Dec. 20, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



809 



queen-cells. Beyond that all sorts of plans have been tried 

 and are being tried, without fully solving the problem. One 

 way is to give the bees the same treatment already men- 

 tioned when they swarmed. That is, when grubs are found 

 in cells, to cage the queen and treat the colony just as if 

 they had swarmed. 



2. I work out-apiaries for comb honey for much the 

 same reason that one man works at blacksmithing and an- 

 other at tailoring ; I've got into the way of producing comb 

 honej', and it's easier to run on in the same rut. If one can 

 do as well with extracted lioney in the home apiary, then by 

 all means it is the best for the out-apiary, for the swarming 

 matter could be managed more easily with bees run for ex- 

 tracted than for comb honey. 



Hive for Extracted Honey 



What style of hive should I adopt for extracted honey? 

 I have always used the (iallup hive, and have been think- 

 ing of changing and getting some standard make of hive. 



Wisconsin. 



Answer. — If you have all the frames you need, it is 

 doubtful if a change to any other form or size would bring 

 gain enough to pay for the change. There are advantages, 

 however, in having fixtures as nearly standard as possible, 

 one great reason being that it is easier to get such goods at 

 low rates ; so if your hives are not in sufficient number, or 

 if you have at present only a small number, so that the 

 cost of change will not be great, you may do well to change 

 to the dovetailed hive with its frame 17|^x9>^. 



Amount for Winter Stores. 



I have a colony of medium strength, which I am winter- 

 ing on five frames, in the cellar, the frames being the 

 LangStroth size. I fed rather late in the season, so that 

 when I put them into the cellar, not more than half the 

 honey-cells were capt in those frames. The rest all, or 

 mostly all, had honey in them, but it was not capt over. 

 Will this be enough to winter them on ? If not, would one 

 section filled with hard candy, placed on the frames, be 

 enough ? 



I see you smile at my asking you to answer me, when I 

 have given such a vague description, but please " make a 

 guess." Minnesota. 



Answer. — Five combs ought to be enough, capt or un- 

 capt. It will not be a bad plan, however, to give some hard 

 candy, as being better for them than so much of the un- 

 sealed syrup, which may be rather thin. 



Was Sugar in the Urine Caused by Honey ? 



I applied for a life insurance policy, but was rejected 

 because there was sugar in my urine. The examining doc- 

 tor told me that I ate too much honey. This would tend to 

 show that honey has some bad effect. Was that doctor cor- 

 rect as to the cause of that sugar, or would you place the 

 blame elsewhere than on the honey ? Iowa. 



Answer. — If analysis showed the presence of sugar in 

 the urine, and if nothing in that line had been consumed 

 but honey, then it would be reasonable to conclude that the 

 honey was at fault. If however, sugar and honey had been 

 consumed, the case would be quite different. Sometimes a 

 physician does not have clearly in mind the distinction be- 

 tween cane-sugar and honey, and if both have been con- 

 sumed, he may charge to the account of the honey what 

 should justly be charged to the sugar. 



Wintering Bees- Rearing ttueens. 



1. I have 10 colonies, nine of which I bought. AUarein 

 8-frame Langstroth hives, and are from last year. They 

 filled from one to two supers, but the supers are taken off. 

 Will they have enough in the eight frames, or must I feed 

 them next spring? 



2. I also would like to know what j'ou think of my plan 

 of wintering. I have them on the summer stands, which are 

 in a shed built purposely for them. I have an empty super 

 filled with fine hay on top of them, a canvas over the hive 

 first to keep the hay from getting into the hive. I have 

 them six inches apart, five in a row ; two rows, one on top 



of the other. I have them stuft between, and about two 

 feet thick at the back and on top, with hay. The front is 

 unprotected, with the entrance about one-fourth open. Is 

 that air enough ? The hay I put in there to take up the 

 moisture from the bees. 



3. The one I caught last summer I put into a 9-frame 

 hive with old combs. Can I rear queens from them if they 

 winter ? They are four or five banded Italians. 



Illinois. 



Answers. — 1. A colony in an 8-frame hive, that has 

 workt in supers is likely to have enough honey for winter, 

 but not always. Sometimes there will be so much 

 brood in the eight frames when the supers are on that the 

 honey will be all crowded in the supers, then if they gather 

 nothing after the supers are off they may be short. 



2. Your plan of packing your bees ought to work well, 

 but if the entrances are as small as some entrances, it would 

 be better to leave the whole entrance open ; that is, suppos- 

 ing the entrance to be only H inch or so deep. 



3. There is no apparent reason why you should not be 

 able to rear queens from them. 



A Beginner's Questions. 



1. Can I get better filled sections by having a bee- 

 space over them ? 



2. Do bees start to work sooner with a mat or cover 

 over the sections ? 



3. When producing extracted honey, does the queen- 

 excluder interfere with swarming when placed over a 

 10-f rame brood-chamber ? I want to prevent swarming as 

 much as possible. 



4. Where do bumble-bees winter ? 



5. How does Mr. Coggshall manage swarming with 

 all his out-apiaries ? 



6. How long can a queen be confined in an Alley queen 

 and drone trap without injuring her ? 



7. How many pounds of honey will a Langstroth 

 frame hold when spaced the proper distance? 



8. Can you give me the address of some reliable queen- 

 breeder in Italy ? 



9. How long does a drone-bee live ? 



10. What is the length of a bumble-bee's tongue ? 



Querist. 



Answers. — 1. Doubtful. The advantage of a bee-space 

 over sections is in other directions. 



2. Generally not. They might do so at a time when 

 the coolness of the weather would make a difference in tem- 

 perature with and without covering. 



3. If the excluder makes any difference, it ought to 

 increase the likelihood of swarming, by confining the queen 

 to a smaller space, and perhaps by the slight inconvenience 

 to the bees caused by the presence of the excluder. 



4. I don't know. Probably in their nests. 



5. I don't know. 



6. Under favorable circumstances she probably might 

 do good work after several weeks' confinement. Generally 

 her chances for much usefulness would lessen rapidly after 

 a week's confinement. 



7. Perhaps six. 



8. I can not. 



9. Probably in most cases until the workers decide it is 

 too expensive a business to support a lot of idlers. This is 

 likely to happen whenever pasturage becomes scarce. A 

 queenless colony, however, will continue the lives of the 

 drones. When the workers decide it is best to dispense 

 with the continued presence of drones, they may be seen 

 busily engaged in harrying the drones, the death of the 

 latter being principally caused by the withholding of food 

 by the workers. 



10. Not sure I've ever seen it given. 



" 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 nezu yearly subscription to the American 



Bee Journal at $1.00. 



^-•-» 



The Premiums offered this week are well worth work- 

 ing for. Look at them. 



