420 



f HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Queen whose Eprgs do not Hatch. 



Qnery,No. 81. — Wehavea queen hatched 

 last September, and not one of heregj?sever 

 hatch. We have seen 3 or 4 frames laid full 

 of eg^s, but never have been able to see the 

 first one hatched. What is the trouble?— 

 D. & K. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE says : "I do not 

 know. I have had several such cases, 

 and I always had to kill the queens." 



Messrs. Dadant & Son answer : 

 " She is a sterile female." 



G. W. Demauee remarks : " To 

 test the matter as to whether the eggs 

 of your queen are actually barren, you 

 should try her at a time when the bees 

 will take care of the eggs. I have seen 

 young queens lay late in the fall, at a 

 time when the bees did not want 

 brood, with the results you mention. 

 It should not surprise any one if your 

 queen's eggs should fail to hatch un- 

 der the most favorable circumstances ; 

 there are exceptions to all rules." 



Dr. C. C. Miller replies : "Such 

 cases are of occasional occurrence. I 

 had one. The trouble is with the 

 queen. No matter how fine-looking, 

 take her head off." 



Dr. G. L. Tinker says : " The eggs 

 are imperfect." 



Prof. A. J. Cook answers : " She 

 is infertile (see my Manual.)" 



Size of Brood-Frames. 



Query, No. 82.— What is the best size for 

 brood-frames ?— Bowmanville, Ont. 



Jas. IIeddon answers : " I prefer 

 small and shallow brood-frames." 



W. Z. Hutchinson says : " One 

 not longer than the Langstroth, and 

 certainly no deeper, but shallower, if 

 anything." 



Messrs. Dadant & Son reply : 

 "With us, it is 113.4x18 inches. The 

 bees winter the best in such." 



G. W. Demaree remarks: "Cli- 

 mate, and peculiar tests of bee-keep- 

 ers, will have to regulate this matter 

 of size of frames. The long shallow 

 frame, like the standard Langstroth, 

 is decidedly best for a moderate cli- 

 mate." 



Dr. C. C. Miller says : " Perhaps 

 no one knows. The size preferred by 

 me (Langstroth), is liked by a great 

 many." 



Dr. G. L. Tinker answers: "I 

 prefer a frame U%x9}4, as it is the 

 most convenient to handle and equally 

 serviceable for any other purpose." 



G. M. Doolittle replies: "The 

 size I use, of course. This is more a 

 matter of preference than anything 

 else. I prefer the Gallup frame, and 

 others claim to prefer other styles of 

 various sizes and shapes." 



Colonies Leaving their Hives. 



Query, No. 83.-1. What is the cause of 

 bees leaving hives with clean honey, clean combs, 

 and lota of brood ? On April 20, 3 of my colonies 

 left their hives— two going for parts unknown, 

 and one I hived in the same hive from which it 

 came. The next day they swarmed again, and 

 then they were hived as before. The next day 

 they seemed to be all riglit,and they are now doing 

 as well as any of my other colonies. Two colonies 

 went off for one of my neighbors, and one for an- 

 other— all :J in the same way as mine. I have never 

 heard or read of anything like it. I would like to 

 know the cause of this phenomenon, and also how 

 to prevent it hereafter.— Indiana. 



•2. \Vh;it ails my bees? They leave the hives and 

 go to the woods. Some of them were short of 

 stores, and I had fed them honey; others were in 

 good condition with plenty of honey and brood 

 in all stages, and carrying in honey and pollen. I 

 have lost 6 colonies in that way.— Minnesota. 



G.W. Demaree answers: "I have 

 no doubt but that many causes con- 

 tribute to the swarming-out mania; 

 but I believe the chief cause is excite- 

 ment on the part of the queen. At a 

 time when very few young bees are in 

 the hive to keep company with the 

 queen when a general tlight takes 

 place, she becomes greatly excited, 

 and sometimes takes wing and sallies 

 out to join the circling bees, and once 

 in the air, they are as likely to do one 

 thing as another. Swarming-out is 

 often caused by mere desperation." 



Dr. C. C. Miller replies : " I do 

 not know the cause of this, and shall 

 look with much interest for the replies 

 of others. I had never had a case 

 until this spring, and I have now had 

 several. I do not know of anything 

 different this spring, except that en- 

 trances have been much contracted. 

 Could too small an entrance cause 

 desertion y" 



Dr. G. L. Tinker remarks : "With- 

 out exception, the colonies deserting 

 brood and hives in the spring, where 

 there is plenty of honey left, are weak 

 in numbers and weak in vitality, and 

 have been dwindling. I have known 

 this to occur several times in years 

 past. The only hope of these colonies 

 is the speedy hatching of the brood. 

 Those who would save weak colonies 

 in the spring, should carry them into 

 a warm room every cool night, and 

 keep them in on cool days. Unless 

 this is done, they are liable to swarm 

 out or die at any time." 



Prof. A. J. Cook replies : " Some 

 thing was wrong in the hive. It is 

 hard even to guess what is was." 



