1. How far apart should brood frames 

 be on the rabbet for wintering V 



2. How soon in the spring should 

 these frames be spread apart to receive 

 extra frames V 



3. Should the surplus boxes be put on 

 as soon as fruit trees are in bloom V 



4. Should the honey be extracted from 

 the brood frames, while the surplus 

 boxes are on? Will the bees fill the 

 upper story while there is room below ? 



5. Which is the best method of intro- 

 ducing queens to Italians reared in our 

 own apiary ? Suppose I have 30 colo- 

 nies of black bees to Italianize, should 

 I not get Italian drones flying as early 

 as possible, then start as many nuclei 

 as I need queens, and as soon as the 

 young queens are fertile, introduce them 

 to black colonies, and then give the 

 nuclei another set of queen cells in 

 order to have them build up to strong 

 colonies during the summer V 



6. Is glucose suitable for food, either 

 for bees or man ? 



7. Is store candy suitable for feeding 

 bees? A. Subscriber. 



[1. It makes but little difference. We 

 should leave them the same as in sum- 

 mer. 



2. We should not spread them at all. 



3. No invariable rule can be given as 

 to time for placing the surplus boxes, 

 for all locations ; or even for any one, 

 applicable alike to every year. You 

 must use your own judgment. 



4. Extracting from brood-frames is, 

 as a general thing, now abandoned by 

 our largest honey-producers. If the 

 hive is properly constructed and 

 arranged, it is unnecessary. 



5. Your plan will no doubt prove suc- 

 cessful. 



6. As usually made in this country, it 

 is not suitable for food, either for man 

 or bees. The white French glucose, or 

 that manufactured in a similar manner 

 to it, may be different ; but we have had 

 no experience with it. 



7. Some report success with such, but 

 ours never was very flattering. — Ed.] 



Libertyville, Mo., Jan. 19, 1880. 

 My bees gathered their first pollen 

 yesterday ; some colonies have sealed 

 brood and are apparently in good con- 

 dition. The Bee Journal for Jan- 

 uary came on time ; Gleanings came 

 next ; then Magazine was received, but 

 no Exchange yet. J. B. Dines. 



Lawrence, 111., Jan. 6, 1880. 

 Some bee-keepers take surplus in 

 sections that are placed inside of the 

 body of the hive. I want to ask if they 

 are not troubled by the queen laying in 

 them V I have tried it, but the queen 

 gets the start of me. 



J. Lee Anderson. 



[ The verdict is a mixed one •, some 

 saying that they are not troubled by the 

 queen laying in the sections, but very 

 many more stating that they are annoyed 

 by the presence of eggs where they are 

 not desired. Top storing is by far the 

 most desirable method. — Ed.] 



Springville, Wis., Jan. 9, 1880. 

 I have 13 colonies wintering well on 

 their summer stands ; they have had "a 

 fly " at three different times lately, so I 

 think they will live through another 

 cold spell. I use frame hives and last 

 spring I made what I think is an im- 

 provement on the frames, by putting 

 a piece of wood in the middle of them, 

 running from the top to the bottom. It 

 is made of wood % inch thick and 1)4 

 wide with % hole about 3 inches from 

 top-bar, for winter passage. It makes 

 a stronger frame and the comb is less 

 liable to break loose in handling. The 

 idea was suggested by having combs 

 break down, after making an artificial 

 swarm last spring. A neighbor of 

 of mine has 30 or 40 colonies in box- 

 hives. He says he knows how to man- 

 age that kind of hives and does not 

 want to bother with any other. Last 

 fall he said that his bees had not got 

 half enough honey to keep them 

 through the winter, and that he should 

 brimstone them. Part of my bees are 

 Italians, and the rest are blacks ; the 

 Italians made some surplus, the blacks 

 none. The Italians worked on second 

 crop of red clover and not a black bee 

 touched it. I intend to Italianize my 

 blacks in the spring, if I can learn to do 

 it successfully. C. J. Church. 



Iola, Florida, Jan. 9, 1880. 

 Our bees have had a splendid winter. 

 We have not had cold enough to kill 

 sweet potato vines. Bees were busy on 

 Christmas day, bringing in honey and 

 pollen. They have not stopped work 

 but for a day or two during the whole 

 winter. Orange trees will be in bloom 

 now in 30 days, and they will then have 

 a fine time. We are just beginning to 

 try the Italian bees. We find them 

 much superior to our natiye black or 

 brown bees. 



Alderman & Roberts. 



