184 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 9, 1905. 



Highbarger's method commends itself by its simplicity and conven- 

 ience. 



Tbis gives me opportunity to mention an omission on pajre 121, 

 probably due to the lack of anything within reach of the typesetter 

 that would make the right character. June 13 the first super was 

 given, and the blank left by the printer at that place should be filled 

 with a plain square. C. C. Miller. 



— ■ -«-•-* ' 



Size of 10-Pratne Lansstroth Hive. 



What is the size of a 10-frame Langstroth hive, with plenty of 

 room for a dummy ? Kansas. 



Answkb.- 



-18J^xlO>^xl4%, inside measure. 



Shipplns Bees. 



We are about moving to Minnesota, and have 6 colonies of bees 

 which we would like to take with us. What is the best way to ship 

 i^am^. Illinois. 



Answek.— The important thing is to fasten hives in the car so 

 they will not move. Put them in the car with the frames running 

 parallel with the tracks. (In a wagon they should be crosswise.) If 

 there is plenty of room, so that each hive can be on the car floor, nail 

 cleats an inch thick onto the floor so as to hold the hives in place. If 

 they have to be piled up, then a board from one side to the other may 

 brace them. Have them at the end rather than the middle of the car. 

 At this time of year a good-sized entrance closed with wire-cloth will 

 give air enough, but in warmer weather more ventilation will be 

 needed. Make sure that everything is fastened securely so no bees 

 shall leak out. 



Queens Mating More than Once-Dead Bees at the Hive- 

 Entrance-Brood Dying in ttie Spring. 



There is a rumor going the rounds that queens leave their hives to 

 meet the drones after they have been mated successfully. Some very 

 prominent apiarists insist that they have seen laying queens leave 

 their hives the second time to meet the drone. 



1. With your experience what importance, if any, do you attach 

 to this matter? 



2. If queens meet the drone more than once do you think this 

 renders them more prolific than a single mating? 



3. If by meeting the drone more than once queens become more 

 prolific, will not the wing-clipper have to go? 



4. Two colonies of equal strength, equal stores, queens equal in 

 proliflcness, packed exactly alike for winter, yet at tne entrance of 

 one ten times more dead bees are found than at the other. Why? 



5. Will not some of the brood perish in the spring from natura' 



causes? KENTtJCKT. 



Answers. — 1. I do not know of any case in my own experience, 

 yet that does not prove that there is no such thing as second mating. 

 Others claim to ha^e seen it. 



2. Probably a queen that has mated twice is no better off than 

 other queens. 



3. Clipping has nothing to do in the case. A queen is not clipped 

 till after she begins laying, and I think no one claims that a queen 

 ever mates after beginning to lay. 



4. There may tie a materiardifference in the age of the workers, 

 or some other diflerence not easily recognized. 



5. It I understand your question correctly, I don't believe there 

 ought to be death of brood in a normal colony in spring if everything 

 is all right. When brood dies there is probably something wrong. 



Fastening Foundation- 



Stimulative 

 Hives. 



Feeding-Making 



I have been studying up some questions to see if I can stick Dr 

 Miller. 



■ 1. I have been putting foundation into a lot of frames, and having 

 on hand plenty of good wax I have crossed the wires with quite a 

 heavy layer of wax, and also have run some all along the inside of the 

 frames, and allowed any that dropped on the frame or foundation to 

 remain where it fell. Have I helped or hindered the bees? 



3. In this State we are liable to have fine, warm weather early in 

 the spring. Trees are all in bloom, grass growing, and everything as 

 beautiful as can be. Then a fierce northwest wind comes along and 

 we have a freeze-up and perhaps snow— in fact, real winter weather in 

 the summer. In such case what time would you begin to feed for 

 stimulating? 



3. In making hives ffor Hoffman frames) I find that by making 

 an 8-frame body just a little wider inside than standard width I can 

 barely slip 9 frames in without a division-board, and that the sides of 

 the hive will just hold the 9 frames snug together. Now, if one does 

 not use a board in a 10-frame hive what is wrong with this 9frame 

 hive that can be used either under or above an ordinary dovetailed 8- 

 frame hive? Nebraska. 



