THE AMEBIC AN APICULTURIST. 



93 



5. I have never had any experience 

 of the kind, and have no idea why such 

 a state of things should exist. 



C. I usually brimstone comb honey in 

 about four or five days after removing, 

 in very hot weather, and seldom have 

 to go through the pi-ocess again. 



7. In one or two instances (owing I 

 suppose now to the comb being kept 

 in a cool place) 1 have been obliged to 

 fumigate the third time; the intervals 

 were some two or three days if I remem- 

 ber rightly. 



8. I do not think it possible for vii'gin 

 queens to mate, after having been win- 

 tered through. If it were, I see no 

 reason why they should not produce 

 worker eggs that were good. 



9. Every man will say the stock he 

 uses is the best. 



10. No, sir! I can answer thus most 

 emphatically, as I have tried it several 

 times. They are too much taken up in 

 the first place with the attempt to rear 

 a new queen, and again they are con- 

 stantly troubled with robbers, who 

 seem to know intuitively when a colony 

 is queenless. It is possible, however, 

 that where it is desired to have no in- 

 crease, that enough surplus honey may 

 be thus gained, to make up for the de- 

 ficieucies caused by the lack of inclina- 

 tion to forage. 



ANSWERS BY JAS. S. LOKU. 



1. Yes. The swarms hived on full 

 cards of foundation will be as far ad- 

 vanced at the end of four days, with 

 the advantage of no drone comb in the 

 hive as the one with starters will be at 

 the end of ten days and one-third drone 

 comb. 



2. The time of hiving would make 

 a great difference. If honey was com- 

 ing in very slowly, the one with full 

 sheets of foundation would be at the 

 rate of one hundred per cent ahead, 

 but if there was a good flow of honey, 

 it might not be more than twenty-flve 

 per cent ahead. 



3. If the bees had nothing to do at 

 the time the sections were given them 

 they might tear it down and start 

 on what was left when the honey did 

 come, but if there was honey coming 

 to keep them busy they will use the 

 whole surface. 



4. I have used tobacco smok^, pep- 

 permint, and onions, but for the last 

 two seasons I have mixed the frames 

 with bees when uniting and have had 



as good success as I had before and 

 with less work. 



5. I have never had occasion to re- 

 move all the brood at the same time I 

 removed a queen, so I am unable to 

 answer this question. 



6. Ten days. 



7. Once, one week after the first 

 time. 



8. I never have wintered a virgin 

 queen. 



9. I like the one made with two side 

 pieces with^ X 1^- inch strips nailed a- 

 cross the bottom one-fourth inch apart, 

 and two end boards held up to the sides 

 of the outside section by two strings, 

 running across the end of the sections, 

 and wound between the end of the end 

 board and a little tin disk held to the 

 end board with a screw through the 

 middle. This kind is the easiest 

 cleaned after being used once and the 

 easiest stored away for winter ; besides 

 it is very cheap compared with the 

 most top cases I have seen or used. 



10. Yes, if allowed to start queen 

 cells. 



ANSWERS BY G. W. DEMAKEK. 



It is a little irregular for one to an- 

 swer his own questions, but as I did 

 not ask them on account of not having 

 an opinion of my own, but rather to 

 draw out the views of others the case 

 is changed somewhat. 



1. Yes. Observation has convinced 

 me that new swarms leave the parent 

 hive better prepared to build comb 

 than they ever are under other circum- 

 stances. And if they are not allowed 

 to utilize this accumulated force by 

 reason of having full sheets of foun- 

 dation at hand to work out, there must 

 necessarily be some loss ; and I think 

 that when the matter is figured, to 

 find the "loss and gain," the result 

 will show that the foundation really 

 costs the apiarist double what he actu- 

 ally pays for it in cash. 



'2. It depends much on the flow of 

 nectar as to the result of the experi- 

 ment. In a majority of cases the api- 

 arist will scarcely find diflerence 

 enough, in favor of the colony provided 

 with the extra help, to fully square the 

 account for extra labor and cost of 

 foundation. 



3. Much depends on the honey fiow 

 as to the action of the bees in this 

 matter. Those who have never ob- 

 served closely would be astonished to 



