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THE AMERICA2J BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Feeding Back Extracted Honey. 



Query, No. 141.— How and when Bhould 

 extracted honey be "fed back" in order to pro- 

 cure comb honey ?— Fancy Prairie. Ilia. 



It should be "fed back" in the 

 spring, so as to aid brood- rearing.— C. 

 C. Miller. 



I have never been able to make it 

 pay, so I liave given it up.— G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



As soon as or a little before the 

 harvest stops. Keep the bees active. 

 —A. J. Cook. 



This is still an unsolved problem. 

 I can say this much, it should be fed 

 rapidly and in v^farm weather.— W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



Why not get the honey in the sec- 

 tion-boxes in the Urst place?— G. L. 

 Tinker. 



I would not advise feeding it back 

 at any time, unless under most favor- 

 able circumstances, to finish nearly 

 completed combs of honey. It will 

 hardly pay to produce two crops to 

 get one.— James Heddon. 



I do not think a paying job can be 

 made by so doing, but it should be 

 done early in the season, and during 

 the warm weather. So far as my ex- 

 perience goes, it is rather expensive, 

 and exceedingly difficult. — J. E. 

 Pond, Jr. 



No matter how and when you feed 

 extracted honey to convert it into the 

 shape of comb honey, you will never 

 make it pay. It would be better to 

 work your bees for comb honey at 

 the start, if comb honey is most 

 profitable to you. But if you wish to 

 satisfy yourself that it won't pay, you 

 can get the best results by feeding 

 the extracted honey right at the close 

 of the early honey season.— G. "VV. 

 Demaree. 



Winter Bee-Passages. 



Query, Ko. 14S.— iBit desirable or requisite 

 to make holes throudh the combs for bee-passages 

 for winter use ? Are passaces made by the use 

 of sticks laid on top of the brood-frames suffi- 

 cient ?-M. D. 



I would answer "yes" to both 

 questions. — A. J. Cook. 



In very large combs it is possible 

 that passages might be desirable, but 

 with combs of ordinary size, a space 

 over their tops is sufficient.— W. Z. 

 Uutciiinson. 



To the first I say no ; second, yes.— 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



I never make winter passages. 

 Possibly it might be necessary in 

 some cases on account of deep combs 

 or other cause.— C. C. Miller. 



We never make winter passages. 

 We find that in ordinary winters 



there are enough warm days to allow 

 the bees to change their place. Be- 

 sides, in cold weather they do not 

 always use those passages, and very 

 often die near them, owing to the 

 impossibility of moving.— Dadant & 

 Son. 



There is no need of holes in the 

 combs. Split some corn-stalks of the 

 proper length, flatten the ends and 

 lay three or four pieces across the 

 top-bars of the frames, and over all 

 spread the quilt. This will answer 

 all purposes without mutilating the 

 combs.— G. W. Demaree. 



No, I do not use a " stick," but a 

 3-lt>x^ bent thus — . I have used 

 it more or less for ten years. I am 

 not sure that it does any good. — James 

 Heddon. 



With a shallow frame like the 

 standard Langstroth, I do not think 

 it is, unless the combs are attached 

 to the bottom-bars and all openings 

 are closed. Theoretically, passages 

 over the brood-frames are all right, 

 but in practice I find no bees walking 

 over the top-bars in cold weather. I 

 have discarded the use of sticks and 

 all other devices on the frames in win- 

 ter. I place strips of wood between 

 the top-bars and shut off all upward 

 ventilation.— G. L. Tinker. 



I do not like to make holes through 

 the combs, for the reason that it in- 

 jures them greatly. I have found 

 that a "Hill's device," or its equiva- 

 lent (say sticks lain across the top of 

 the frames), is amply sufficient for 

 purposes of communication from one 

 frame to another.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Prevention of After-Swarming. 



Query, No. 143.— Would not a virgin queen, 

 or cell just about to hatch, introduced into a hive 

 immediately after its colony bad cast a first 

 swarm, prevent a second-swarm by the young 

 queen tearing down the cells before they were 

 ready to hatch ? Would not an advantage be 

 gained by furnishing a queen a week ahead ?— H.H. 



I doubt if it would be a success.— C. 

 C. Miller. 



It would be advantageous and is 

 advisable to furnish a queen-cell ready 

 to hatch, provided the hive does not 

 already contain hatched queens as is 

 sometimes the case.— Dadant & Son. 



1. Probably it would. 2. Most cer- 

 tainly, though the colony is hardly 

 able to do much at once after swarm- 

 ing.— A. J. Cook. 



Not as a general rule, unless you 

 destroy the queen-cells at the time 

 you introduce the virgin (pieen or 

 mature cell. If you neglect to re- 

 move all the queen-cells before in- 

 troducing the virgin queens, you are 

 likely to have the swarms a little in 

 advance of the usual time, which is 

 worse than letting them have their 

 own way. As to your last suggestion 

 or question, I think not. Nature 

 seems to guide the bees safely in this 

 respect.— G. W. Demaree. 



Sometimes this plan will work and 

 at others it will not, as an experience 

 in having queens and cells destroyed 



by scores has proven. Besides in this 

 locality there is no advantage in the 

 above, but rather a disadvantage over 

 allowing the cells left in the hive to 

 hatch.— G. M. Doolittle. 



In the majority of instances, after- 

 swarming can be prevented in the 

 manner mentioned. Under ordinary 

 management there would, in some 

 instances, be an advantage, but none 

 over the Heddon method.— W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



Generally it will ; but if the flow of 

 nectar is good it will as often fail, the 

 bees not allowing the cells to be dis- 

 turbed. I have had several such 

 queens to lead after-swarms. It is of 

 course an advantage where the plan 

 succeeds.— G. L. Tinker. 



In many cases it would. I prefer 

 to prevent after-swarms by the 

 method I have already given in the 

 Bee Journal. The plan you men- 

 tion is best when you are desirous of 

 changing the blood of your bees. I 

 much prefer the just-hatched queen 

 to the queen-cell.— James Heddon. 



Try and see, is the best way to 

 determine. Bees act so differently at 

 different times and under different 

 circumstances, that no one can tell 

 exactly about what will be done. As 

 a rule we may say yes, but we will 

 find lots of exceptions. Of course it 

 is an advantage to gain a week in 

 furnishing a laying queen, provided 

 the advantage is not lost by swarming 

 again.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Increasing the Number of Colonies. 



Query, No. 144.— Which is the better plan 

 when working an apiary for extracted honey, to 

 make the increase by natural swarming or by 

 division ? If by division, when is the best time to 

 do it in this locality, white clover being our sur- 

 plus ?-C., Cincinnati, O. 



By division after the clover harvest 

 is over.— G. M. Doolittle. 



By division in any case. We would 

 rear the queen-cells from the very 

 best colonies, and make the divisions 

 from those colonies which would not 

 be expected to furnish any surplus, if 

 sufficiently strong. The best time is 

 a little before the beginning of the 

 clover crop.— Dadant & Son. 



It makes little or no difference. The 

 pleasure and convenience of the bee- 

 keeper should decide. I would start 

 nuclei and build up as rapidly as I 

 could in the spring.— A. J. Cook. 



I prefer natural swarming. If 

 division is practiced, it would be best 

 to divide the colonies before the honey 

 harvest.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



My experience is that dividing is 

 the best plan by which to get increase, 

 whether working for comb or ex- 

 tracted honey.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



"Which is the best," depends very 

 much upon the style of your hive, 

 method of increase by division, and 

 conveniences for hiving natural 

 swarms. If you get no surplus ex- 

 cept from clover, perhaps you had 

 best make the increase after the sur- 



