340 



XHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Removing Pollen from Combs. 



Query, No. 69.— What is the best method 

 to remove old pollen from brood-combs 'I— 

 G. E. H. 



Pkof. a. J. Cook replies as follows: 

 "Give them to bees in the spring. If 

 one has a great surplus, why not melt 

 up such combs and replace with foun- 

 dation ? 



James Heddon says : " I insert 

 them into the center of the brood- 

 nest, when spreading the brood ; will 

 do no harm. Let the bees cut and 

 carry out all bee-bread that they do 

 not care to use. Let us try to call 

 bee-bread, bee-bread — not pollen." 



G. W. Demakee remarks thus : 

 " When I have combs lull of pollen in 

 the spring of the year, I give them to 

 bees that are rearing brood, exchang- 

 ing them for combs that have no pol- 

 len. I also give each ' tirst swarm ' 

 one or more combs containing pollen, 

 when I have them." 



JSIessks. Dad ant & Son reply thus: 

 "The best method is to melt the 

 combs." 



Making a Honey-House Rat-Proof. 



Query, No. 70. — How should a honey- 

 house be made in order to be rat-proof ? — J. 

 P.M. 



Dadant & Son remark as follows : 

 " Dissolve one ounce of gum aloes in 

 a pail of boiling water, and mix it 

 with the mortar ; or one pound of aloes 

 in a barrel of water to prepare the 

 mortar. To prevent mice or rats from 

 gnawing the boards, paint both sides 

 of them with the same solution, but 

 stronger. Fill the mice holes with 

 plaster mixed with aloes water." 



Prof. A. J. Cook replies thus : 

 " Lay brick in walls, a little above 

 the floor ; plaster and grout the cellar. 

 Tliis is very important. Mice that 

 were nearly starved got into our cel- 

 lar this winter, in March, and de- 

 stroyed o good, strong colonies. Tlie 

 honey was all gone and the combs all 

 eaten. An accidental break in the 

 plaster caused all the mischief." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE remarks : " If 

 well ceiled floor, and all with hard 

 pine or spruce, a honeys-house should 

 be rat and mouse-proof." 



.James Heddon says : " Make it 

 so that there are no rat holes, or 

 places where a rat can make a hole. 

 My honey-house is rat, mouse, bee, 

 fly, and ant-proof." 



G. W. Demauee remarks thus : 

 " My honey-bouse is built on cedar 

 posts 12 indies above the ground, and 

 everything is so ' evened up ' under 

 the floors, that rats can And no sup- 

 port for their feet while they cut 



through the floor. I have tried two 

 honey-houses arranged in this way, 

 and no rats have ever entered them." 



How do Bee-Larvse Eat ? 



Query, No. 71 — Do bee-larvse eat the 

 food that the bees put into the cells, or do 

 their bodies absorb it, say from the larva to 

 the pupa state, or, in other words, from the 

 time the egg hatches until the young bee 

 leaves the cell ? — L. H. 



Prof. A. .1. Cook remarks thus : 

 " The food of the larva is already di- 

 gested, and is without doubt absorbed. 

 The alimentary canal, no doubt, serves 

 as a reservoir tor the larval excretions. 

 Intestinal worms and many maggots 

 like bats, procure their food by ab- 

 sorption through the germal walls of 

 the body." 



James Heddon remarks as follows: 

 " I have never observed, to find out. 

 Reason and reading makes me think 

 that they take food by absorption, 

 during the early part of their ex- 

 istence, at least.''' 



G. W. Demaree replies thus: "The 

 larva of the honey-bee takes its food 

 by means of its mouth, and not chiefly 

 by absorption. I think you may sat- 

 isfy yourself of the correctness of this 

 conclusion, by examining hungry lar- 

 vae with a good magnifying glass." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE remarks: "By 

 holding a comb just right in the sun- 

 light, any person can see one end (the 

 head) of the larval bee constantly 

 moving, and I had always supposed 

 that tliey were eating or drinking the 

 chyme fed them by the nurse bees. 

 Prof. Cook says they eat ; but Mr. J. 

 Rutherford (page 232) seems to think 

 that Prof. C. and myself know little if 

 anything about these things." 



Storing and Fumigating Combs. 



