American bee journal. 



368 



crop of 50 pouuds, and auotlier staudiug be- 

 side it, gives only 25, and yet you would say 

 the two are exactly alike. The same with 

 regard to wintering. Yet there must be a 

 difference somewhere. The difficulty is to 

 tell what it is. Thei-e may be a difference 

 in the quantity or quality of their stores. 

 Two colonies side by side don't by any 

 means always work on the same kinds of 

 flowers, and one of them may get some had 

 stores that the other doesn't touch. There 

 may be a difference in the strength of the 

 colonies. There may be a difference in the 

 character of the bees themselves. Some 

 are more quiet and contented than others. 

 and a colony that is fidgety and stii'red up 

 all winter long is more likely to come to 

 grief. J. R. Bellamy insists, with a fair 

 show of reason, that there is a great dif- 

 ference in the longevity of bees, and a col- 

 ony of bees so short-lived that funerals are 

 constantly occurring cannot be expected to 

 winter so well as one which retains its 

 youth. 



2. That's pretty close if the hives all look 

 alike. If there are trees, posts, etc.. to 

 help mark the entrances, that will be bet- 

 ter. 



3. You might like this plan: Set two 

 side by side. Then a similar pair with 

 their backs to the first pair, thus making 

 four in a group. Set the groups far enough 

 apart to give comfortable working room 

 between them. 



Preventing Loss of Out- Apiary Swarms 



I wish to run an out-apiary for extracted 

 honey, visiting it once a week. What is 

 the best way to prevent loss of swarms ? I 

 use the eight-frame dovetailed hive. 



Shelton, Nebr. A. W. S. 



Answer. — That's a question that's agitat- 

 ing a good part of the bee-keeping frater- 

 nity. Some are very sanguine about self- 

 hivers, some with regard to the Langdon 

 non-swarmer, and quite a number report 

 success by the use of the Alley queen-trap. 



With a hive sufficiently large, there ought 

 not to be much swarming if the combs are 

 extracted once a week. The Dadants do 

 not have more than from three to five per 

 cent, of their colonies swarm, and they do 

 not extract till the close of the harvest, 

 adding supers of combs as they are needed. 

 But they have hives with at least 9 Quinby 

 frames, and to equal that you would need 

 at least 12 of your frames. 



Fanners as Bee-Keepers, Etc. 



1. Mr. T. C. Kelly, on page 154, says that 

 farmers should not keep bees. What is 

 your experience, and that of the readers of 

 the Bee Journal in regard to a practical 

 farmer keeping bees ? Last spring I bought 

 a few colonies and to-day I have but one 

 colony left. I read in the bee-papers that 

 last year was a bad year for bees. I do not 

 expect to keep a great many bees, but I ex- 

 pect to buy more in the spring. I will not 



be scared out by Mr. Kelly yet, although I 

 have not had any success the first year. 



2. How wide should the entrance be in 

 hives wintered out-of-doors. J. R. S. 



State Line, Ind. 



Answers.— 1. A few days ago I talked to 

 a farmers' institute, and advised every far- 

 mer to keep bees if there were none within 

 two miles, for the sake of their fertilizing 

 the flowers, even though they didn't get 

 any honey. If the ground is not already 

 occupied, each farmer must decide for him- 

 self, and he can not often decide without 

 trying. Some have a taste for the business 

 and will succeed ; others will wish the bees 

 were in Guinea. 



2. I think most prefer to leave it open full 

 width. If there's danger of mice getting in, 

 put on wire cloth three meshes to the inch. 

 This will not hinder the bees, but will hin- 

 der the mice. 



The Drone a Queen Mates With. 



Does a virgin queen ever mate with any 

 drone of another colony ? If not, why not? 

 Dorchester, Nebr. F. C. L. 



Answer. — As the queen mates high in 

 the air, the supposition is that she seldom 

 mates with a drone of her own colony. She 

 is more likely to mate with a drone whose 

 home is a mile, or two or three miles, 

 away. 



Painting Bee-Hives. 



Is there any way that I can manage 

 to paint my bee-hives that have the bees 

 in them ? They are in the cellar at 

 present, and I want to re-paint them 

 before I place them on the summer 

 stands. F. R. 



Anamosa, Iowa. 



Answer. — Yes, you could paint your 

 hives before putting them on the summer 

 stands, but I wouldn't. The gain in 

 time would be trifling, and it will be 

 much more convenient to paint them 

 after they are on the summer stands. 

 Paint at least the fronts in the evening 

 after the bees stop flying, and use 

 enough " drier" so there will be no dan- 

 ger of the bees sticking in the paint the 

 next morning. The remainder of the 

 hives can be painted any time. 



Jt^" Learn from Others. — Great good 

 will come from visiting and even working 

 for a time with other bee-keepers. Note 

 their methods, hives, sections, etc. Strive 

 by conversation to gain new and valuable 

 ideas, and gratefully adopt whatever is 

 found, by comparison, to be an improve- 

 ment upon your own past system and prac- 

 tice. — Prof. (Jook. 



