THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



193 



fmSrd^i 



QUESTION. 



rieaso inform your subscribers in your noxt, 

 how fai- nortli bees may bo kept with prolit ? 



G. O. Gkisx. 



ANSWEPv. 



Boos are kept very successfully in tlie 

 nortliorn part of Russia, and winter tliero out 

 of doors safely. They are also kept in Can- 

 ada and in the extreme north-east of Maine. 

 In Aroostook County, and as far north as 

 Prescpie Isle (Maine), bees winter well and 

 are. very profitable. Anionu the mountains of 

 Colorado bees do well. Gur opinion is that 

 wherever flowers are found, bees may be kept 

 jiuccessfuUy, if their owners have judgment 

 (•nough to adapt their care of them to the 

 climate and location. 



QUESTIOX. 



1st. Does the queen have a call which she 

 constantly makes her presence known by ? 



2nd. What state or temperature of the 

 weather it will do to open hives for the pur- 

 pose of examining brood, etc.? 



Srd. The reason why bees cluster before 

 going to the woods ? W. M. A. 



1st. It would seem tliat she does not, from 

 the fact that we have known a populous hive 

 to be without a queen "?A hours without dis- 

 covering her absence. . 



The only times we have heard the call of 

 the queen are when she was under guard of 

 v/orker bees to prevent her 'going out with a 

 swarm ; and again when we have confined 

 one in our hand for a few moments. It is at 

 times, like the first, that the noise of young ■ 

 queens is heard before a second swarm issues 

 which is called "piping." Sometimes this' 

 •; ' noise is made by a queen before it ' hatches 

 from its cell. 



2nd. It will do to open hives and take out 

 ;.,: the comb, whenever bees are flying freely. ^ 

 W When they are not, it is safe to leave them 

 luidisturbed. 



Tjrd. We think the main reason why bees 

 cluster, before leaving is, that the queen in 

 great swarms, is unable to fly freely when 

 she first leaves the hives, her ovaries being, 

 full. AVe have seen hundreds of eggs on the 

 leaves of a branch where a swann had set- 

 tled. Swarms containing young queens fly 

 longer and usually settle higher. They sel- 

 dom show any disposition to go to the woods 

 at first, as they liave no special attraction to 

 the young queen with them and will not fol- 

 low her as they do the '• mother " bee in first 

 swarms. 



'i QUESTION. 



How long are we to write you nothing 

 encouraging about our bee-keeping '.' Here 



we are again at the end of our honey year 

 almost, ami still the same ohl story "bees 

 doing poorly." My 4.S swarms came. Out of 

 niy cellar in' the si)ring in very fine condition, 

 loosing only one, and only f(!W cases of 

 dysentery ; "but the spring mouths carried oif 

 10 or 12 more— some of my best stocks. "N(tv- 

 ice" calls itjby the, rigid nauu!—" dwindled 

 away." No cause for thest^ losses that i could 

 see. Honey plenty, combs bright ; every- 

 thing in perfect condition. Very little us(i to 

 talk about the causes of these losses, for I do 

 not think INIr. Editor, wt; do not, any of us. 

 know. After summer came, swarms came on 

 fast, and swarmed timely ; I'ven in fine condi- 

 tion for the largest blow of whitt; clover J 

 have seen for years ; and the drouth came 

 with the clover blow ; and to-day we are 

 burnt, dried, and roasted. I have got seventy 

 swarms now— that is bees enough. Who cares 

 if they only make honey enough for their 

 own " use." K- Daijt. 



AXSWEP.. 



If you want more honey, do not expect to 

 increase your stocks so much. An increase 

 of 23 swarms on 48 is all you can expect, 

 without looking for much surplus. 



Voices from Among the Hives. 



X. K. FEDEX, Mitchellville, Tenn., writes : 

 "Bees have done very well here this season. 

 I commenced with 1» colonies in the spring, 

 increased them to 14 ; and got 750 pounds of 

 honey up to June 10th. Since that, they have 

 been cut off by dry weather." 



.TosiiuA AnxEn, Crestline, O., writes :— 

 "Basswood bloom is over. There were the 

 most flowers on the trees that I ever saw ; 

 but the bees did not collect very much after 

 all. White clover was a failure. There was 

 a profuse swarming. Some hives swarmed 

 as much as three times." 



E. DiFANY, Norton, 0., writes :— " I began 

 with 24 swarms last spring, and now I have 

 72. Three have not swarmed yet. Some of 

 my first have swarmed again ; in fact my 

 bees swarm nearly every day. I expect if it 

 does not get too dry, to run up to OU or 100 

 swarms, all naturafswarms but one." . 



.T. M. Marvin, St. Charles, 111., writes :— 

 "My 140 old stocks have increased to 200. 

 My surplus is five tons. A neighbor's, under 

 my care, 8 stocks increased to IS ; surplus 7.50 

 lbs. Honey superior in cpiality. Stocks in 

 splendid condition, and nothing to do, on 

 account of a severe drouth, the worst ever seen 

 in these parts." 



■ Chriptophek Ghlmm, .Tefferson, Wis., 

 writes:— "I wintered ]:i4 swarms and lost 

 none through the winter ; l)ut spring was 

 very cold aiid wet, so that I had to unite four 

 swarms, which got very weak with the 

 others. I have got, at this date 07 natural 

 swarms and all are doing finely. The bass- 

 wood, or lime, are nearly through blossom in 

 this part of the country." 



M. T. EMT5RV, Poplar Bluff, Tenn., writes : 

 —"I went into winter quarters last fall with 

 .57 colonies. They went through safely with 

 the loss of about 7 or 8 (pieens. 1 sold two 

 colonies. The sprinsi was very unfavorable 

 up to the 1st ot May. Since that time we 

 have had but three light showers. I have 

 taken about 2500 lbs. of lioney from them. 

 Some of my bees have considerable honey yet 

 to spare." 



