THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



305 



ing some nice pieces of foundation tliat 

 came more than half way down tlie frames, 

 but laclicd more tlian an inch of coming out 

 to tiie sides, I found that the bees at once 

 built this foundation into comb, and tilled it 

 with brood which was sealed before they 

 chose to fill out the side spaces. 



It is essential that the hives be carefully 

 leveled before putting foundation in. A 

 small level, which answers a very good pur- 

 pose, can be bought at a hardware store for 

 25 cts. It is best to do this leveling with 

 care, making the hives perfectly level both 

 ways, then the foundation will be fastened 

 by the bees to the centres of the side 

 pieces. 



In my frames there is a small slat for a 

 comb guide, which tits into a groove in the 

 underside of the top-bar and into a notch in 

 the upper end of each of the side-bars. I 

 have fastened the foundation by laying the 

 frames over a board which just fills it up to 

 the comb-guide, laying the foundation on 

 this board and pressing it down to the top- 

 bar, then by means of a knife-blade heated 

 in the flame of a lamp, melting the founda- 

 tion at several points, so that it adheres 

 strongly to the comb-guide. Tliis can be 

 done quite quickly and has answered well 

 in nearly every case. 



One very hot day I put some frames of 

 foundation into a strong colony, and on 

 looking next day found that in two frames 

 it had fallen to the bottom. On taking it 

 out I found that quite a large space towards 

 the bottom of each sheet had been partly 

 built out into comb before the sheets had 

 broken loose from their fastenings. May it 

 not be true that in so warm a day it was 

 comfortable for the bees to work near the 

 bottom of the hives, and that so many bees 

 congregated on the lower part of these 

 sheets that their combined wi-ight and the 

 heat was the cause of the sheets falling 

 down before the bees had fastened the 

 foundation to the comb-guide ? 



My experience thus far is strongly in 

 favor of comb foundation. The bees draw 

 it out into comb readily and rapidly; the 

 queen fills it at once with eggs; it gives 

 frames of solid worker brood to the very 

 corners; the brood j)rospers in all respects 

 as well as in comb built by bees without 

 foundation. It seems to me that it is a very 

 important discovery in bee-culture. 



O. Clute. 



Keokuk, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1877. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Dollar Queens. 



Mr. Dadaiit labors rather hard to impress 

 upon the minds of bee-keepers that import- 

 ed queens are superior to the home-bred 

 ones. I cannot see where he has gained a 

 point. How it is that queens raised in Italy 

 can be better than those raised in America 

 under the same circumstances, is more than 

 I can make out. Mr. D. has an idea that 

 queens can't be raised for $1 each, that is, 

 good ones. Now Mr. D., how nnich more 

 than $1 each does the Italian or Dutchman 

 get for his queens of whom you purchase 

 them? It strikes me that the dollar side of 

 the question is not all (m this side of the 

 water. I claim that the dollar part of it has 

 nothing to do with the quality of the 

 queens. 



We have paid as high as $2 per bushel for 



corn here, now we get it for about 65c. The- 

 corn is just as good as that that cost us. 

 twice as much, but the producer don't get 

 as much for it. The manner of rearing tlie 

 queens is the point. Mr. D. has much to- 

 say about queens raised in nucleus hives.. 

 The best, largest, most prolific, long lived 

 and the finest queens in any respect that I 

 ever saw were raised in small nuclei hives 

 —say hives that will hold 3 pints of bees. 

 Now there is away to raise good queens in 

 nucleus hives and there is a way to raise 

 inferior ones. Beginners cannot do it, 

 and to raise good queens a man must have 

 considerable experience. It is a trade to 

 learn, the same as in everything else. 



How do we know that all the gueens 

 raised in Italy or Germany are not raised in 

 such hives? I wisii some of those who 

 have purchased such queens would tell us- 

 about them. I have said sometiiing about 

 home-bred queens, etc., in another column, 

 and in the Aug. number of the Journal. 



Now if any of the imported queens have 

 done better or even half as well, let me 

 know it. If Mr. Dadant can afford to sell 

 iujported queens for about $6 each, and 

 make a profit, then the person who supplies 

 him can't get much over $1 each. It is a 

 poor rule tliat don't work both ways; and 

 if queens can't be raised for $1 in this coun- 

 try they can't anywhere. H. Alley. 



Wenham, Mass., Aug. 8, 1877. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Raising Queens. 



I will now fulfill my promise to give the 

 JouKNAL our method of raising queens and 

 making swarms. The raising of queens 

 and making artificial swarms are so nuich 

 connected with our general management of 

 bees that we cannot give them without ex- 

 pounding part of our general treatment of 

 bees. 



After winter some colonies are weak, 

 others are strong; but according to circum- 

 stances of food, weather, prolificness ot the- 

 queens, etc., it sometimes happens that 

 some of the weak ones gain strength, and 

 are in .June as good as those which seemed 

 the best immediately after winter; yet fully 

 25 per cent, of the whole number wintered 

 remain too feeble to give, in June, any sur- 

 plus honey. 



Amongst our strongest stocks we con- 

 sider those best who have the best laying 

 queens and most active workers. General- 

 ly, these colonies have given us in the pro- 

 ceeding season & good crop of honey. We 

 do not consider the color of the queens to 

 be of the least value, if their bees are pure. 

 Amongst these colonies we select, early in 

 the spring, a few to raise drones. As we 

 have replaced in all our colonies every 

 drone cell by worker comb, we slip a drone 

 comb in these selected hives, between two 

 worker combs containing brood, and we 

 feed these colonies to invite the queens ta 

 lay to their utmost capacity. 



Now as all is linked together in the treat- 

 ment of bees, I have to guard the unexperi- 

 enced bee-keeper <ig;iinsta fault too gener- 

 ally committed — to feed in the day time. 

 We feed after sun-down, and proportion! 

 the quantity to the strength of the colony,, 

 so as to have all disposed of before the next 

 day. Our end in acting so is to prevent the 

 killing en masse of the bees. 



