Dec. 28, 190S 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



905 



evaporation. Then, again, the fumigating box should be 

 as air-tight as possible to prevent the fumes escaping, 

 although we have had very satisfactory results from simply 

 piling the extracting supers with combs, one above another, 

 seven or eight high, and placing a saucer with 3 or 4 ounces 

 of the bisulphide inside a rim on the top, and covering all 

 with a hive-cover. The stuff is cheap — is sold ordinarily at 

 10 cents a pound — so that there should not be much tempta- 

 tion to adulterate it." 



=^ 



Doctor 2TIilIcr'5 

 Question '- Sox 



Send questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 

 Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



=/ 



Three-Frame Nucleus and Queen 



1. If I buy a 3-frame nucleus with queen, can I have the 

 queen's wing clipped by the one from whom I buy ? If so, 

 will she come through with the nucleus all right ? Can I 

 thus secure a queen that will be in breeding condition ? 



2. Will a 3-frame nucleus give me any surplus honey 

 the first year? Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. Most assuredly. A clipped queen will 

 stand the journey just as well as an undipped one, and will 

 do just as good work afterward. Some shippers prefer to 

 clip before sending, one reason for it being that a beginner 

 sometimes buys a queen and tries to introduce her where 

 another queen is present. The new queen is killed, and 

 when the young bees hatching out show the wrong color 

 the purchaser thinks he has been swindled, whereas the 

 shipper was not at all to blame. If the new queen is clipped 

 he will know she was killed when he finds a queen with 

 whole wings. 



2. Maybe, and maybe not. If you get it tolerably early, 

 and the season is good, and especially if there is a good fall 

 yield, you ought to get some surplus honey. 



Running Out-Aplarles and Managing Swarming 



I want to run three bee-yards, but can't do it with all of 

 them swarming all the time. All the increase I would want 

 would be one swarm from each strong colony. I thought of 

 seeing the bees about once in 10 days. If they swarmed I 

 would take a new hive with one-half inch starters of brood 

 foundation in the frames and set it on the stand of the old 

 hive, taking out a frame with the queen from the old hive 

 and putting it into the new one, and also shake part of the 

 bees off in front of the new hive ; then put the old hive in 

 another place for a day or two, and give it a sealed queen- 

 cell or a queen. What do you think of this plan ? Will the 

 bees do any good in that way ? Will they store honey ? If 

 my plan is not a good one, please tell me what you would 

 suggest for running an out beeyard where one can not be 

 there all the time. Missouri. 



Answer. — Yes, your plan will work, for it is practically 

 the shake-swarm plan used by so many. You will find, 

 however, that if you fill the frames half full of foundation 

 you will have an undesirable amount of drone-comb. If 

 you don't want to fill all the frames with foundation, instead 

 of filling each frame half full, it will be better to fill half the 

 frames full and put only shallow starters in the others. 

 Give at first the frames with starters, for the bees are likely 

 to build worker-comb at the start, and then when they have 

 those frames filled, add the frames that are filled with foun- 

 dation. 



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Full Sheets or Starters of Comb Foundation in Sections 



and Brood-Frames- Oilcloth or Super-Cover 



in Winter 



1. What grade of foundation do you use for frames and 

 for sections? I used a few frames the past season, and 6 

 sheets weigh one pound. Next season I expect to get 30 

 hives more, and want to use full sheets of foundation, and 



would like to know if lighter sheets would do as well as the 

 heavy grade. 



2. Will bees winter as well in the cellar with oilcloth on 

 as they would with a super-cover without oilcloth and no 

 super ? 



3. If I put in each hive 4 or S frames with starters, the 

 rest full sheets, and 3 or 4 days afterward take out the full 

 sheets so the starters will be filled with worker-comb, where 

 should the starter frames be placed, in the center or at one 

 or both sides of the center, when the full sheets are returned? 

 I like full sheets; that does away with a lot of tramps 

 (drones), but it costs a good price for foundation, so if any- 

 thing more in this line you can give would be thankfully 

 received. New York. 



Answers.— 1. For sections, thin super. I haven't 

 bought any brood foundation for some time, but have used 

 heavy brood and medium brood. The weight of foundation 

 for brood-frames depends chiefly upon the support given. 

 If no wires or foundation splints are used, it should be very 

 heavy. Well supported by wires or splints, there seems no 

 reason why something quite light would not do ; and the 

 thinner the foundation the less it costs to fill a frame. 



2. Probably yes, although in a cold cellar the cover 

 without oilcloth might be better. 



3. In the center if not wholly filled ; if filled it doesn't 



matter. 



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Questions Concerning Winter Conditions 



Are any of the following eight statements untrue? If 

 so, which, and why ? They concern winter conditions : 



1. In a painted hive in good repair there will be no large 

 openings except the entrance, and the bees will always so 

 completely propolize all cracks as to make the hive wind- 

 proof, water-proof, and light-proof, except at entrance. 



2. A telescope cover, which is merely a sheath of some 

 sort, and not made air-tight around its bottom edges, can 

 not be said to furnish a dead-air space around a hive, since 

 the wind will blow up underneath somewhat, and heat from 

 the walls of the hive, if these walls have any heat, will 

 cause a current of changing air in the air-space, and if the 

 walls have no heat the air-space would be useless. The only 

 advantage of such covering will be to break the force of the 

 wind against the upper part of the sides and over the top of 

 the hive, and, by preventing rapidity of wind currents, will 

 reduce the rate at which will be removed the heat of the top 

 of the wooden walls and the top of the hive, if they have any 

 heat. 



3. As wax is a non-conductor, or poor conductor, of 

 heat, a comb of bees conveys practically no heat along its 

 edges, supports, or parts of contact of the comb or frame to 

 the hive-walls. The hive-body, therefore, has no heat de- 

 rived from the contact with the frames. 



4. As the cluster in winter covers only half the frame- 

 space, the walls of the hive are too far removed from the 

 cluster to derive heat directly from the cluster of bees. 



5. The air below the cluster and around the outside 

 combs containing the cluster is practically identical with 

 the temperature of the outdoor air. 



6. The air above the cluster contains some heat radiated 

 and rising from the cluster, and is lost by transmission to 

 the cover or top. 



Therefore — (a) Protecting the sides and bottom of the 

 hive-body has no direct effect on the heat of the cluster. 



(4) Protecting the top of the hive prevents the top los- 

 ing the heat arising from the cluster. 



{c) A telescope cover protecting more than the top, and 

 the quarter inch space above the frames is useless, and since 

 it prevents quick action of the sun on the hive-walls in 

 temporarily or slightly sunshiny days, thus interferring 

 with the warming-up and drying-out process, such telescope 

 cover is a damage, not an aid, to the bees. 



7. The end to be sought is to keep the cluster as dark 

 and quiet as possible until the heat of the outside air pene- 

 trates through the entrance and rouses the bees; also to 

 keep the air in the hive as quiet as possible without stop- 

 ping suitable ventilation. Could not this be best accom- 

 plished by a full-width summer entrance covered entire, ex- 

 cept one-quarter of an inch at one side for egress, with fine- 

 mesh screen <o keep out mice, and, on warm days, robber- 

 bees, said screen being backed by one thickness of burlap 

 cloth, thus eliminating largely the effects of the wind and 

 light, and rapid change without stopping slow ventilation ? 



Conclusion : Should not telescope covers and chaff 

 hives be discarded for wintering, merely covering the top 



