



In the A B C of Bee-Culture, page 204, it says there is one ob- 

 jection and that is, some of the bees will return to the parent col- 

 ony. On the same page it says of Mr. Somerford's plan, that he 

 leaves a queen-cell in each hive and stops the entrances with moss, 

 and lets the bees gnaw out; by so doing they all stay. 



I can't do this, as my neighbor keeps black bees. Would it an- 

 swer the same purpose to close the entrance to the hive after in- 

 troducing the queen ? Alexandria. 



Answer. — Yes, from each colony that has swarmed you can 

 make two nuclei having four frames each, and if the season is good 

 enough they may make their way without any help, otherwise 

 they will need help. You can use the closed-entrance plan all the 

 same, whether you introduce queens or not. But in your case it 

 will hardly be necessary to close the entrances, for dividing the 

 mother colony in two will give you pretty strong nuclei. If you 

 put the swarm on a new stand, and leave one of the nuclei on the 

 old stand, you will certainly not need to close the entrance of the 

 the nucleus left on the old stand, for no bees will leave the old 

 stand. The probability, however, is that you will put the swarm 

 on the old stand ; and if at the time you do that you divide the old 

 colony into two parts, setting each part in a new place, enough 

 bees will be left in each to make a good nucleus. A day or two 

 after swarming, cut out all queen-cells in the nuclei, and they will 

 be in good condition to receive a queen. 



Making Nuclei— Stimulative Feeding. 



1. I was much interested in Mr. F. L. Rehn's nucleus method 

 on page 33, but I cannot understand how he keeps the bees in the 

 nuclei from smothering after he "plugs the entrance with fresh 

 grass as tight as possible and nails a strip of wood across," and 

 leaves them so for 5 days. 



2. Also, he mentions in two places that he gives frames with 

 I4 sheets of foundation ; would it not be as good or better to give 

 full sheets ? 



3. Will sugar syrup do for stimulative feeding ? Hosper. 



Answer. — 1. If you have ever tried closing tight a strong col- 

 ony on a hot day, I don't wonder that you think it might be dan- 

 gerous. But it is quite a different matter when you put only two 

 or three combs with adhering bees in a full-sized hive, and you 

 could hardly seal the entrance close enough to smother them. 



2. I think the full sheets would be an improvement. 



3. Yes, but it is not considered so good as honey. The Ger- 

 mans do a good deal in that line, and favor the use of honey and 

 pollen masht up together. 



If you are intending to follow the example given. It may not 

 be out of place to remark that you will hardly get so good queens 

 it cells are started in weak nuclei. 



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