178 



A.MER1CAN BEE JOURNAL^ 



the moisture rests will be spoiled, and 

 the wood mildewed. 



In Iowa I used to pack the bees for 

 winter before this time came, and the 

 extra combs of honey were stored in the 

 honey-room, and as I scraped the honey 

 down to the septum with a pocket-knife 

 all through the winter, I often wished 

 my marketable honey tasted like that. 



In overhauling the hives in early 

 spring, and where there were 10 or 12 

 combs in the hive with the bees clustered 

 on three or four, on tasting the honey in 

 the comb far from the bees, it was 

 watery and rancid, or flavorless. Fol- 

 lowing up each comb successively, they 

 were found alike until that within the 

 clnster was reached, and found to still 

 retain its original rich, oily flavor. 



In colonies afflicted with diarrhea it 

 was watery, and rancid even inside the 

 cluster, so we are led up pretty close to 

 the cause of the disease. 



The keeping of honey in the condition 

 afforded by the bees would be compared 

 to hanging the meat in the smoke-house 

 with a smoldering cob-fire underneath. 

 There is a need of judgment throughout 

 the affair, as it may be as easily over- 

 done as underdone, Colorado and Califor- 

 nia not excepted. 



Pasadena, Calif. 



Getting Bees to BuM Straliht Comls. 



Written Jor the American Bee Journal 

 BY C. E. MEAD. 



In reply to F. M. L., of Langlois, 

 Oreg., who asked a question on page 

 716 of the Amekican Bee Journal for 

 1893, I would say that I have had 

 to fix hives for others, and a very 

 little for myself, that were in the same 

 condition his were. The first thing 

 necessary to have the bees build the 

 combs accurately in the frames, is to 

 have them spaced accurately from cen- 

 ter to center — not over IJ^ inches, or 

 less than 1%. If the queen is a young 

 one, 1% will do. If the frames are too 

 far apart, or too near together, the bees 

 cannot follow the frames, and are com- 

 pelled to build crosswise. As the combs 

 would be too thick or too thin to be 

 utilized for brood-combs, it is best to use 

 a guide of foundation or wax. 



To put on a wax guide, take two 

 pieces of board the exact length of the 

 inside of the brood-frame, and 1/16 

 inch less in thickness than K the width 

 of the top-bar, and 2J^ inches wide. 

 Nail the edges of these together so they 



will lap J'a inch, which will leave 2 

 inches outside of the lap. Now soak 

 them in warm water. Have some melted 

 beeswax ready, wipe all the adhering 

 water from the sticks, place these boards 

 inside of the frame — one under, and the 

 other against the top-bar ; hold the 2- 

 inch part parallel with the end-bars, 

 one end of it slightly raised. Now pour 

 a spoonful of wax on the board at the 

 highest end, and have it deepest next to 

 the top-bar. It will stick to the dry top- 

 bar, and not to the wet form. It will 

 make an edge of wax from % to 13^ 

 inches wide. A few trials will enable 

 you to do this as fast as you can dip the 

 wax. You can make three of these, and 

 keep two soaking if you have much of it 

 to do. Any adhering wax must be 

 scraped off. Foundation guides fast- 

 ened to the top-bars answer as well, and 

 no better. 



Now place the frames in the hive, and 

 space them accurately. Take two thin 

 pieces of wood the exact length of the 

 inside of the hive crosswise of the 

 frames, and put a little glue on each 

 frame, near the ends and straight across. 

 Now lay on the sticks, and let the glue 

 harden. Turn the hive over and paste 

 or glue a strip of manilla paper on the 

 bottom of the frames, and on the edges 

 of the hive. Now your frames will stay 

 in position after your bees are hived. 

 See that the hive is perfectly level cross- 

 wise of the frames, and raise the back 

 end the width of a brick, and if ^our 

 queen is any good, your combs will be 

 all right. 



Drum up as directed on page 716 of 

 the Bee Journal, for Dec. 7, 1893, 

 and place them on the stand where the 

 old hive stood. Smoke the bees from 

 the sides of the hive, and cut the combs 

 off with a long knife or saw. Slide a 

 board over the top of the hive. Invert 

 the hive, and lift it off of the frames 

 and combs. Take it where the bees will 

 not try to rob, and transfer according to 

 directions in any good book on bees. 



Brush any bees that are in the old 

 hive in with the drummed-up bees. 

 Scrape all wax and propolis off the in- 

 side of the old hive, and as fast as the 

 combs are transferred put them into the 

 old hive. Any bees that are among the 

 combs and in the way may be brushed 

 down into the transferred combs. 



Keep a sharp lookout for the queen at 

 all times. If found in the combs, put 

 her with the drummed bees. After the 

 combs are all transferred, place on the 

 old stand and hive the drummed bees in 

 the transferred combs. Do not transfer 

 until the bees are strong enough to keep 



