THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 5, 1905. 



large scale. As you are working for extracted honey, you 

 ought to be able to get along with little or no swarming if 

 you put all the brood in the upper story, giving empty 

 combs, foundation, or starters below, doing this as late as 

 possible without running the risk of their swarming. That 

 would not hinder your putting up one or more frames of 

 brood in fruit-bloom, if you so desire, but leaving the queen 

 below. 



While it might be true that with a shallow hive like 

 the Heddon most of the queen-cells could be seen without 

 taking out a frame, it would hardly be safe to trust to it 

 entirely, for too often the bees start cells in places that can 

 be seen only by taking out the frames. You say the cells 

 can usually be seen, but to be safe against swarming we 

 must always see them. 



I think you are right that my stands would be better if 

 the boards were on edge instead of flat, but I have no need 

 to clamp supers and hives together, for it is never necessary 

 to tilt a hive back when supers are on. 



Peedlne Bees Cane Synip— Sowlna Clovers In Sandy Soil. 



1. I have a few colonies of bees, but they do not do very 

 well here at any time. This year they did comparatively noth- 

 ing. I have been feeding them this fall on pure cane syrup. 

 Is it good for them? I have been told that it would kill 

 them. 



2. If it is good for them how should it be fed? 



3. Do you think it would pay to sow some kind of clover 

 for them down South on our sandy soil? If so, what kind 

 of clover is the best? I have an orchard of about one acre, 

 and I have been told that clover would do well in it, but it is 

 more dirt land than sandy. I have tried buckwheat, but it 

 does not do well here. Louisiana. 



Answers : — 1. I suppose you mean the. unrefined syrup 

 that has never been made into sugar, which would probably 

 be death to bees for wintering in the North ; but I don't 

 know about it so far south as Louisiana. If bees can fly 

 about every week, it is possible they might winter on it all 

 right, but for anything I know it is also possible that it 

 wouldn't do. Will some of the Southern readers tell us 

 about it? 



2. It could be fed with any of the feeders, or by the crock- 

 and-plate method, either in the hive or in the open air. For the 

 crock-and-plate method, fill a stone crock (a gallon crock is a 

 good size) with the syrup, tie over it a single thickness of 

 heavy woolen cloth, or its equivalent, as five or six thicknesses 

 of cheese-cloth, lay over this a plate upside down; with one 

 hand under the crock and the other over the plate quickly turn 

 the whole thing upside down, and your feeder is all ready. 



3. Try sweet clover, sowing it as early as seeds begin 



to start, and pack or roll the ground hard after sowing. Some 



have reported failure with sweet clover in some parts of the 



South, but you may succeed all right. Possibly crimson clover 



might succeed. 



.*-•-♦ 



Burr-Combs— Brace Combs— Langstroth Hive Size— 

 Requeenins Colonies. 



1. What is a burr-comb? 



2. What is a brace-comb? 



3. What are the exact inside dimensions of a Langstroth 

 9-frame brood-chamber ? 



4. One of my colonies was robbed out last month, the 

 hive containing 18 pounds of honey. The bees clustered on 

 the outside of the hive, and remained there two or three days. 

 I noticed that some of them shook violently when crawling 

 over the cluster. I fixed up another hive with some honey, 

 and put them in it, and they seem all right, and defend their 

 entrance well. This colony is so strong it fills an 8-frame 

 hive-body full. Why did these bees get robbed? Do you 

 think them queenless? Why did the bees shake so when 

 crawling? Were they starving? 



5. The main honey-flow begins here about the first of 

 May. If I find some of my colonies queenless in the spring 

 can I get queens from some breeder in time to build them 

 up for the flow? 



6. In sending queens by mail what are escort bees put 

 in for? To keep up the temperature, or feed the queen? I 

 have heard it said the queen would starve to death in the 

 midst of plenty if the bees did not feed her. 



7. Which will drown the most bees, the Simplicity feeder 

 or the Division-Board feeder; or rather, which will drown the 

 least? 



8. In 1902 I had 3 colonies of bees; in 1903, 54; and this 



year I have 65, and during these three years I have not iiad 

 a single swarm. What do you think of that? 



