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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Oct. 18, 1900 



when you first put on the super of strange bees, there was 

 no passage from the super directly into the open air, but it 

 is not stated whether there was any passage from the super 

 thru the wire-cloth to the space below. If there was none, 

 and the bees were completely imprisoned, there certainly 

 could be no fighting. If part of the bees of the swarm were 

 not secured in the super, and entered the hive thru the reg- 

 ular entrance, they would pretty surely be killed. That 

 could hardly be considered failure on your part, for it would 

 simply be some stray bees entering a wrong hive. Then (if 

 I understand correctly) you took away the wire-cloth and 

 allowed the bees in the super a passage into the open air. 

 The fact that there was no fighting is proof that the scheme 

 as a whole was a success. But if I have made the right sup- 

 positions you are not to take it for granted that your second 

 attempt was a success independent of the first. The bees 

 had some time to get acquainted before the wire-cloth was 

 taken away. It would have been as well, possibly better, 

 if the outside entrance had been allowed from the start. 



The time for closing the upper outside entrance is 

 merely a matter of your own convenience. It can be done 

 any time after 3 or 4 days, or later. 



It is not a bad thing that you have learned that there 

 may be difficulty in uniting. Many a one has puzzled over 

 a failure after a number of successes. Nest June, you may 

 take a frame of brood and bees from any colony and give it 

 to any other colony with scarcely a chance of any fighting, 

 and you may keep it up all sum'mer, but in the fall, after 

 all gathering has ceast, it's another story. Then you may 

 count on fighting unless you take special precaution. One 

 good way is this : Set an empty hive on the stand where 

 you want the united colony to remain, and this will be 

 usually on the stand of the stronger colony, the weaker 

 having been unqueened 2 or 3 days before. " Now take a 

 frame from one of the hives, shake down the bees in front 

 of the empty hive, and put the frame in the empty hive. 

 Then do the same thing with a frame from the other hive. 

 and thus proceed alternately until all have been used. Of 

 course the surplus frames must be taken away after shak- 

 ing or brushing the bees from them. After the first frame 

 has its bees shaken down close to the hive, the remaining 

 bees should be shaken down a foot or so farther from the 

 hive. 



2. Yes, bees sometimes swarm regularly quite out of 

 season, when it is by no means a case of starvation. It is 

 not easy to account for all the freaks of bees. 



Wintering Bees in a Damp Cellar. 



Last winter, in New York, I wintered 12 colonies in a 

 dark cellar, in which the temperature would often go down 

 to 35 degrees. The bees were in 8-frame dovetailed hives 

 with covers sealed down, and on deep bottom-boards. Many 

 of the hives became very damp and moldy, and water rail 

 out of the entrance of every hive. They wintered poorly, 

 but all came thru alive. I expect to winter them there 

 again this winter. Would it not be better to leave the bot- 

 tom-boards off, and put some absorbent like burlap under 

 the cover ? Subsckiber. 



Answer.— It is doubtful that any gain would be made 

 by removing bottom-boards that are deep enough to allow 

 an entrance of 1', to 2 inches. Possibly there might be a 

 gain by having some absorbent under the cover ; but any- 

 thing of that kind to allow a freer passage of air would 

 make the hives cooler, and they are too cool already. If the 

 temperature often goes down to 35 degrees, the thing to 

 strive for is to have the cellar warmer. Can you not bank 

 the cellar with some kind of banking that will raise the 

 temperature several degrees ? A fire in a stove in the cellar 

 would make all right, but it might not pay with only 12 col- 

 onies. There would be some gain upstairs, however, in 

 having a warmer floor— an important thing— especially if 

 there are small children in the family. In a cold spell you 

 could carry down hot bricks or stones, or, better still, jugs 

 of hot water. But the water must be corkt tight, so no va- 

 por can escape in the cellar. 



" Chunk Honey "Honey-Plant Illustrations. 



1. I am thinking of trying to build up a trade (in a cer- 

 tain section) on chunk or bulk comb honey, as it is called in 

 Texas. I want to produce this honey in the regular L,ang- 

 stroth brood-frame, in an upper story. Do you think the 

 thin-super foundation would be heavy enough to put in full 



sheets in this size frame without wires ? If not, kindly ad- 

 vise me what weight foundation I would better use ? 



2. Does Prof. Cook's " Bee-Keepers' Guide " give any 

 more illustrations of honey-producing plants than the 

 " A B C of Bee-Culture ?" Virgini.\. 



Answers.— 1. In all probability it would sag badly. If 

 you do not care to use shallow frames, it would not be a 

 great trouble to nail a middle bar in the Langstroth frame, 

 which would make it all right to use thin foundation. Or, 

 you could use the full frame without the middle bar, and 

 use a narrow starter of thin foundation. It would hardly be 

 advisable to use foundation heavy enough to fill a full 

 frame, for you could hardly build" up a trade with such 

 honey. Texans prefer the term " bulk honey " to " chunk 

 honey," altho until lately they have always called it 

 " chunk honey." 



2. A hasty count shows more in Prof. Cook's book. 



The Nonsensical Sting-Trowel Theory Again. 



The following paragraph was taken from the New York 

 Tribune : 



Bkes.— C. M. (Winchester, N.H.)— The bee's sting-, supposed to serve 

 merely as a fighting weapon, is more frequently utilized bv this insect to 

 preserve the storedup food. Before closing its cell the bee adds to the 

 honey a drop of the venom of its sting, this venom containing the formic 

 acid which prevents the honey from fermenting or getting spoiled. Thus 

 the bee, long before Lister and Pasteur, knew the use of antiseptics. 



I have never seen such a statement in any bee-book or 

 bee-paper, and would like to know if it is the truth. 



Subscriber. 



Answer. — Yes, if you go back far enough, you will find 

 both in book and paper the nonsensical statement made 

 that the sting of the bee is used as a trowel to manipulate 

 wax, and that just before the closing- of each cell of honey 

 a tiny morsel of forinic acid is dropt into the cell from the 

 sting of the bee. The Rev. Wm. F. Clarke was the origina- 

 tor of the idea, the only book in which it appeared being a 

 small volume of verse written by him. He never gave any 

 proof for the assertion, but persisted in giving the vagary 

 of his imagination as an establisht fact. It seems too bad 

 that so influential a paper as the New York Tribune should 

 start anew such arrant nonsense. 



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 fore part 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 ; 25 copies for 30 cents ; SO for 50 cents ; 100 for 90 

 cents ; 250 for $2.00 ; 500 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 Chicago Convention Picture is a fine one. It is 

 nearly 8x10 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 Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the finest bee-keeper's song — words by Hon. 

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a " hummer." We can 

 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at Sl.OO. 



♦-•-►. 



Our Wood Binder (or Holder) is made to take all the 

 copies of the American Bee Journal for a year. It is sent 

 by mail for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. The Bee 

 Journals can be inserted as soon as they are received, and 

 thus preserved for future reference. Upon receipt of $1.00 

 for your Bee Journal subscription a full year in advance., 

 we will mail you a Wood Binder free — if you will mention it. 



