422 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



July S, 1900. 



both the red aad the white clover. It is a stronger grower 

 than the white, and has a whitish blossom tinged with 

 pink. This forms excellent pasture and hay for cattle, 

 sheep, etc., and may well be sown bj' the apiarist. It will 

 often pay apiarists to furnish neighbor farmers with seed as 

 an inducement to grow this par excellent honey-plant. Like 

 white clover, it blooms all thru June into July. It should 

 be sown early in spring with timothy, five or six pounds to 

 the acre, in the same manner that clover is sown." — Popu- 

 lar Science Monthly. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C. O. MILLER. Marengo, 111. 



[The Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal office, or to Dr. Miller 



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



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editor. 1 



Preserving Fruit witli Honey. 



1. How can I preserve fruit in honey, and' not destroy 

 the flavor of the honey ? I have a good crop of both, and 

 by putting together in good order it may enable me to find 

 consumers that I would not otherwise. Alab.\ma. 



Answek. — I have seen it stated that all that was nec- 

 essary was to put the fruit in the honey, making sure than 

 it was entirely covered. A number of reports, however, say 

 it was not a success, and it is a little doubtful whether it 

 would be well for you to try it pn a large scale. If any have 

 succeeded, perhaps they will report. 



The Empty Hive Above or Below— Which ? 



In the "ABC of BeeCuIture " it advises putting the 

 new hive at the top and the bees will move up. In a recent 

 issue of the Bee Journal one of the correspondents advised 

 putting the new hive at the bottom, and the bees will move 

 down. Are they both right ? If so, which will work the 

 better, and how long a time will it take ? Illinois. 



Answer.— Both are right. I prefer to put the added 

 story under, if it is expected to be occupied as a brood-nest, 

 as that loses less heat, and bees naturally extend down- 

 wards. It may take all summer, or only a few days, de- 

 pending upon the conditions and the strength of the colony. 



Questions on Queen-Rearing. 



1. If I deprive a strong colony of bees of their queen 

 and all brood, and give them when they show signs of their 

 queenlessness, some hatching eggs on the Alley plan, and 

 feed them for 5 days a pint of honey, will bees prepared 

 thus rear as good queens as under the Doolittle plan of 

 queen-rearing ? If not, why not? 



2. Is there any other objection to queenless bees rear- 

 ing inferior queens, than that of selecting too-old larv;t.- ? 

 If there is not, then by giving them just hatching eggs we 

 do the selecting and are on the right side in this point. 



3. I havi- tried the Doolittle plan, and somehow the bees 

 won't do much other than tear up the cells even after 

 started by queenless bees. Ii,UNOis. 



Answers. — 1. I do not know any reason why they 

 should not. But there is a chance also for them to rear 

 some not so good, for they may treat some of the cells as 

 workers till the larv;e are quite cold, then conclude to rear 

 queens of them, while with the Doolittle cups the cells will 

 be treated as queen-cells from the start. They will in no 

 case be treated as workers, for if the bees are not willing to 

 treat them as queens they will empty the cells. Feeding a 

 pint of honey will probably do no good, if the bees are 

 gathering. If you prefer to use the Alley plan, it may be 

 well to guard against poor queens in this way : After giv- 

 ing the cells, and at a time when you think no larva is more 



than a day old, take out the cells and destroy the larvae in 

 any cells that have not already been enlarged by the bees. 



2. I think you are mistaken on both points. I do not 

 think bees select larva; too old when they have younger 

 present. Neither are you " on the right side " if you give 

 just hatching eggs, or even eggs just laid, unless you guard 

 against some of the poor queens you are sure to have. For 

 bees don't start queen-cells only in the first 24 hours, but 

 continue to start them for several days, and some of the 

 last started will be from larva? too old. You may be on the 

 safe side if you give them just hatching eggs, then 48 hours 

 later stick in a wire-nail over every queen-cell started, and 

 at the last use only the cells you have thus markt. And in 

 my judgment you will be just as safe to give them eggs and 

 brood in all stages, if you take the same precaution. 



3. I suppose yoti meati you have had cells started by 

 queenless bees, and then had them destroyed when put over 

 an excluder over a colonj- vrith a laying queen. That would 

 probably have been the case with any kind of cells you 

 gave, even if you had given cells from a swarming colony. 

 The weather may have had something to do with it, and 

 there is a difference in colonies. Some colonies will do bet- 

 ter with cells put over an excluder than others. Over some 

 colonies cells will be started if you give theni brood, while 

 others at the same time will tear down cells already started. 

 Cells will be more kindly treated over a colony with a queen 

 old enough to be superseded than over one with a vigorous 

 young queen. 



* • » 



Bees Not Working in Supers. 



I had 11 colonies in the spring, and have had 9 swarms ; 

 3 of the old colonies have filled 2 supers each, and are work- 

 ing on the third ; 2 have filled 1 super each, and others are 

 doing nothing in supers. All are strong, but don't work 

 early nor late. Would you change queens, or what is the 

 trouble ? The swarms are doing well. The bees are hy- 

 brids except 2 colonies of Italians from brag stock, and they 

 are doing nothing worth speaking of. Maryland. 



Answer. — It is not an easy thing to tell just what is 

 the trouble without being on the grotind. It is possible that 

 one colony may have more to do than another in the way of 

 filling up its brood-combs. Try this: Take from one of 

 the colonies at work in supers a section well started or half 

 filled, bees and all, and put in the super where the bees are 

 doing nothing in sections. That will start them if anything 

 will. If a strong colony in bees is doing nothing in supers 

 when others are on their third super, and if they have ap- 

 peared of equal strength all the time, yott may do well to 

 give a difl'erent queen. 



Italian-Black Bees for Honey. 



What race of bees are those you furnish the American 

 Bee Journal as premium queens? Tex.\s. 



Answer. — They are Italian with a mixture of black 

 blood. I prefer beautiful yellow bees, if they do just as 

 good work, but my best honey-storers have proved to be 

 among those having some black blood. There is an objec- 

 tion to breeding from anything but pure stock. A cross of 

 any kind is not so sure to perpetuate itself. Pure Italian 

 stock will furnish queens that vary very little from the 

 mother. A cross will not produce queens so uniform. Some 

 will be better than the mother, some worse. But stock 

 from a cross-bred queen that has given an extra record for 

 hone3'-storing may average better than that from a pure- 

 b.-ed queen. So, on the whole, I think I get more honey by 

 breeding from a queen that has given a very high record, 

 even if there is some black blood present. 



Royal Jelly, Queen-Cups, Etc. 



I have failed so far to conceive what royal jelly is, and 

 how it is obtained. How is it inserted in the queen-cells ? 

 and what quantity is used ? How are cells fastened in the 

 combs ? Can we purchase the Doolittle cell-cups ready 

 " primed " for inserting into the combs ? Kentucky. 



Answer. — The nurse-bees prepare a concentrated food 

 for the very young larva; that is fed to them for 3 days, 

 when the larv;e are weaned, as it is called, a coarser food 

 beiiig given them. Larva; intended for queens, however, 

 receive this highly-organized food during the whole of 

 their larval existence, and receive it in large quantity. The 