CALIEORtllA. 



Answers. — 1 and 2. The terms "burr" and "brace" are 

 used somewhat indiscriminately, "burr" more properly refer- 

 ring to bits of comb built over the top-bar or elsewhere, per- 

 haps without connecting two parts together; and "brace" be- 

 ing used to designate bits built between frames or combs, thus 

 serving to brace them. 



3. There is no exact dimension. The size of the frame, 

 outside measure, is 1"^ x ^Ys, and the hive must be of a size 

 to accommodate the eight frames, usually with additional 

 room for a dummy. Some allow more room than others for 

 the frames; a hive that I have just measured is 18 5-16 xl2J^- 

 x9J^, and perhaps the majority nowadays are of that size. 



4. I'd like to look the ground over before attempting any 

 reply. It seems an extraordinary thing that a very strong 

 colony should be robbed out and then defend itself well after 

 being changed into another hive. I don't know why the bees 

 allowed themselves to be robbed, and if queenless they would 

 be most likely to be robbed after being changed into another 

 hive. That violent shaking was more likely dancing than 

 starving. 



5. Yes, if they have not been queenless too long. If the 

 queen was lost so early last season that only a few very old 

 bees are left, it won't pay to fuss with them. 



6. The escort bees feed the queen and keep up the tem- 

 perature, and it is quite possible that they serve an important 

 purpose in keeping up her spirits by their genial company. 



7. There ought to be no difference ; neither one ought 

 to drown any bees to speak of. . 



8. I think I'd like to know how you do it. Please tell us. 



Disposition of Ponl-Broody Hives and their Contents. 



1. Are you acquainted with foul brood? 



2. About what time would it do to shake bees on the 

 starters if they have foul brood, that is, how early in the 

 spring? Apple-trees bloom about May 10th or 15th. 



3. What would you do with all the supers, one-pound 

 boxes and starters that are in them, also the hivts if they are 

 in good, condition ? 



4. What would you do with straight combs from such 

 hives, some of them containing foul brood and others not? 



5. I have the "A B C of Bee-Culture," dated 1S77. Is 

 this the most up-to-date book I can get for a beginner on this 

 subject? New York. 



Answers : — 1. We are not what you might call intimate 

 friends, foul brood never having condescended to make a 

 personal call on me ; still I have a speaking acquaintance from 

 having met it elsewhere. 



2. "In the honey season when the bees are gathering 

 freely," says Mr. McEvoy. Unless your bees do a pretty 

 heavy business on fruit-bloom, better wait till the opening of 

 the main harvest. 



3. Use them. 



4. The safe thing would be to melt them up. 



5. There is a 1905 edition of the "A B C of Bee Culture," 

 a 1904 edition of Dadant's Langstroth, and a 1904 edition of 

 Cook's Manual. Dr. Howard's pamphlet on foul brood is 

 devoted entirely to brood-diseases. 



Honey as a Health-Food.— This is a 16-page honey- 

 pamphlet intended to help increase the demand for honey. 

 The first part of it contains a short article on " Honey as 

 Food ", written by Dr. C. C. Miller. It tells where to keep 

 honey, how to liquefy it, etc. The last part is devoted to 

 " Honey-Cooking Recipes " and " Remedies Using Honey ". 

 It should be widely circulated by those selling honey. The 

 more the people are educated on the value and uses of honey 

 the more honey they will buy. 



Prices, prepaid — Sample copy for a two-cent stamp ; 50 

 copies for 70 cts.; 100 for $1.25 : 250 for $2.25 ; 500 for $4.00 ; 

 or 1000 for $7.50. Your business card printed free at the 

 bottom of the front page on all orders for 100 or more copies. 

 Send all orders to the office of the American Bee Journal. 



Some Facts About Honey and Bees.— This is the 

 subject of an article written by Mr. J. E. Johnson, and pub- 

 lished on pages 581-82 of the American Bee Journal for 

 Aug. 25, 1904. We have republished it in 4-page leaflet 

 form for general distribution, and furnish it, postpaid, at 

 35 cents per 100 copies. Send all orders to the office of the 

 American Bee Journal. 



