144 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Feb. IS, 19C6 



=\ 



Doctor miller's 

 (Question -- 23ox 



j 



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



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



B5F" Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



Sugar Syrup for Winter Feeding 



On page 71, Louis H. Scholl advises for winter feeding 

 " syrup made of one part of best granulated sugar and one 

 part of water." Do you think it is well to have it so thin as 

 that ? Illinois. 



Answer. — There may be something about feeding in a 

 Southern winter that I don't understand, but I suspect that 

 there may be an advantage in having it thicker. Indeed, I 

 think it possible that there may be some mistake or over- 

 sight in the case, and that in his own practice Mr. Scholl 

 would prefer a thicker syrup in winter. I have had good 

 results from using S pounds of sugar to a pint of water for 

 late feeding, and I certainly would not want it any thinner 

 to feed in winter. But it is much better to feed early enough 

 for the bees to evaporate the syrup, giving equal parts of 

 sugar and water. 



I can not help thinking, too, that Mr. Scholl must have 

 been using figures badly out of repair when he said on the 

 same page that cakes of candy would be too dry if more 

 than 4 pounds of sugar were used to a gallon of water. It 

 would merely mean so much extra boiling, for no candy 

 could result until more than ! 4 of the water were boiled 

 away. 



*"••♦ — 



Salt as a Cure for Bee-Paralysis 



On page 107, salt is given as a cure for bee-paralysis. 

 Have others tried it? and is it reliable? Iowa. 



Answer. — Yes, it is one of the numerous remedies 

 offered long ago — offered like the others, with great confi- 

 dence, but, equally like the others, failing when given 

 further trial. It may be of some interest to inquire why 

 it is that so many remedies have been given with confidence, 

 only to fail upon further trial. Perhaps I may illustrate it 

 in this way : 



One year I had a colony troubled with bee-paralysis, 

 and I painted my shop red. The paralysis disappeared en- 

 tirely. But that hardly justified me in saying that red 

 paint near the apiary was a sure cure for paralysis. The 

 truth is, that except in the far South paralysis is likely to 

 disappear of itself, and whatever cure is used before its dis- 

 appearance gets the credit for the cure, when really the 

 remedy had nothing to do with the cure. 



Of course Mr. Johnson is hardly to be blamed for think- 

 ing salt a cure when the disease disappeared after its use, 

 but the question is whether he will always find a cure to 

 follow its use. I have had a number of cases of paralysis ; 

 I never tried any cure ; but the disease always disappeared 

 of itself, and for several years it has not appeared again. 



It is also somewhat doubtful whether Mr. Johnson will 

 continue his faith in salt as a remedy for bee-moth, after 

 further trial and careful observation. 



What to Produce Honey— City-Lot Bee-Keeping 



same time yield a harvest of nectar for the bees. The num- 

 ber of such plants is not so very great, and yet I don't know 

 that I can give them all. Alfalfa, buckwheat, melilot or 

 sweet clover, onions, beans, alsike, and white clover, and 

 cow-peas, rape, and mustard, are all that occur just now. 



2. Not if far enough away from the street, or if there is 

 a high board fence between the bees and the street. 



3. I have had no experience with Webster's fumigator, 

 but can heartily recommend a good bee-smoker. No bee- 

 keeper should think of getting along without something of 

 the kind. 



4. The larger sizes are better, the largest being none 

 too large; although if you don't intend to do much with 

 bees you can do Very well with one of the smaller ones. 



5. That goes beyond my knowledge, but by watching 

 the advertising columns of the bee-papers you may find just 

 what you want. It is not advisable to send a long distance 

 for a full colony of bees, the express charges being so very 

 heavy. If you can not get just the kind of bees you want 

 near home, get whatever kind you can, and then you can 

 change the stock by getting a queen of good blood by mail. 

 It costs no more for a queen from the farthest part of the 

 land than it does from the nearest, if she is sent by mail. 



1. What is a good honey-producing crop ? 



2. If bees were kept in city lots, would they bother peo- 

 ple passing along the street ? 



!«• 3. Which is better, Webster's fumigator or a bee-smoker 

 for manipulating bees? 



4. If it would be advisable to use a smoker, what size 

 would you suggest ? 



5. Could you suggest a place, or several places, as near 

 as possible to my home town, where I could obtain bees, or 

 would it be practicable to have them shipped from a distant 

 State ': California. 



Answers. — 1. I suppose you mean what can be planted 

 as a paying crop for forage or other purpose, and at the 



How About Long-Tongue Bees, 



Are there long-tongue bees? I can hardly swallow that. 

 I think that is only a selling point for those who have 

 queens for sale. I have a few colonies, and I intend to get 

 a few queens this summer, so if there are any with spliced 

 tongues, that is the kind I am after. Wisconsin. 



Answer. — There can be no sort of question that there 

 is a decided difference in the length of bees' tongues. Able 

 men on both sides of the ocean have settled it by actual 

 measurement, and at least some of them can have no possi- 

 ble interest in giving anything but the truth, unless they 

 are bribed outright to lie — a thing that for one I can not 

 believe. But don't make the mistake of thinking that the 

 bee with the longest tongue must necessarily be the best 

 bee. Other things being equal, the bee with the longest 

 tongue is the best bee. But other things are by no means 

 always equal. The bees that will store the most honey are 

 the best bees, whether their tongues are long or short. But 

 when you succeed in getting the best storers, it is just pos- 

 sible that they may excel in tongue-length. 



A Beginner's Questions 



1. Last spring I bought a colony of bees. Then I pur- 

 chased an extra hive (a Danzenbaker) to catch the swarm 

 when it came out. Not knowing anything about hiving 

 bees at that time, I made a mess of it in this way : I set the 

 hive in place, with supers on over the brood-frames, leaving 

 the cover off. I cut the limb with the cluster on, shook them 

 into the snpers over the frames, and clapped the cover on, 

 and, as a consequence, they built combs over the frames in 

 the empty supers. What shall I do with them ? I want to 

 get comb honey. Would it be all right to put a honey-board 

 over these combs in the supers and let them have the whole 

 lower two parts for breeding ? or separate the two parts, 

 and how ? 



2. Who can supply me with the best 10 frame chaff hive 

 to be left over winter on the summer stands ? 



• Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. Very likely you'd have pretty fair work 

 to leave matters just as they are, putting super or supers on 

 top when the harvest comes. Sooner or later, however, you 

 will be likely to want those bees more fully under control, 

 and out of that super. The probability is that the super is 

 filled with combs and the hive-body at least partly filled. 

 The thing to be done is to get a queen-excluder between the 

 hive and the super, making sure that the queen is below. 

 You will very likely have no trouble in prying up and lift- 

 ing off the super, putting an excluder over the hive, and 

 then setting the super over the excluder. But to make sure 

 that the queen is below is the critical thing. 



Wait till the colony builds up strong j then pry off the 

 upper story. If combs are built between the two stories, it 

 will be well to trim them off. Set the upper story back 

 again, and blow down smoke into it. Have the smoker well 

 loaded, and give it to them good and strong. After a time 

 the bees will begin to run out below at the entrance. Let 

 them. Don't stop till a pint or more have rushed out, and 

 then quickly remove the upper story. Put the excluder over 



