110 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



seasons differ so much, that tlie 

 state of things existing during any 

 past season vvouUl not l)e a safe 

 guide on \Yhich to predicate the fu- 

 ture. A general rule, however, 

 migiit be given but would only ap- 

 ply in the case where the apiary is 

 so isolated from other bees that 

 there is no chance for mismating 

 from them, and would be of little 

 use for the reason that such a state 

 of things can hardly be found. 



By the use of "Alley's queen-and- 

 drone trap" I think the whole mat- 

 ter can be safely and satisfactorily 

 managed, and certainly with less 

 trouble than in any other manner. 

 By the use of this little necessit}^ 

 complete and perfect control can 

 be had over the whole matter, as 

 only those drones are allowed to 

 fly that are desired for mating pur- 

 poses. In my use of the traps I 

 have found them to answer the pur- 

 pose, and have never found them 

 a detriment to the works of the 

 foragers. I, for one, do not take 

 much stock in stimulative feeding. 

 If there is ample feed in the hive, 

 it is not needed ; and, if there is a 

 lack of stores, this lack should be 

 supplied by feeding daily in suffi- 

 cient quantity for the wants of the 

 colony. Retain all the heat possi- 

 ble, and if the colony needs stimu- 

 lating, add frames of brood from 

 other colonies, and by this means 

 the best possible results will be ob- 

 tained. 



No. Attleboro, Mass. 



Several copies of the Beekeepers' 

 Maijnzine hiivo come to us of late. We 

 are glad to note the improved cliaiiiie 

 in tliat old liee-paper. It is reuUy a 

 good publication. 



"We notice that the most success- 

 ful in beekeeping are those who read 

 the bee-papers. There is no better 

 way to keep posted anil np in tiie line 

 of the great improvements made each 

 year iu our favorite calling. 



REVERSING. 



Broo7cline, iV. JT. 

 Mr. ALI.EY: Please answer the Collowing 

 question.'! through the API, or in any way you 

 choose: 



1. What is the object in reversinf;? 



2. Will reversing; prevent swarnnng? 



^ 3. Will reversing the brooil-iiest three 

 ditys iifter the issue of a swarm remove the 

 necessity of cutting out the queen cells when 

 introi|U(!ing a queen by the three-iiay method? 

 Will the queen be accepted and will the 

 colony be more likely to swarm if the cells 

 are not cut out? 



Reader. 



ANSWER BY H. ALLEY. 



[1. It was claimed that by re- 

 versing the frames at the proper 

 time the bees would, remove the 

 honey stored in the brood-combs 

 to the sections above, the change 

 to be made just before the close of 

 the hone}'^ season. E.xperience has 

 proved that such claims were pre- 

 mature, and also that there is no 

 great advantage in reversing the 

 combs for such a purpose. Nev- 

 ertheless, we believe in reversible 

 hives and find it a great advantage 

 to reverse the brood-nest in or- 

 der to have the combs fastened on 

 all sides of the frame. Bees will 

 not build the combs down within 

 about half an inch of the bottom- 

 bar. Now, if this space is filled, 

 it is plain to any one that there 

 will be many more cells in the 

 brood-chamber that will be util- 

 ized either for brood or for storing 

 honey. This item is no small af- 

 fair when there are eight frames 

 17 inches long, used in a hive. 

 The brood capacity, by reversing, 

 would be increased 136 cubic Indi- 

 es, and as there are 52 cells to a 

 square inch, j'ou will see that the 

 difference between having the 

 frames filled solid with comb or 

 left as the bees naturally leave 

 them is 7,072 cells for 8 frames. 



When the frames are filled with 

 comb and fastened on all sides, as 

 they are sure to be if reversed, 

 they ma}' be handled with much 

 less danger of breaking. This is 

 a great advantage when the apiary 

 is run for extracted honey. 



