80 



THE AMERICAN BTHE-KEEPER 



May 



the room or box tightly and allowing 

 the chemical to do its work, there is 

 really no danger. 



It is a liquid, heavier than air. conse- 

 quently the dish containing it should 

 be placed above the articles infected. 

 The usual allowance is one pound of the 

 liquid to i,ooo cubic feet of space. As 

 it diffuses rapidly the box with combs 

 should be put in readiness before op- 

 ening the liquid, which may be poured 

 into a dish and left to accomplish its 

 work. The pure article is colorless and 

 leaves no stain. But much of it con- 

 tains impurities, which may discolor the 

 articles if poured on them. The fumes, 

 however, will not injure either food or 

 fabric. Hence its value to the apiar- 

 ist. 



It is also a simple means of destroy- 

 ing the homes of another enemy to the 

 bee, the ant. Make a hole in the hill 

 and pour in some of the liquid, quickly 

 covering the aperture with a board to 

 hold the fumes in. Some advocate 

 touching a match to it and causing an 

 explosion, but this is unnecessary, as 

 the fumes will penetrate to all parts of 

 the subterranean passages and accom- 

 plish their fatal work. 



The presence of the wax worm may 

 be detected by stray webs and a fine 

 dust. Brood combs are preferred to 

 those of section honey, probably be- 

 cause the larvae prefers a seasoning 

 of pollen or dead bees rather than a 

 pure wax diet. 



Harmonsburg, Pa.^ March 22. 1902. 



1 



Putting on Sections. 



(By G. M. Doolittle.) 



<*YAM a beginner in bee-keeping, and 

 have subscribed for the American 

 Bee-Keeper. Will you please tell 

 us through the columns of that paper 

 when it is best to put on the sections 

 when working for comb honey'?" The 

 above is something which I find in a 

 letter, among a number of other ques- 

 tions, and as it may be a matter of in- 

 terest to others, as well as this par- 

 ticular individual, I will try and answer 

 to the best of my ability. 



From thirty-two years of experience 

 it appears to me that no set time as to 

 month or day can be given for putting 

 the sections on the hives in any local- 

 ity, as all depends on the strength of 

 the colony and the time of the opening 

 of the blossoms which give our main 



honey crop, both of which are advanced 

 or retarded in accord with the earli- 

 ness or the lateness of the season. 

 Some say, put on all surplus arranf^e- 

 ments as soon as the first buds giving 

 our surplus honey are about bursting 

 open, no matter about the strength of 

 the colonies. Others tell us to put on 

 sections as soon as the colonies are 

 strong enough, without any reference 

 to the time of the blooming of the flow- 

 ers, saying, "it is a mistake to put off 

 putting on sections till the honey har- 

 vest is upon the bees, as they will some- 

 times waste time looking through the 

 surplus apartment before going to 

 work." I cannot agree with either of 

 the above, as it savors too much of the 

 old "luck in bee-keeping" we used to 

 hear so much about, and does not give 

 credit to any apiarist of managing his 

 business intelligently. 



After years of experimenting to 

 know just when the sections should be 

 placed upon the hives, I have arrived 

 at this: Wait till the hives become 

 populous with bees and the combs well 

 filled with brood, and till the bees are 

 securing enough honey from the fields 

 to begin to lengthen the cells along 

 the tops of the combs next to the top 

 bars of the frames, or build little bits 

 of comb here and there about the hive. 

 When we see this it is time to put on 

 the sections; for if we delay longer we 

 are sure to lose in time and honey; 

 while if we place sections on the hive, 

 no matter how populous with bees it 

 may be, before any honey is coming in 

 from the fields, we shall lose by the 

 bees gnawing or tearing down more or 

 less of the foundation placed in the sec- 

 tions. Where we use only starters of 

 natural comb in our sections, as was 

 the case before the advent of comb 

 foundation, then th^y could be placed 

 on the hives as 'soon as the colonies 

 were strong enough in bees and brood, 

 with no trouble as to the bees tearing 

 these starters down; for bees rarely, if 

 e\ er, tear down comb, unless it is infer- 

 ior from mold, old pollen, or some- 

 thing of that kind. But even did we so 

 put them on, I can see nothing gained 

 over the other, unless we are liable to 

 be crowded for time, at the right time 

 for putting them on. 



Some have put forth the claim that 

 it is only after the honey harvest is 

 over that the bees gnaw holes in and 

 1ear down foundation, which may be 

 correct with them in their locality; 



