IT HE SMERICSPt BE® J©^RlMai<. 



69 



Queries f Ri 



The Highest Tciiipcratiire En. 

 durable l>}' ISce§. 



Written for the American Bee Jownuil 



ftitery 60!).— How high a temperature of 

 heat will beee endure, aud live ?— MichlKao. 



I do not kiiow.- 

 I do not kiiow.- 

 I do not kuow.- 

 I do not kiiow.- 

 I do not know.- 

 I do not know.- 



-James Heddon. 

 -H. D. Cutting. 

 -Eugene Secok. 

 -J. M. Hambaugh. 

 -A. B. Mason. 

 -Will M. Barnuji. 



I do not know. — M. Mahin. 



I do not know. Who can tell ? — P. 



L. VlALLON. 



There is no practical utility to that 

 question. Next. — Miis. L. Hakrison. 



I do not know. I presume that it 

 might difler. — A. J. CoOK. 



Over 1003 pahr. Beyond this I 

 have never experimented. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



They would succumb at about the 

 point where the wax would melt. — C. 



H. DlBBERN. 



Mine have stood nearlj' 100-. I do 

 not know how much more they would 

 stand. — C. C. Miller. 



I have known them to stand 115^ 

 with no harm, and I suppose that thej' 

 could live in a higher temperature, but 

 I do not know how high. — G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



I do not know. They will stand 

 immersion in syrup nearly boiling hot, 

 and seem happ}'. You do not want to 

 roast any, do you ? — J. M. Shuck. 



I do not know. The temperature 

 should alvva3\s be kept below the melt- 

 ing point of the combs, else they will 

 break down from the heat, and thus 

 ruin the colonj-. — J. E. Pond. 



That depends upon how long they 

 are suljjected to tlie heat, upon their 

 opportunity to get fresh air, and upon 

 how long an existence you would re- 

 <iuire to call it " living." — R.L.Taylor. 



The question is too indefinite to be 

 answered directly. A temperature of 

 180^, in my solar wax-extractor will 

 kill a bee in a twinkle ; 1603 x\[l\ kill, 

 but not instantly. I have never tested 

 these matters as an experiment — I only 

 answer as to what I have seen in a 

 practical way. I am satisfied that bees 

 suffer less of vitality when the tem- 

 perature goes above 100^ in the shade. 

 My bees usually "dwindle" during an 

 exceedingly hot spell in the Latter part 

 of the summer. — G. W. Demaree. 



Natural yellow wax melts at from 

 142° to 145-, Fahr., but it can be 



molded by pressure at a temperature 

 of aliout 10(P. At the point where 

 combs would melt, the bees become 

 nseless, and would die in the " general 

 wreck "or ruin of the interior of the 

 hive. They ma}' endure a few more 

 degrees of lieat, and still show anim.a- 

 tion, and if that is the information de- 

 sired by .the (pierist, then we would 

 sa}' that the bees may endure about 

 150° " and live." — The Editor. 



The Best method of Getting 

 Inerea§e. 



Wrltte^i for the American Bee Journal 



Query 610.— 1. IliaveSO colonies of Ital- 

 ian bees in double-walled chaff hives, all 

 strong and in splendid condition, with all the 

 hives full of honey. 1 wish to increase them 

 to 40 colonies during- the coming season, and 

 in order to get the most surplus honey will it 

 be best to let them swarm, or divide them 

 early in the spring, say about the last of April 

 or the first of May ? 2. Will it be to the best 

 advantage to furnish them with queens, or 

 let them rear their own (lueen-cells ?— Illinois. 



Let them swarm, and rear their own 

 queens. — A. J. Cook. 



1. Let them swarm. 2. Furnish the 

 queens. — H. D. Cutting. 



1. Let them swarm. 2. Let them 

 rear their own. — R. L. Taylor. 



Rear queens early, and make 

 swarms by dividing. — Dadant & Son. 



1. Let theiu swarm. 2. I should 

 prefer to furnish them with queens. — 

 A. B. Mason. 



I shoidd let them swarm once each, 

 letting the parent colony rear its own 

 queen. — G. M. Doolittle. 



1. Allow them to swarm naturally, 

 returning all second swarms. 2. Let 

 them rear their own queens — unless 

 3"ou have some particular strain that 

 you want to increase. ■ — Will M. 

 Barncm. 



1. I would allow them to swarm 

 naturally. If 3'on conclude to divide, 

 do it when the colonies are near the 

 condition of swarming. 2. It will be 

 best to furnish them with queens. — J. 

 P. H. Brown. 



1. Let them swarm ; natural swarms 

 are the best, although there, are times 

 when it is well to make swarms by 

 division. 2. If jour bees are of a 

 good strain, let them rear their own 

 queen-cells. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



1. Knowing nothing of your locality 

 or ability, I cannot answer your first 

 question, but for myself, 1 should 

 divide colonies. 2. Much depends. I 

 should furnish fecundated queens, in 

 my own apiary. — J. E. Pond. 



1. To divide early, would bo bad 

 policy. I would get them as strong as 

 possible by swarming time, and let 

 them swarm. 2. If divided, the queen- 

 less colony should be supplied with a 

 queen or a queen-cell. — M. Mahin. 



First, in this locality, I shoidd let 

 them swarm, in which case they would 

 attend to the matter of queening. — 

 James Heddon. 



Provide laying queens, aud divide 

 the colonies not later tlian May 1, if 

 the weather is good. If further south 

 than this locality, divide earlier ; if 

 further north, do it later. They may 

 need feeding to get them to fidl 

 strength by June 1. — J. M. Shuck. 



1. To divide them has many advan- 

 tages over the natural-swarming .sys- 

 tem, and if judiciously managed, no 

 doubt it will give you the best results. 

 2. Furuisli them with queens. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



If you desire anj- surplus honey, I 

 should say let the bees swarm 07ice 

 naturally, and manage them on the 

 Heddon plan. Should they not swarm, 

 the)- may be divided later in the sea- 

 son, when the honey crop is about 

 over. Do 7iot divide them in the 

 spring. In dividing, it is well to give 

 the queenless part a queen, or queen- 

 cell, from a colony that has swarmed. 



C. H. DiBBERN. 



1. I think that depends upon whether 

 your principal honey-flow comes early 

 or late in the season. If the latter, 

 dividing might work well, if you can 

 get two strong colonies ready for the 

 harvest in place of one. I should not 

 divide, however, until near the time 

 for natural swarms. 2. You could let 

 some of the colonies rear all the queen- 

 cells that they naturally would, and 

 utilize the best of these to supply 

 others. — Eugene Secor. 



1. It may not be pertinent to the 

 question, but I think that it is a mis- 

 take to attempt to increase your bees 

 to any greater extent than results 

 from natural swarming, allowing no 

 more than one jjrime swarm from any 

 colony. You may make a big show by 

 rapid increase of colonies, but "solid 

 cash " will not materialize. 2. If you 

 luust divide your colonies, wait until 

 swarming time. It pays best to give 

 the divisions queens at once. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



Without knowing anything of your 

 locality, or the amount of your ex- 

 perience or ability to accomjiiish what 

 you desire to do, it would jjrobably be 

 safer to advise you to let them swarm 

 naturally, and let the old colonies rear 

 their queens. — The Editor. 



A FavoraI»le ^Vord from anj' of our 

 readers, who speak from experience, has 

 more weight with their friends than aiiy- 

 thlDK we might say. Every one of our 

 readers can lend us a helping hand, in this 

 way, without much trouble, and at the same 

 time help to scatter ap'icultural knowledge 

 and promote the welfare of our pursuit. 



