July 12, 1900. 



AMERICAiN BEE JOURNAL 



439 



2. It will be easier to extract before any sealing is doiio, 

 but the honey will be thin and unsatisfactory. You set a 

 fair body of honey by extractinfj when '4 sealed, but it will 

 be still better if you wait till all is sealed. 



3. When you extract honey that is partly sealed, the un- 

 sealed part is thinner and lighter than the rest, and so rises 

 to the top. 



4. Yes, it is hard to find any soil on which it will not 

 grow. 



5. The very best waj' to do with very cross bees is to 

 change the stock by killing the queen and giving them a 

 queen that will produce gentler bees. In a month or two 

 the old bees will be all gone, but the change in disposition 

 comes before that, and it almost seems as if the presence of 

 the new queen has some effect upon the tempers of the old 

 bees. You will get along best with the cross bees by being 

 very gentle in your movements with them, making no quick 

 motions, and using only enough smoke to subdue them, but 

 repeating the dose whenever they show fight. Be careful 

 to leave no bits of honey lying aroand, for a little start at 

 robbing may make very cross bees of those that under ordi- 

 nary circumstances are gentle. 



6. No one can say for certain, but perhaps 75 to 100 col- 

 onies may do in one place. Something like 3 or 4 miles is a 

 good distance between apiaries. 



7. Some use 9, but more 10. 



Marking Bees to Distinguish Ttiem. 



How can bees bemarkt so as to distinguish them from 

 others of the same colony ? Illinois. 



Answer. — A camel's-hair pencil dipt in some bright 

 color may be lightly toucht on the upper part of the thorax. 



Forming Increase to Prevent Swarming. 



I would like to know what is the best way to form in- 

 crease to prevent swarming in an out-yard. Wis. 



Answer. — That's a hard question. One way is to take 

 the queen with a frame of brood, a frame of honey, and the 

 adhering bees, put her in a hive in a new place for 8 or 10 

 days, then put the hive that contains the queen on the old 

 stand and the old hive in the ne%v place — in other words, let 

 the two hives swap places, brushing the bees off about half 

 the brood-combs into the hive that contains the queen. An- 

 other, and perhaps a better way would be this : Take all 

 the brood from the old hive and fill up the hive with foun- 

 dation. Shake off about half the bees from the frames of 

 brood, or brush off clean half the frames, leaving all the 

 bees on the other half, put this brood with its remaining 

 bees in a hive on a new stand, and in about two days give it 

 a laying queen. 



♦-»-* 



Pollen in Surplus Honey. 



We are annoyed very much this year with pollen in our 

 surplus honey — both sections and frames. Can we do any 

 thing to prevent it ? Kentucky. 



Answer. — It is possible something might be done if all 

 the conditions were known ; but it is hard to guess at the 

 conditions, and equally hard for 3'ou to mention conditions 

 that might make a difference. You say pollen troubles in 

 sections " this year." It is somewhat doubtful that the 

 year or the season has much to do with it. More likely 

 there is something a little different about your manage- 

 ment. Possibly the brood-chamber is crowded. Some have 

 complained of pollen in sections when brood-frames were 

 very shallow. Thick top-bars, slat honey-boards, queen- 

 excluders, anything that makes greater distance between 

 brood and sections may help to keep pollen out. After all, 

 it is just possible that some peculiarity of the season may 

 have more to do with it than I have suspected. 



Colony Perhaps Overheated in Transit. 



I have been perplext about the way one of my colonies 

 has been acting the last three or four nights. Each morn- 

 ing I find hundreds of young bees on the alighting-board 

 which are pulled or driven out of the hive, some of them al- 

 most able to fly, others having the appearance of having 

 wings eaten off, or not yet developt. These young bees are 

 able to crawl around on the grass during the whole da,Y. but 



are driven off or carried away when they try to enter. This 

 colony I had shipt to me about 10 days ago, and the hive 

 seemed too full of bees for the warm weather. None could 

 fly for about 24 hours after arrival, being nearly suffocated. 

 Now they work well and are gathering honey. I have made 

 inquiries from old bee-kcepors to explain what is wrong, 

 and what is the remedy, but got no satisfaction. Ont. 



Answer. — It is quite possible that the overheating on 

 the journey injured these young bees in the way described, 

 and that as soon as the^njured ones are dispo.sed of the 

 colony will be all right. 



Absconding Swarm— Bees Defending Their Hive. 



1. After we had taken in a swarm of bees, we let the 

 hive stand where it was. We watcht the hive during 

 the day, arid were to remove it later on. When " later on " 

 came there were only a few bees left. We saw bees flying 

 out but none entering. What was the cause ? 



2. I have had a number of colonies that fight in front 

 of the entrance. Are they protecting from robber-bees, as 

 they look well ? Minnesota. 



Answer. — 1. The bees may have absconded, or they 

 may have returned to their own hive. If the hive stood out 

 in the sun, or if it was too close, that favored absconding. 

 Keep a hive open, even to leave the cover partly oft' the first 

 day after hiving. It is well to put a hive where it is to 

 stand just as soon as the bees are all settled. Scouts may 

 be out looking for a place, and there is a possibility that 

 such scouts may come and take the swarm to the place they 

 have found, if the swarm is still standing where they left it. 



2. Yes, when there is fighting in front of a hive, it is 



likely the bees of the hive are defending their hive against 



intruders. 



♦-•-• 



Queer Idea of Drones— Uniting a Swarm with a Colony. 



1. I received this story from a person who had it from 

 an experienced (?) apiarist ; it is onlj' because he askt me as 

 a favor to write you, that I trouble you with such an absurd 

 statement : 



The (experienced) apiarist says that the "king-bees" 

 (drones) have a sharp, horny thing in place of a sting, and 

 when it is time to swarm they keep picking at the queen 

 until she leaves the hive, and the bees follow her. What do 

 you think of it ? 



2. I have a colony of bees I do not think will swarm, 

 which I will call A. I bought a swarm from a neighbor 

 which I call B. Now, if A should swarm, what is the best 

 way of uniting with B ? 



As I am shortsighted I would not be able to find queens 

 of A or B. Would it do any harm to simply let them fight 

 it out ? Minnesota. 



Answers. — 1. Wherever you find drones with that sharp 

 horny prod, they are verj' vindictive, and resent anything 

 said about them, and if they once learn the name of the 

 " experienced apiarist " that has told about them, they will 

 be sure to prod him to death ! As you have supprest his 

 name, his life maj' be spared. 



2. If A swarms within a few days of B, the swarm may 

 be allowed to enter with B. If some days elapse before A 

 swarms, shake all the bees of B from the combs onto the 

 ground in front of the hive, dump the swarm on the ground 

 with them ; and after they have run together into the hive, 

 put the brood back. The bees will settle the matter of 

 queens. But you ought to have a pair of glasses that would 

 allow you to recognize a queen easily. 



York's Honey Calendar for 1900 is a 16-page pamph- 

 let especially gotten up to create a demand for honey among 

 should-be consumers. The forepart was written by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, and is devoted to general information concern- 

 ing honey. The latter part consists of recipes for use in 

 cooking and as a medicine. It will be found to be a very 

 effective helper in working up a home market for honey. 

 We furnish them, postpaid, at these prices : A sample 

 free ; 2S copies for 30 cents ; SO for SO cents ; 100 for 90 

 cents; 2S0 for $2.00 ; SOO for $3.50. For 25 cents extra we 

 will print your name and address on the front page, when 

 ordering 100 or more copies at these prices. 



The Premiums offered this week are well worth work- 

 ing for. Ivook at them. 



