THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



315 



xaUs mxA ^xxtxits. 



Sumter Co., Ala., Aug. 9, 1877.—" Please 

 answer the following questions through the 

 next Journal. 



How often ought combs in the brood 

 chamber to be removed? 



Would you permit empty combs to remain 

 in the hive, in the surplus department, for 

 protection through the winter ? 



What causes foul brood ? 



SUBSCRIBEK. 



[ 1. They will do to breed from for 8 or 10 

 years. When cells are so small as to make 

 bees under size, then discard them. 



2, Perhaps so, South; not here. North, 

 remove frames and fill in with chaff. Al- 

 ways remove partly-filled frames or boxes, 

 which it is desirable to keep white. It is 

 desirable to keep a perfectly tight box, in 

 which all surplus comb honey and comb 

 may always be kept when not desired in the 

 liives. 



3. Supposed to be caused by a minute 

 plant or fungoid growth. What causes the 

 plant to grow is an obscure question. — A. J. 

 Cook.] 



1. Do bees in natural swarming take a 

 bee line for the spot where they alight? 

 and how far are they likely to go before 

 they light ? 



2. Do they select a spot before leaving the 

 laive? 



3. How late in the season will a colony in 

 this latitude continue to have brood ? 



4. In the absence of brood in the hive do 

 bees gather pollen, i. e., do not bees gather 

 pollen ill proportion to the quantity of 

 brood ? 



5. Will a colony for a time gather honey 

 as well without a queen as with ? 



6. Is there a necessity for openings in the 

 honey-board ? They usually cover the 

 openings, I notice. 



I commenced an apiary the past spring 

 with two colonies of hybrids. One soon 

 became queenless and remained so several 

 weeks, yet they have increased to 5, and 

 one left for parts unknown, without even 

 giving warning or saying " good bye," and 

 left at a "2:40 rate," leaving me gazing in 

 the air. 



Have extracted no honey as yet, but have 

 about 50 lbs. of comb lioney. They have 

 l>eeii supplied with empty frames as divi- 

 sions have occured, but yet they have very 

 little brood. 



7. My desire is to keep them strong in 

 numbers. What course is best for me to 

 pursue now to accomplish it ? 



8. A few days since I changed the empty 

 frames from the sides toward the middle. 

 Will that have a beneficial effect ? 



9. Will they work in supers when there is 

 room below? Quiz. 



[ 1. It is generally believed that they do. 

 My experience and observation say yes. 



2. Unquestionably, yes. 



3. Depends on age of queen, lier condition 

 and character of season for honey. With 



frost, Sep. 20th. There should be brood on 

 Oct. 15th. I will have brood till Oct., if I 

 have to feed to secure it. 



4. Bees will gather pollen without brood, 

 and even without brood or queen. I pre- 

 sume that with a fertile queen and rapid 

 brood rearing they gather far more. 



5. I think just as well, and store even 

 more. 



6. I desire no openings about the hive, ex- 

 cept the entrance, but I want that to be 

 ample. 



7. To keep colonies strong, don't increase 

 too fast. Keep vigorous, prolific queen, and 

 feed if the interims of nectar secretion by 

 the flowers are too long. 



8. When cold, keep the brood altogether; 

 when warm, it makes little difference, if 

 colonies are strong. 



9. They are not apt to. 



Adendum— Keep colonies strong.— A. J. 

 Cook.] 



Knoxville, Iowa, Aug. 11, 1877.— " This 

 has been one of the most unproductive 

 honey seasons in this section ever known. 

 Bees had to be fed till July 1st; since then 

 they have barely made a living. They may 

 do better from now till frost. Why is it 

 that a queen lays from 1 to 6 eggs in a cell, 

 with plenty of room in the hive? I have 

 sucli a one, and she is a beauty — a bright 

 yellow Italian— and I am puzzled at her 

 conduct. Should she be superseded ?" 



A. U. Crosby. 



[Usually, the reason is want of cells or 

 bees. With many, cells; if the bees cannot 

 cover the combs, the queen will put more 

 than one egg in a cell, even though all cells 

 are not used. The queen should not be 

 killed. Give her more bees.— A. J. Cook.1 



Lunnville, Tenn.— " I send specimen of 

 two honey plants. No. 1 with pink bloom 

 has been in bloom several weeks and bees 

 frequent it more than any other plant in 

 this section. It grows from 2 to 3 ft. high, 

 with a number of branches. It yields no 

 pollen. The other is not so good for honey, 

 and blooms all summer and fall. What is 

 their value as honey plants?" 



M. G. Gbigsby. 



[No. 1 is an aster. There are probably 

 over 100 sp eies in the U. S. All are good 

 honey plants. No. 2 has no leaves to help 

 decide the species; is probably the Kuhnia 

 eupatorioides. — A. J. Cook.] 



Wanted. — We want the following back 

 numbers of The American Bee Jour- 

 nal,: July, 1874; January to July, 1875; 

 and May, 1876. Any one liaving them to 

 spare, will please notify us by postal card, 

 giving price. Don't send them without first 

 hearing from us, as we want to get them 

 only from one person. 



