364 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



and stretch some thin bed-ticking across 

 the rim, and press on the band like put- 

 ting a cloth in an old-fashioned strainer. 

 Through the tin, which is now the top, 

 there is a hole made, to which is soldered 

 a half-inch tin pipe 6 inches long ; this 

 reaches through a hole bored in the 

 cover of the hive, when the feeder sets 

 on two 3^-inch sticks laid on the top- 

 bars of the brood-frames. The super is 

 left on, and a hole cut in the cloth over 

 the brood-frames, for the pipe to pass 

 through. The syrup is poured through 

 this pipe, and oozes through the bed- 

 ticking bottom, and it being right over 

 the bees, they can and do eat it even 

 when it is too cold for them to get out 

 to the ends of the hive. If they are fed 

 more than they need to eat, they take it 

 up and store it in the cells. 



D. L. Nelson. 

 Fair Dealing, Ky., March 4, 1893. 



Friend Nelson, I would at once give 

 the queenless bees, eggs and brood, and 

 let them rear a queen ; it would be 

 cheaper, in my opinion, then if they 

 failed to rear one, or if she failed to lay, 

 you could buy a queen. The brood you 

 give would keep the strength of the col- 

 ony up, any way, should they not get a 

 queen all right. I feed my bees any 

 time when they need it. 



Introducing: Qiieens. 



Mrs. Atchley : — In the last three 

 lines of " How to Introduce Queens," on 

 page 237, you speak of taking out the 

 old queen and introducing the new one 

 at the same operation. Will the bees 

 not ball and kill the new queen ? or do 

 you mean to cage her in the hive '? Can 

 I introduce a queen to a colony that has 

 swarmed out ? S. M. Carlzen. 



Montclair, Colo. 



Friend Carlzen, I meant to cage the 

 new queen, and let the bees release her 

 on the " candy plan." You can intro- 

 duce a queen to any colony in the same 

 manner, provided there are enough bees 

 to take care of the queen. 



From One of the Scholars. 



The snow is going away yesterday and 

 to-day. Four colonies have " gone up" 

 so far. My bees have not had a general 

 flight since Dec. 3rd. They are packed 

 in outer cases in wheat chaff and maple 

 leaves. I am one of your scholars. 



Jacob Moore. 



Ionia, Mich., March 3, 1893. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing- immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sufficient special interest to 

 require replies from the ^5 or more apiarists 

 who help to make -'Queries and Replies" so 

 Interesting- on another page. In the main, it 

 will contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly interest beginners.— Ed. 



Keeping Bees on the House-Top. 



In your opinion, can bees be success- 

 fully kept on top of a house (store or 

 residence) in a large city? How about 

 cold winters and hot summers '? 



Washington, D. C. 



Answer. — Bees have been so kept 

 with success. Mr. C. F. Muth kept an 

 apiary successfully for a number of 

 years on the roof of his house in Cincin- 

 nati. The only protection he wanted 

 was to have the top well covered. 



"Working for Increase. 



We have had very cold weather here 

 for the last 33^ months, and it has been 

 hard on the bees. Last fall I had three 

 good colonies of bees, and now I have 

 one. The two were frozen in a hard 

 block, but the remaining one is in good 

 condition. 



To how many can I increase one col- 

 ony to the best advantage, in one sea- 

 son, so as to have them in good condition 

 for next winter ? I do not care for 

 honey — it is bees that I want. My 

 locality is ordinarily a good one for bees. 

 The golden-rod, smartweed and white 

 clover are plentiful. 



Henry Leveling. , 



East St. Louis, Ills. 



Answer. — The number you can in- 

 crease to depends upon your skill and 

 upon the season. If the season should be 

 very poor, it is possible that you might 

 not be able to increase any, at least 

 without feeding. Again, you might in- 

 crease to a dozen, and have them all so 

 weak and In such poor condition that 

 you would have none left the following 

 spring. Without a good deal of experi- 

 ence, you hardly ought to try to do more 

 than to make two new ones for each old 

 one, that Is, trebling your number. 



But if you want to increase all you 

 can with safety, a good plan is not to 

 divide up the one colony into a number 

 (which you might do with safety if you 

 knew exactly what the season would 



