260 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Bees Starving in Early Spring. 



din-ry. No. 54 What is the best way to 



guard ag-ainst bees starving before feeding 

 can be done in tlie spring ? I practice laying 

 on the frames cakes of well-kneaded honey 

 and pulverized sugar.— Ontario. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE remarks thus: 

 " The plan given is as good as any." 



W. Z. Hutchinson says : " There 

 is no better way that I know of for 

 guarding against starving bees in the 

 spring, than by laying soft candy 

 over the combs." 



Prof. A. J. Cook answers thus: 

 " The best answer is given in the 

 question." 



James Heddon remarks thus: " If 

 the detail of your plan works to suit 

 you, you need no better food. My 

 plan is to know that each colony has 

 enough food until it can fly, and then 

 feed liquid food from the top, if a col- 

 ony should be short." 



Dr. C. C. Miller replies thus : 

 "A section of honey laid on the 

 frames is good ; also a frame of sealed 

 honey or a wide frame of sections put 

 next to the cluster." 



Bees Affected with Moisture. 



Query, No. 55 — Does moisture affect bees 

 filled with sugar syrup in the same manner 

 as those filled with honey ? If not, please 

 explain the difference.— W. C. S. 



Prof. A. J. Cook answers thus : 

 " I do not think that there is any dif- 

 ference." 



G. M. Doo LITTLE remarks : " From 

 the present winter's experience, I 

 think that bees winter best in a cellar 

 having a moist— yes, almost wet— at- 

 mosphere. I can see no difference be- 

 tween those having honey or sugar 

 syrup as regards the effect of moist- 

 ure." 



James Heddon answers as follows: 

 " I have never perceived any differ- 

 ence. Moisture is no part of my fear 

 in the wintering problem. I have col- 

 onies now in a new, damp cellar with 

 mold on the combs, honey-boards and 

 alighting-boards, the underside of the 

 cover dripping with water, and water 

 running from the entrances of some 

 of them, and the bees are in perfect 

 health, and. their bodies are as slim 

 as in summer. They have nothing 

 but sugar syrup as food." 



Dr. G. L. TinivEr says : " It cer- 

 tainly does. The removal of the thin 

 watery stores from a colony of bees 

 will be considered one of the very es- 

 sential expedients hereafter in the 

 fall preparation of bees. The injuri- 

 ous effects of cider, for instance, is 

 not due to acids, but to the fact that 

 it is collected so late in the season, 



and when the temperature is so low 

 that the evaporation of the surplus 

 water is impossible. The conservation 

 of the heat of a colony of bees in win- 

 ter has more to do with the state of 

 moisture in a hive, and its prevention, 

 than the character of the stores, al- 

 though thin stores has much to do 

 with it." 



Old and New Bee-Hives. 



Query, No. 56 Will bees stand the win- 

 ter as well and be as healthy in hives which 

 are several years old, as in new hivesy— Iowa. 



Prof. A. J. Cook says " yes." 



W. Z. Hutchinson replies thus : 

 "They will." 



Dadant & Son answerthus: "Yes, 

 undoubtedly ; if the hives are sub- 

 stantial." 



Dr. C. C. Miller says " yes." 



Dr. G. L. Tinker remarks thus : 

 "Old bee-hives, when properly pre- 

 pared for a colony of bees, are as good 

 as new ones to winter bees in." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE answers thus : "I 

 prefer old combs for wintering bees. 

 The hives, whether new or old, make 

 no difference, provided both are 

 equally tight." 



James Heddon answers as follows: 

 " Yes. A hive properly preserved and 

 taken care of, should show no signs 

 of wear or decay after 4 or 5 year's 

 use." 



Comb Foundation and Beeswax. 



Query, No. 57.— Owing to the increased 

 demand for pure beeswax, and the conse- 

 quent higli price which good, pure comb 

 foundation must command, what price can 

 one attord to pay for the latter rather than 

 do without it tor use in both brood-frames 

 and sections y— Franklin Co., Mass. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE answers thus : 

 " I do not use it in brood-frames, and 

 would not, except in cases where I 

 wished to prevent drone-comb, so I 

 state no price. For sections, say 50 

 cts. per lb. 



Prof. A. J. Cook says : " As much 

 as we shall have to for years yet." 



G. AV. Demaree replies as follows : 

 " I cannot make a fair profit by pay- 

 ing over 40 cts. per lb. for foundation, 

 except for starters; I can pay $1.00 per 

 lb. for this purpose." 



Dr. C. C. Miller replies thus : 

 " It depends upon the price of honey. 

 At present I should hardly want to 

 dispense with it at $1.00 per lb. 



James Heddon answers as follows: 

 " I can afford to pay $2.00 or $;i.(i0 per 

 lb. for thin comb foundation to be 

 used in narrow strips as guides in 

 brood-frames and sections. At the 

 nresent prices 1 still practice, and be- 

 lieve it profitable, to use it in full 

 sheets above and below. How much 

 higher price the latter use would war- 

 rant, we had Better leave to future 

 expe'-'ment." 





Explanatory.— The figures before the 

 names indicate the number of years that the 

 person has kept bees. Those after, show 

 the number of colonies the writer had in the 

 previous spring and fall, or fall and spring, 

 as the time of the year may require. 



This mark © indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near the centre of the State named : 

 5 north of the centre ; 9 south ; O east ; 

 *Owest; and this 6 northeast; ^D northwest; 

 CK southeast; and ? southwest of the centre 

 of the State mentioned. 



For ttie American Bee JournaL 



Honey Oozing from the Combs. 



16— G. 31. DOOLITTLE, (40-80). 



" Why does honey ooze out of the 

 comb after it is taken from the hive 

 and stored away ¥" is a question that 

 is often asked, and one which has 

 confronted nearly every comb-honey 

 producer sooner or later. Some seem 

 to suppose that the cause of this state 

 of affairs is that the bees do not 

 thoroughly ripen the honey before 

 capping it. A little thought must 

 show the fallacy of this, for whether 

 ripened or not, the honey can only 

 ooze from the cells after being cap- 

 ped, on account of a larger bulk of 

 liquid being in the cell afterward 

 than there was at the time the bees 

 sealed the cell. This can come only 

 from one source, which is always 

 brought about by either cool, damp 

 weather, or a non-circulation of air, 

 or both. Honey only swells as it be- 

 comes damp, and the first that will be 

 seen of that dampness will be in the 

 unsealed cells, where the honey will 

 have become so thin that it will stand 

 out beyond the cells, or, in other 

 words, the cells will be heaping full. 

 If the dampness remains, the sealed 

 honey will soon become transparent, 

 while the honey from the unsealed 

 cells will commence to run out, 

 daubing everything below it, and 

 eventually, if the cause is not re- 

 moved, the cappings of the cells will 

 burst, and the whole will become a. 

 sickening, souring mass. 



While in New York City, I once 

 saw several hundred pounds of such 

 stuff which was once as nice comb 

 honey as could be produced, but it 

 had become unsightly and spoiled by 

 being stored in a cool, damp cellar. 

 The cappings to the white combs were 

 ruptured with the honey oozing out of 

 the cells, to such a degree that the 

 cases were all soaked with it, and 

 which, with large puddles on the 

 floor, gave off asickening smell which, 

 with the unsightly appearance, caused 

 one to think of honey only as some- 

 thing to be loathed. The commission 

 merchant asked me what was the 

 matter with the honey. I told him 

 that the damp, cool cellar was what 

 was the matter, but he would not be- 

 lieve it until I caused him to confess 

 that the honey was all right before it 