G. M. Doolittle answers : "After 

 having an experience of this kind 

 several times, I am candid in saying 

 that I do not know the cause of such 

 ' swarming-out.' I used to try to ac- 

 count for It oil the grounds of lack of 

 stores, mouldy combs, etc., but after 

 having several ' swarm-out ' when all 

 inside and out of the hive were in per- 

 fect order, 1 gave up that idea. It is 

 something that generally follows a 

 hard winter." 



.James IIeddon says: "I have 

 had, in all my experience, not to ex- 

 ceed a half dozen cases of spring-de- 

 sertion. So far as I have ever seen, 

 all was caused by imvierfect winter- 

 ing. It is usually caused by the bees 

 becoming di.^cnuraged, and abandon- 

 ing further effort to keep up the tem- 

 perature so as to keep the brood from 

 perishing. In all cases coming under 



my observation, the bees were badly 

 reduced, and the number of bees com- 

 pared with the amount of brood, was 

 ill-proportioned, considering the out- 

 side temperature. Outside of these 

 conditions, I have no knowledge of 

 the subject." 



Honey and Beesv?ax Market. 



Oflice of the American Bee Journal, 1 

 Monday, 10 a. m., July 6, 1885. ( 



The following are the latest quota- 

 tions for honey and beeswax received 

 up to this hour : 



CHICAGO. 



HONEy.—Demand is light and receipts are also 

 light. Prices range from 10®15c.forbestgrade8of 

 comb honey, and for extracted, 5@7c. 



BBBSWAX-2J(925C. 



R. A. Burnett, I6I South Water 8t. 



BOSTON. 



HONKY.— We quote the following prices : Fancy 

 white comb in 1-lb. sections, l«;(§jl8c. : the same in 

 2-lb. sections, l.')@iec; fancy white California li-lba., 

 12(!514c. Extracted weak, 6'£[i8c. Sales very slow. 



BEESW AX.-32 cts. per lb. 



Blake & Uiplkt. 57 Chatham Street. 



NEW TORK. 



HONEY— Wequote: Fancy white clover in I-Ib 

 sections, 14@15c; fair to good white clover in 1-lb. 

 sections, lli@13c: fancy white clover in li-lb. sec- 

 tions, 13@Hc; fair to good white clover in 2-lb. 

 sections, 1 l@12c: tancy buckwheat in 1 -lb. sections, 

 0@inc: fancy buckwheat in 2-lb. sections, 7fe8c. 

 Ordinary grades, ntt sale. Extracted white clover, 

 7®.Sc; extracted buckwheat, (!(dfj!.sc. 



BEESWAX-Prime yellow. 26a29c. 



McCacl & HiLDKETH BROS., 34 Hudson St. 



CINCINNATI. 



HONEY— There is no change whatever in the 

 market, which has been without life for some 

 time. We have a good class of regular customers 

 who use considerable honey, while outsiders can 

 hardly be induced to purchase. We quote extrac- 

 ted at 4'.^f<tSc, and comb honey at 90i;12c, on arrival, 



BEESWAX- Demand is good and it brings 23(s 28 

 on arrival, for good yellow. 



C. F. MUTH, Freeman & Central Ave. 



SAN FRANCISCO. 



UONEY— The market is quiet, there being no 

 shipping demand and not much local trade. There 

 are receipts of both old and new. (.>ne lot of 200 

 cases of old extracted arrived from San Jose. 

 White to extra white comb, 7C<4;>c: dark to good, 

 4@6c: extracted, choice to extra white, iX<s^^ : 

 amber colored, 4@4^. 



BEESWAX— Quotable at 24a25c— wholesale. 



O. B. SMITH & Co., 423 Front Street. 



CLBVBLAND. 



HONEY— Is very dull justnowduringstrawberry 

 time, and although we hold at 14@l.sc per lb. best 

 white 1-lb. sections, it is merely nominal, as there 

 are no transactions. As soon as our people have 

 satistled their craving for acid fruits, they take 

 very kindly to nice white honey, and we may look 

 with confidence to a good demand in July, August 

 and September. 



BEESWAX.— Scarce at 28®30. 



A. C. Kendel. 115 Ontario Street. 



KANSAS CITY. 

 HONE Y— Small lots of new noney are beginning 

 to come in, and fancy new comb brings a slight 

 advance In tho follt)wing prices ; Choice H-lb. 

 sections. 15®l«c; l-lb., 13ai4c; 2-lb., 10(4)120. Ex- 

 tracted, new Southern, 5!^Q.6c: California, 7c: new 

 white clover. 8c. 

 BKESW AX-Weak at 25@30c, 



Clemon8,Cloon & Co., cor. 4th & Walnut. 



jW All who intend to be systematic in 

 their work in the ajjiary, should ^et a copy of 

 the Apiary Register and commence to use it. 

 The prices are as follows : 



For 50 colonies (120 pages) SI 00 



" 100 colonies ('.320 pages) 12.3 



" 200 colonies (420 pages) 150 



Tho larger ones can be used tor 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. 



