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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March IS, 1906 



prove to be a failure, so far as gathering honey is concerned. 

 To make a profit on every colony of bees fed should be 

 the object sought for. To do this the bee-keeper will have 

 to exercise considerable judgment, and will have to take 

 into consideration the condition of each colony to be fed. 



Suppose, for example, we take 100 colonies at the be- 

 ginning of the season. In going through these colonies we 

 find 25 of them in prime condition. Fifty of them we find 

 are only average. Twenty-five of them we find to be in 

 very poor condition. The first 25, if fed at all, would be fed 

 at a loss. The second 50 have bees enough to cover all their 

 combs ; so we feed them until all combs occupied by the 

 bees are filled. This puts them in as good condition as the 

 first 25. Thus we have 75 colonies in prime condition. 



In the next 25 in poor condition we find some have bees 

 enough to cover only half of their combs, while some have 

 enough to cover only 2 combs. In preparing these for feed- 

 ing we remove from every hive all combs the bees do not 

 occupy ; next, a division-board is placed close up to the 

 combs and the bees that remain. The object in doing this 

 is to force the bees to store the feed in as compact a form as 

 possible. They are then fed as rapidly as they will take 

 the feed until all empty cells are filled. The division-board 

 is then removed, and the empty combs that were taken from 

 them are replaced. In replacing the empty combs put them 

 all to one side of the cluster. 



Do not attempt to spread brood in these last colonies, 

 but let them manage their own affairs, and if there is nec- 

 tar in the fields they will soon make fine colonies for busi- 

 ness. All colonies should be fed separately bv the use of 

 feeders, or some method suitable for feeding within the 

 hive. For only in this way can we be sure that the feed 

 will be placed exactly where it is needed. In this way I 

 find feeding profitable ; therefore, I always feed when nec- 

 essary. E. L. Bussey. 



Cleburne, Tex. 



=% 



Doctor miller's 

 Question * 33ox 



=j 



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. 



When to Do Spring Feeding 



When will be the proper time to feed sugar syrup this spring, in 

 Southern Missouri? Our bees are short of anything to eat just now. 

 We are giving them candy; that is, part of them. I think all will 

 need feed soon. I am afraid it is too cold to feed syrup yet. Our bees 

 did not store enough honey for winter stores last fall. Missouri. 



Answer. — There is little danger in feeding syrup any time now, 

 as it is getting so late that there is no probability that the bees will be 

 confined in the hive very long after being fed. But to be entirely on 

 the safe side, keep the candy going till the weather i6 warm enough 

 for the bees to fly nearly every day, and then give them a full feed of 

 syrup. 



* • » 



Italianizing Black Bees 



1. I would like to Italianize some colonies of black bees in the 

 spring, and thought the following plan might suit: Remove the 

 queens from the colonies of black bees and give them a frame of 

 brood from a colony of Italians. Will one frame of brood be sufficient 

 for each colony of blacK bees? 



2. As black queens are sometimes hard to find, how would it do to 

 get the hive ready, put on an entrance-guard, shake the bees in front 

 of the hive, and capture the black queen as she tries to enter? 



3. About what time in the season 6hould the work be done? 



4. Can I take Italian brood something like 2 miles without danger 

 of it being chilled and injured? 



5. Will the frames of a 10-frame hive fit an 8-frame hive? 



Virginia. 



Answers.— 1. If you mean that you will take away one frame of 

 black brood, replacing it with a frame of Italian brood, there would 

 not be any assurance of success, for with several frames of black brood 

 to one of Italian, there would be several chances to get a young black 

 queen to one of getting an Italian queen. If you take away all of the 

 black brood, then you will be sure of an Italian queen, and one frame 

 of brood will be sufficient for that purpose, only the colony would of 

 course not be so strong afterward with so much brood removed. 



You can manage, however, to get along without taking away so 



much brood. One way is to remove a black queen from its colony, 

 and then swap all its frames of brood for those of an Italian colony. 

 All the cells started would then be of Italian stock, and a week later 

 you could take away all but one or two of the sealed cells to be used 

 elsewhere. Here's another way : 



From an Italian colony take 2 or 3 of its central combs (giving 

 them to some other colony), and replace with frames containing only 

 small 6tarters. A week later you will find these frames partly filled 

 with fresh-built comb containing eggs and brood. Put one of these 

 frames in the center of a black colony from which the queen has been 

 removed. The bees will be pretty sure to start a number of cells on 

 this new and tender comb, to the neglect of the others, and a week 

 later you can use these cells as you wish ; or, if you prefer, you can 

 leave them where they are at the disposal of the bees. In the latter 

 case, however, you should make sure against any chance by opening 

 the hive 4 or 5 days after giving the brood, and destroying any cell 

 that might be found on the black brood. 



