356 



i'HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Making a Honey-House Rat-Proof. 



Query, IVo. 70.— How should a honey- 

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

 P. M. 



Dr. C. C. Millek answers thus : 

 " Make it tlie same as any building— 

 by having everytiiing hviilt tight. A 

 rat is not liliel'y to gnaw its way in, 

 but once in, it will gnaw its way out." 



How do Bee-Larvse Eat? 



(liiery, No. 71 — Do bee-larv3s 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. 



Dr. G. L. Tinker remarks : "Their 

 bodies absorb it, or al least the greater 

 part of the liquid food supplied. I 

 have not been able to find pollen- 

 giains in the food. The continual 

 motion of larval bees may facilitate 

 absorption.'' 



Storing and Fumigating Combs. 



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

 combs; how can X protect them from the 

 moth •■ and what is tlie liest method of fumi- 

 gating: them ?— J. K. A. 



Dr. G. L. Tinker remarks thus : 

 " Place the combs on racks in a close 

 rooui. Place an iron kettle containing 

 live coals, in the center of the room ; 

 sprinkle on sulphur and close up the 

 room door. Only sufhcient should be 

 used to kill the worni^j, which amount 

 w'ill soon be found by test. Too much 

 will cause a deposit of sulphur on the 

 combs." 



Dr. C. C. :Miller says : " One way 

 in which 1 have successfully kept 

 comb.s, is to put them under a strong 

 colony of bees, in such a way that the 

 bees can only go in or out by passing 

 over these combs. >ly hives having 

 tight bottoms, I put the colony in a 

 super just like the hive, only without 

 a bottom, tlien fill uj) the hive with 

 the empty combs and set the colonies 

 on top. Of course this plan can only 

 be used where enough colonies are 

 alive to protect the empty combs." 



Enameled-Cloth Covering. 



Query, No. 73 — Is it a good plan to use 

 eiuimclcd-cloth as a covering over the brood 

 frames in winter ? If bees need water in the 

 summer, whv dn thev not need it in the win- 

 ter also y and with the emtmelcd-cloth over 

 the frames, they tiave water in wiTiter as well 

 a.s in summer. — B. J. 



G. M. Dooi.iTTLE says : "It looks 

 reasonable as 15. .7. stales it, but I 

 liave generally had poor results when 

 I have used il. I miicli prefer a good 

 quilt or woolen blanket." 



James IIeddon replies : "1 dislike 

 enameled cloth about a bee-hive. If 

 I want upward absorption, I use cheap 

 l)\u-lap ; if not, my board-cover. Bees 

 use water when breeding rapidly ; but 

 that is something I do not wish them 

 to do during winter." 



Prof. A. J. Cook answers thus: 

 " No, nor a board ; I prefer a quilt; 

 because in winter they are quiet. The 

 man in the harvest lield drinks quarts, 

 while the loafer at the street-corner 

 may not drink a drop (of water). I 

 never wish my bees to have tlrops of 

 water in their hives." 



G. W. Demaree says : "Enameled- 

 cloth for bee-quilts would never liave 

 been thought of had it not been for its 

 non-sticking character. This is the 

 only redeeming feature it has. In a 

 changeable climate like that of the 

 Middle States, there is more danger of 

 too much water than not enough." 



Dadant & Son say : " No ; we re- 

 move the cloth and put otu' straw mat 

 directly on the frames, tilling the 

 space above wittidry leaves or straw." 



W. Z. Hutchinson replies: "Ihave 

 never used enaineled-cloth over the 

 bees in summer, nor in winter. Bees 

 need water in the summer because 

 they are rearing brood." 



Dr. G. L. Tinker answers thus : 

 " No, the best plan is to place strips 

 of wood between the top-bars of the 

 frames, as recommended by Rev. M. 

 Mahin, years ago. Bees will get all 

 the water needed, if it is needed, in 

 winter, if the upper part of the brood- 

 chamber is made as tiglit as propolis 

 can make it. Such conservation of the 

 heat requires large lower ventilation 

 to carry off the moisture, and to pre- 

 vent restlessness from too much 

 heat," 



Dr. C. C. Miller replies thus : 

 " I have used it in winter, and I dis- 

 cover no difference as to results be- 

 tween enauieled-cloth and sheeting." 



Use of Starters in the Brood Frames. 



Query, No. 74 — In the production of 

 comb honey, where a first or prime swarm is 

 hived on comb-foundation starters, say .'i 

 inches in depth, and with sections ou top 

 tilled with full sheets of foundation, what is 

 the best method of preventing the building 

 of drone-comb in the brood-chamber V—F. 

 A. G. 



W. Z. Hutchinson says : " With 

 me, prime swarms are not inclined to 

 build drone-comb ; if they were, I 

 know of no better plan than to use 

 full sheets of foundatiiui." 



G. W. Demaree replies: "The 

 best way to suppress drone - comb 

 building, is to keep none but young, 

 proliflc queens. Thedrone-coinb usu- 

 ally built by a prime swarm will do 

 but little harm the first season, and 

 can be removed in the following 

 spring, melted into wax, or used for 

 extracting combs. I have practiced 

 this method for years, and it pays me 

 better than high-priced foundation." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE says: "Under 

 the circumstances giveii, I have had 

 little if any drone-comb built, espe- 



cially if drone-foundation is used in 

 ihe sections." 



Prof. A. J. Cook replies : " Unless 

 I had spare combs I should hive them 

 on foundation in full sheets." 



Dadant & Son say : " Use full 

 sheets of foundation. There is no 

 other way that we know of. " 



Dr. G. L. Tinker says : " All 

 prime swarms should be hived on 6 or 

 7 frames, and I prefer to have them 

 just half filled with foundation with- 

 out wires. With this management 

 there will be little drone-comb built, 

 while the greatest possible results in 

 comb honey are secured." 



Dr. C. C. Miller remarks thus : 

 " Fill up the rest of the frame with 

 foundation." 



James Heddon says: "Increase 

 the width of those 'starters' till they 

 fill the frame ; in which case they 

 should be stayed with No. 30 or 36 

 wire. If you think there is economy 

 in using no more foundation than 

 ' starters,' use a strip not over ^4 of an 

 inch wide, and then if you had a mill 

 specially to make those strips which 

 would make the 3 upper rows of cells 

 drone size, and the next 2 or 3 rows 

 worker size, probably nearly all the 

 rest of the comb would be built with 

 worker cells. When comb foundation 

 can be had at .jO cts. per pound, I will 

 use it in full sheets, until I see my 

 error, which will not be very soon." 



Local Convention Directory. 



1885. Time and place Of Meeting. 



June 19.— Willamette Vallev, al La Kayette. Oreg. 

 E. J.Hadley, Sec. 



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



Wm. B. Liiwrerice, Sec. 



Dec. 8— to.- Micliifian State, at l)*»^roit. Mich. 



H. D. CuttinK, Sec., <'lintcn,Mich. 



fW~ In order to have this taDIe complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.- En. 



t^~ To create Honey Markets in every 

 village, town and city, wide-awake honey 

 producers should get the Leaflets " Why Eat 

 Honey" (only .50 cents per 100), or else the 

 pamphlets ou "Honey as Food and Medicine," 

 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 'u' 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). 



fW All who intend to be systematic in 

 their work in the apiar.v, should get a copy of 

 the Apiary Register and commence to use it. 

 The prices are as follows : 



For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 



" 100 colonies (220 pages) 125 



" 200 colonies (420 pages) 150 



The larger ones can be used for a few col- 

 onies, give room for an increase of numbers, 

 and still keep the record all together in one 

 book, and are therefore the most desirable. 