Query, No. 72 — I have about 1,000 empty 

 combs; how can I protect them from the 

 moth ? and what is the best method of fumi- 

 gating them 't — J. R. A. 



G. VV. Demaree answers thus: " I 

 preserve my combs by hanging them 

 so as not to touch one another, in a 

 room that is as light as large windows 

 will make it. I have never had any 

 trouble with the moth-larvse in my 

 combs when managed in this way. A 

 friend of mine keeps his empty spare 

 combs in empty hives, and fumigates 

 them once a week, using his smoker 

 to blow the fumes of sulphur into the 

 hives." 



W. Z. Hutchinson replies thus : 

 " Put the combs into empty hives, or 

 hang them upon a rack. Do not get 

 them too close together, but have them 

 an incli or two apart ; two inches is 

 better. I have never yet found fumi- 

 gation necessary." 



Dadant & Son remark : " Pile 

 your hive full of comb, if they have 

 loose bottoms, on an empty hive ; fill 

 all the entrances, then burn sulphur 

 in the empty hive." 



G. M. DooLiTTLK replies as follows: 

 " Place the combs in a tight room, 



box or barrel, and burn sulphur in the 

 room. I use a cupboard 3 feet deep, 4 

 feet wide and 6 feet high, tilling it 

 with combs to within one foot of the 

 bottom. On the bottom I place a ket- 

 tle of coals, and on the coals pour "%, 

 lb. of sulphur, after which I place an 

 arched tin over the kettle so the heat 

 will not melt the combs ; then the 

 door is closed, and left 24 hours." 



Prof. A. J. Cook remarks thus : 

 " Place them in close hives or in tight 

 boxes. It is easy to fumigate in hives 

 by piling one above the other, in case 

 they have movable bottom-boards. 

 Place an empty hive on top, and a 

 smoker containing burning sulphur 

 in it. Cover all with a buffalo robe or 

 other close cover. The heavy sulphur 

 fumes will go to the bottom." 



James Heddon answers as follows : 

 " I have about 4,600 empty combs, and 

 all of them that lost their bees early 

 enough that they have been exposed 

 to a temperature as low as 14° above 

 zero. I shall keep them anywhere 

 where bee- moths cannot get at them ; 

 and those that have not been so ex- 

 posed, I will place in supers (open 

 top and bottom), and pile these cross- 

 wise of each otlier, and put them in 

 my deep, cool cellar, placing tlie combs 

 so they will not touch each other, and 

 then ventilate the cellar to its fullest 

 extent. The larvse of the bee-moth 

 cannot flourish in a draft or cool at- 

 mosphere. They seemingly flourish 

 with no air at all— at least no change 

 of air. I find no need for fumigating 

 combs." 



Local Convention Directory. 



1885. TiTnti and place o/ Meeting. 



June 5. — Mahoninp Valley, at Newton Falls, O. 



E. W. Turner, Sec, Newton Palls, O. 



June 19.— Willamette Vallev. at La Fayette. Greg. 

 B. J. Uadley, Sec. 



July 15.— Central Illinois, at Bloomirgton. Ills. 



Wm. B. Lawrence, Sec. 



Dec. 8— 10.— Michigan State, at Detroit. Mich. 



11. D. Cutting, Sec, ('linton, Mich. 



tW" In order to have this table complete, Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.— Ed. 



I^~ To create Honey Markets In every 

 village, town and city, wide-awake honey 

 producers should get the Leaflets " Why Eat 

 Honey" (only .iO cents per 100), or else the 

 pamphletson "Honey asFood andMedicine," 

 and scatter them plentifully, and the result 

 will be a demand for all of their crops at 

 remunerative prices. " Honey as Food and 

 Medicine " are sold at the following prices : 



Single copy, 5 cts. ; per doz., 40 cts. ; per 

 hundred, $2.50. Five hundred will be sent 

 postpaid for $10.00; or 1,000 for $15,00. 

 On orders of 100 '^r more, we will print, if 

 desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," 

 etc. (giving the name and address of the bee- 

 keeper who scatters them). 



IF^* Sample Copies of the Bee Journai. 

 will be sent free upon application. Any one 

 intending to get up a club can have sample 

 copies sent to the persons they desire to in- 

 terview by sending the names to this office. 



