Oct. 11, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



649 



direction. This colony was the nucleus of his present api- 

 ary, and it threw off large swarms every year until recently, 

 when it was transferred to a new hive, and the usable 

 combs properly fitted into frames. 



Mr. t-Joebling- has a pood grocery and private trade for 

 his honey, and delights in having the best bees and api- 

 arian implements procurable. His section and extracted 

 honey are placed upon the market in the most up-to-date 

 manner. He reads the best methods by the best writers, and 

 does not fail to apply them. In fact, he is a bee-keeper 

 who does wo/ think he knows more than any other bee- 

 keeper ; has not a lot of silly notions, and does not already 

 know more than the journals can ever teach him, and 

 therefore feels he ought to read them. He combines the 

 Belgian hare business with bee-keeping successfully, of 

 which I will have something 'to say in another article 

 later on. 



^ Questions and Answers. | 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. V. C. MII^LER. A/areng-o, 171. 



[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. — Editok.1 



Clipping the Wings of the Premium Queens. 



Dr. Miller : — The premium queen mailed to me ar- 

 rived in good health, and is sa:fely introduced. 



Please tell me the reason you clip the wings of queens 

 you send out. I never clip the wings of my queens, and do 

 not like them dipt. Had the season not been advanced I 

 should have sent the queen back and requested another. 



It seems to me that if the purchaser wishes the wings 

 dipt he can do it ; but who can put the wings back if he 

 does not want them dipt ? 



I do not want to be crabbed or fault-finding, but reall}-. 

 Doctor, do you not think it doubtful policy to send out mu- 

 tilated queens, unless the purchaser requests such ? 



Massachusetts. 



Answer. — There is just one reason why I have gone to 

 the extra trouble of clipping the premium queens that were 

 sent out, and that is that the contract with the publishers 

 of the American Bee Journal demanded it. As to its being 

 doubtful policy, the editor can speak for himself, altho I be- 

 lieve on the whole it was a wise thing to do. 



[See " Editorial Comments " for further reply. — Ed.] 



Making Bees Swarm Naturally. 



Can bees be made to swarm naturallj' by feeding so 

 thej' will rear queen-cells before they swarm at this time of 

 the year ? Mississippi. 



Answer. — If the weather is warm enough for bees to fly 

 freely, and they are gathering nothing from the flowers, 

 you may hasten the swarming of a colony by feeding. But 

 feeding will make no difference if the bees are gathering 

 freely abroad. You may do something toward hastening 

 swarming by giving a colony frames of sealed brood from 

 other colonies, thus increasing its strength. 



Pull 



Sheets or Starters— ^est Comb-Honey Hive 

 Transferring. 



1. I filled a hive with full ' sheets of foundation, and the 

 bees tore it and pulled it out. Would you advise me to put 

 in full sheets, or just starters ? 



2. I want to use the most convenient hives for cotnb 

 honey next year. My frames fit the Langstroth hive. 

 Would you advise me to use the Ivangstroth hive ? or what 

 would be better ? 



3. Would you advise me to lift out the frames and bees 

 and put them in new hives, as I want them all in hives 

 .alike ? and when would be the best time to do it — this fall 

 or in the spring ? West Virgini.\. 



Answers. — 1. Full sheets are better, because they make 

 sure of all worker-comb. But when a swarm is first hived. 



if you confine them upon four or five frames till they are 

 built full, there will be very little drone-comb with starters. 



2. With Langstroth frames of the regular size, 17j<ix9Ji' 

 a change is hardly advisable. 



3. If your hives now in use arc good, it would hardly 

 pay to throw them away and use new, unless there be some 

 difference in size of the hives, which would hardly be if all 

 frames are of the same size. The dovetailed hive is a very 

 desirable kind, but not enough better than hives with plain 

 joints to make it advisable to throw away a good hive of the 

 latter kind. If frames are merely to be lifted out of one 

 hive and put in another, it matters not whether it is done in 

 fall or spring, only it ought not to be done after bees stop 

 daily flights. 



*-■♦-♦ 



Troubles of a City Bee-Keeper. 



1. I am trying to keep a few bees away up in the north- 

 ern part of New York city, but make a poor showing, owing 

 no doubt largely to my unskillful handling of them. I am 

 in trouble with them, and want advice and help. I shall se- 

 cure a fair crop of honey this fall if I can get the supers off 

 of my hives. At present they are stuck .so tight with bee- 

 glue that it is hard to move them, and when I get them 

 partly loose and raised, say an inch, I find the lower frames 

 glued to them ; that is, the top of the brood-frames glued to 

 the bottom of the super. Now tell me what is to be done. 



2. Yesterday I took off 40 pounds from one hive by tak- 

 ing out the sections one by one. It was the best I could do 

 without tearing things all to pieces. Next season I am. 

 going to try rubbing castile soap over all parts liable to be 

 glued ; as the soap is of a greasy, oily nature, I have an 

 idea it may help. Do you think it will work ? N. Y. 



Answers. — 1. You can hardly be said to "' make a poor 

 showing " if you " secure a fair crop of honey." A crop of 

 honey is the desideratum. 



Raise the super as you did before, say half an inch or 

 an inch, blowing in a little smoke and putting a block under 

 the super to hold it up. Now, take your screw-driver, or 

 whatever j-pu use as a hive-tool, and putting it bet%veen the 

 top-bar of one of the frames and the super, gently pry down 

 the top-bar. Do the same with all the top-bars that are 

 glued to the super, and then you can remove the super. 



2. It is at least worth trying. Vaseline has been rec- 

 ommended for the same purpose. With a '4 -inch space be- 

 tween top-bar and super there ought not to be need for 

 much precaution. 



——' 



Comb Foundation Sample Appears to be All Right. 



I enclose a sample of comb foundation of the last I 

 bought. I had no chance to find out thru the bees, owing 

 to their not gathering any surplus since the first week in 

 August (I got a half crop of comb honey.) Please tell me 

 if it is made of adulterated wax, or what is wrong with it. 

 It neither looks nor smells like any I have had before. 



Wisconsin. 



Answer. — In looks and smell there appears nothing 

 other than should be found in a very excellent sample of 

 surplus foundation, and it would be a matter of great sur- 

 prise if bees should make any objection to such foundation. 

 I don't know who made it, but it is a matter of comfort to 

 know that in this country all the reputable makers of foun- 

 dation may be safely trusted to send out nothing but a pure 

 article. Altho other countries are accustomed to point to 

 America as the seat of all adulterations, yet in the matter 

 of comb foundation the shoe is certainly on the other foot. 

 Adulteration is so common in Germany that it is one of the 

 reasons why something like 20,000 bee-keepers have foun- 

 dation-presses of their own. 



The Chicago Convention Picture is a fine one. It is 

 nearly SxlO inches in size, mounted on heavy cardboard 

 10x12 inches. It is, we believe, the largest group of bee- 

 keepers ever taken in one picture. It is sent, postpaid, for 

 75 cents ; or we can send the American Bee Journal one 

 year and the picture — both for $1.60. It would be a nice 

 picture to frame. We have not counted them, but think 

 there are nearly 200 bee-keepers shown. 



The Premiums offered this week are well worth work- 

 ing for. Look at them. 