Answers.— 1. It's not so hard to stick me as you suppose, but it 

 you would stick the wax that you used to stick on the wires upon lit- 

 tle sticks such as I use, your foundation would stick in the right place 

 just as satisfactorily and without leaving at the bottom a space for the 

 bees to stick their heads through. However, the bees will probably 



consider themselves helped rather than hindered by what you have 

 done, provided you don't mind the time and wax used. 



3. Very likely I wouldn't commence at all; I don't here. But if I 

 did, it would probably be after the time of fruit-bloom. 



3. The same thing that's wrong with a 10-frame hive with no- 

 division-board or dummy — too hard work to get out the first frame. If 

 you don't want to get into the habit of using bad language, don't 

 make more than one till you know how you like it. 



What is Honey ?-Are Bees Wild or Domestic ?- 

 Hatch More than Once? 



Do Bees. 



I notice on page 89 that Dr. Miller hardly thinks all liquid sweets- 

 gathered and stored by bees could be called honey. 



1. If liquid sweets as gathered by the bees, clarified or rectified, 

 distilled and digested in their laboratory, and stored in waxen cells is- 

 not honey, what is it? 



2. Do bees belong to the wild or domestic animals? Much de- 

 pends upon this fact, for all know that domestic animals deterioriate 

 by inbreeding, and wild animals retain their original perfection. We- 

 are inclined to believe they belong to the wild. 



3. My attention has been called to the word "hatch". Do bees- 

 hatch more than once? Would it not he better to have bees hatdi 

 once, and emerge to come into existence? Illinois. 



Answers. — 1. There is certainly a difference between a piece of 

 comb filled with material gathered from clover blossoms and onfr 

 filled with sugar svrup, no matter how much manipulated by the bees, 

 and it is hardly to the interest of either the public or Ijee-keepers that 

 the one filled with sugar syrup should be called honey. I don't know 

 what is the best name for it — bow would " sugar syrup " do ? 



3. They are considered wild when in hollow trees, etc., without 

 any owner; domestic when in the possession of man. 



Are you sure that all know that there is a distinct line between 

 domestic and wild animals, making inbreeding wrong for the former 

 and right for the latter? 



3. You are quite right; it would be better to say that the larva- 

 " hatches " from the egg, and the young bee " emerges " from tii& 

 cell. Indeed, you will find that quite often the word " emerges " is 

 used in that way, although generally it is said that the young bee= 

 hatches out of the cell. 



A Queen-Bee Free as a Premium.— We are now 

 bookini^ orders for untested Italian queens to be delivered 

 in May or June. This is the premium offer : To a sub- 

 scriber whose own subscription to the American Bee Jour- 

 nal is paid at least to the end of 1905, we will give an un- 

 tested Italian queen for sending us one new subscription with 

 $1.00 for the Bee Journal a year. Now is a good time 'o- 

 get new subscribers. If you wish extra copies of the Bee 

 Journal for use as samples, let us know how many you want 

 and we will mail them to you. Address all orders to the 

 oflSce of the American Bee .Journal. 



" The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the finest bee-keeper's song — words by Hon- 

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a "hummer." We can 

 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the Americani 

 Bee Journal at $1.00. 



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 ofiSce of .the 

 American Bee Journal. 



Please send us Names of Bee-Keepers who do not now 



get the American Bee Journal, and we will send them sam- 

 ple copies. Then you can very likely afterward get them 

 subscriptions, for which work we offer valuable premiums 

 in nearly every number of this Journal. You can aid much 

 by sending in the names and addresses when writing us on 

 other matters. 



*-•-* 



Maple Sugar and the Sugar Bush, by Prof. A. J. Cook ; 

 44 pages ; price, postpaid, 30 cents. This is by the same 

 author as " The Bee-Keepers' Guide," and is most valuable 

 to all who are interested in the product of our sugar-maples. 

 No one who makes maple sugar or syrup should be without 

 It. Order from the office of the American Bee Journal. 