2. That will be all right. 



3. Not till bee6 are doing good work at gathering. 



4. Yes, in summer weather. Even in rather cool weather you can 

 do it by wrapping a frame in blankets previously warmed. 



5. All 10-frame hives have not the same frames, neither have all 8- 

 frame hives. But take 2 hives alike as to everything except size, as 

 for instance dovetailed hives, and the frames of the 10-frame hive are 

 the same as the frames of an 8-frame hive. 



Feeding Honey from Dead Colonies 



Two years ago I bought 2 colonies of bees, and the fir6t year they 

 increased to 5 colonies. I lost 1 colony the spring of 1905, and last 

 fall I had 6 put away in good condition with plenty of honey for win- 

 ter, of which I just now lost one colony. I examined the hive and 

 found the honey somewhat watery, running a little out of the hive. 

 What is the cause of this? Can I feed the honey if other bees clean 

 out the comb? Indiana. 



Answer. — If you had examined closely you might have found 

 that it was mostly water that wa6 running out of the hive. Water 

 may be found running out of a hive containing a colony in good con- 

 dition, the vapor from the bees settling on the cold walls of the hive 

 as water, aDd running out of the entrance. It may also settle on the 

 unsealed honey in the combs, making the honey thin, sometimes 60 

 thin as to run out. There is nothing unusual in all this, and you 

 need not fear to feed this honey to the bees when the weather gets 

 warm. 



#-•-» 



Keeping Queens a Few Days— Dequeened Colonies- 

 Stimulative Spring Feeding— Age of Nectar- 

 Yielding Basswood Trees 



1. What is the best way in which to keep one or more queens a 

 few days — a week or more — to be used to requeen other colonies? 



2. I see different bee-keepers advocate leaving colonies queenless 

 for 4 or 5 days after returning them to their old hive by destroying or 

 caging the queen (in the production of comb honey), thereby stop- 

 ping further swarming. Will not the bees rear another queen during 

 that time of their own accord? If 60, how can it be prevented? 



3. What would be the best way to introduce a queen into a colony 

 after their being queenless as above described? 



4. What i6 the safest and best plan to pursue in stimulating brood- 

 rearing in weak colonies in the spring, and how long before the 

 honey-flow should one commence? 



5. How old does a basswood-tree usually get before it yields nec- 

 tar? Wisconsin. 



Answers. — 1. In a nucleus if to be kept a considerable time. If 

 only for a week or so, she will be all right in a provisioned queen-cage 

 in any full colony. 



2. If I understand you correctly, you mean that when a prime 

 swarm issues the queen is removed, the swarm returned, and the col- 

 ony left queenless 4 or 5 days. I wonder if you haven't got that a 

 little mixed. Most surely that would seldom stop further swarming, 

 for when the prime swarm i66ues there will be generally several sealed 

 queen-cells present, and a swarm will issue with the first virgin that 

 emerges. To prevent further swarming destroy all cells but one 6 or 

 7 days after the issuing of the prime swarm. Still better, go to the 

 hive 6 or 7 days after swarming, in the still evening, and listen for the 

 piping of the young queen, listening each evening until you do hear 

 her. Then go the next morning and destroy all celle remaining. 



3. At the time of destroying all queen-cells, give the queen in a 

 provisioned queen-cage, allowing the bees to release her. A surer 

 plan will be to give the caged queen earlier, either as soon as the old 

 queen is removed, or any time within a week after the removal of the 

 old queen, only have the cage so the bees can not eat into the candy 

 to release her. Then at the time of destroying the cells uncover the 

 candy so the bees can get at it to release the queen. 



4. In your locality probably the safest and best thing is to see 

 that the bees have abundance of provisious, and let them entirely 

 aloue, for more harm thao good may be done by frequent feeding in 

 catchy weather. But in localities where there is nice warm weather 

 for bees to fly, and nothing to get for a week or more, then it may be 

 a good thing to feed a pound or so every other day. 



5. I don't know ; perhaps about 10 years if it come6 from the 6eed, 

 'jut 4 or 5 if sprouts spring up from a stump. 



-he Premiums we offer are all well worUi working for. 

 Look at them in this copy of the American Bee Journal. 



