294 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



May 10, 1900. 



pany let us vote on the changes in their catalog' ? If they 

 did, I never knew of it. 



Less than a week ago an old man, who has a better 

 education than I have, drove 10 miles over as rough road as 

 I ever saw, in the rain, to get me to order some bee-hives 

 for him. He could not understand Root's catalog. Don't 

 think he is behind on bees, for he has the prettiest lot of 

 hives I know of, and his bees are well bred up. I showed 

 him a copy of the American Bee Journal, and he was de- 

 lighted with the improvement in spelling. I haven't found 

 any one yet but what saj's it is a good thing for the future. 

 I can't see anything but selfishness that would cause any- 

 body to kick against the spelling reform. Any one can tell 

 who is selfish by the way some threaten to stop taking the 

 Bee Journal. I have always heard just such threats at 

 anti-whiskey elections. Take heed from that. I have 

 known men that were very prominent to get frightened and 

 vote with the whiskey crowd so as to be on the popular side, 

 and thus ruin themselves. The whiskey men won't sup- 

 port them in an election ; they have no confidence in a man 

 that they can turn. Everybody admires a man that will do 

 his duty, and let the world say what it may. 



Look at Lincoln. Suppose he had been turned and 

 easilj' frightened — we would be buying and selling God's 

 people to-day as if they were corn or wheat. Be sure you 

 are right, and then go ahead. Take Christ for your leader ; 

 he is safe and sure. Men are like the wind — you never 

 know when to depend upon them. 



Suppose Gleanings in Bee-Culture would listen to some 

 people, and stop its home talks ; where do you think it 

 would go ? That would give it a set-back in the Christian 

 homes, and they are the ones that have spread it over the 

 land. I hope I may see the day that Jesus can get room in 

 every book and paper in the land ; then we will not be 

 afraid to send money to an advertiser, and the get-rich- 

 quick fellows will have to go to work like all honest people. 

 Wheadon, the crooked commission man in Chicago, a few 

 j-ears ago, tried very hard to get my honej', but I simply re- 

 fused to have anything to do with him, because his quota- 

 tions never appeared in the American Bee Journal. Oh, 

 what a kick he did make at Editor York ; but kicks against 

 an honest man do him more good than harm. 



Look at the newspapers — what attention do we pay to 

 their advertisments ? I have never taken a newspaper but 

 what would advertise anything for money. How much re- 

 spect have we for the editors of such papers. The more 

 people kick at a good thing the more good people will like 

 it; and that is one sign it is gaining ground; for that is 

 what causes the worst kick. We find the same thing in re- 

 gard to temperance. Llano Co., Tex. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. O. O. MILLIiR, Marengo, 111, 



(The Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal oflBce, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editor. 1 



Italianizing Colonies of Blacks. 



I would like to ask about Italianizing black colonies of 

 bees, referred to on page 38. I see that your Italian colony, 

 which we will call No. 1, gets to breeding up and swarming 

 first. When it swarms, put the swarm on the stand of No. 



1, and set No. 1 in place of another strong colony, say No. 



2, setting No. 2 in a new place, and so on. I would like to 

 know if the flying bees from No. 2 going into No. 1 won't 

 be stung to death ? That is what I understand by reading 

 and talking with bee-keepers. Maine. 



Answer. — No, no danger. At a time when bees are 

 swarming, the returning bees always come in from the field 

 laden, and will be kindly received. At a time when no honey 

 is coming in there might be some danger, in some cases 

 great danger that bees would be killed, but when honey is 

 yielding, bees are very good-natured about being mixt up. 



Dividing for Increase. 



1. How shall I divide a double 8-frame Langstroth hive 

 to produce comb honey in order to get surplus from both 

 colonies, the original hive having brood in both stories ? 



2. If this cannot be done successfully, what is my best 

 method of dividing them ? Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. It is somewhat doubtful whether you can 

 manage any way that will give as much honey from the 

 two as by keeping the force united. You might do it in 

 some places where there is a heavy flow late in the season, 

 but hardly in Iowa. 



2. This way might answer : Pick out the frames with 

 least brood and put in one of the stories with the queen, 

 setting this storj' close beside the old stand, leaving on the 

 old stand the other story containing the eight frames that 

 have the most brood, doing this just before swarming-time. 

 If no queeia-cells were present when this was done, there 

 will be some ready to hatch in 10 days or more. So 9 days 

 after making the division, move to a laew stand the queen- 

 less hive, and the depletion will discourage the bees so that 

 only one queen will survive. 



Using Combs Again in a Case of Supposed Bee-Paralysis. 



I had a colony die last fall from a disease that I believe 

 was paralysis. The hive is full of good combs. Would you 

 advise me to put another swarm into that hive, and leave 

 the old combs, or should I melt them up ? Penn. 



Answer. — I hardly know, but there might be no great 

 risk in using the combs again, if you are sure it was noth- 

 ing worse than paralysis, which is not generally a very bad 

 thing as far north as Pennsylvania. 



Caged Queen and Swarming. 



Will placing a caged queen in the hive produce swarm- 

 ing ? If so, about how soon after putting in the queen will 

 it result ? Minnesota. 



Answer. — I don't know, but I should have little faith 

 in it. A sealed queen-cell would be more likely to produce 

 swarming. If conditions for swarming were unfavorable, 

 the cell would be unceremoniouslj' torn down. If conditions 

 were favorable, a sealed cell might (this is only a guess) 

 produce swarming in 3 or 4 days. 



Spacer-Nails— Wide Bottom-Bars. 



1. Can you sell me some of those spacer-nails, or where 

 can I get them ? 



2. Why do vou want so wide a bottom-bar when a comb 

 is only Vs inch ? Missouri. 



Answers. — 1. You can get them in any hardware 

 store. Just common 1'4 inch wire nails. If your hardware 

 merchant keeps more than one weight, get the heavier 

 ones, with heads 3-16 across. That's the kind he is most 

 likely to have if he has only one kind. To drive them in 

 the right depth, use a block '4 inch thick with a slit sawed 

 in half an inch. Or you can make a very good work by 

 having a stick '4 inch thick and holding it beside the nail. 

 A nail made with a special head to drive just deep enough 

 would be just the thing, but you can't get them. 



2. I've hardly used them years enough to be entirely 



certain it is best to have such wide bottom-bars. The chief 



object in having them so wide is to prevent building comb 



between them. 



^ > »■ 



When to Put on Sections. 



1. When is the proper time to put on sections? 



2. I use Hoffman frames and put in foundation starters 

 2 inches wide. Is it necessary to use separators ? 



3. Is it advisable to put supers on swarms that come off 

 in June and July ? New Hampshire. 



Answers.— 1. The old rule is to put on supers when you 

 see bits of white wax along the top-bar and upper part of 

 the comb. The rule is a verj' good one if you have no ob- 

 jection to swarming, but if you desire to avoid swarming in 

 every possible way, it is better to have supers on a little 

 sooner. In New Hampshire your first storing in supers is 



