210 



THE AMEIUCA^ iii^il JoUMAL. 



the remedy. Make the hive as simple as 

 you please, but have movable frames iu 

 it. If you do not want to use the ex- 

 tractor now, you will soon find it a great 

 help in keeping bees strong, and making 

 them profitable. 



You managed well with your bees, and 

 your "fancy" that the queen went into the 

 boxes is true, no doubt. 



Dear Editor: — Is there any rule about 

 using the extractor ? Would you extract 

 all the frames in a hive but those contain- 

 ing brood and larval, queen cells, &c.? or 

 would you prefer taking the outside frames? 



Where you extract thoroughly, is it, in 

 your experience, that they will till boxes at 

 the same time V 



2. Is there any danger in opening hives af- 

 ter the bees leaving — say twice in a week? An 

 old bee-keeper says there is; that they know 

 more than we think, and finding their stores 

 unsafe will be apt to leave. He is a man of 

 intelligence and large experience, having 

 made a business of bee-keeping for many 

 years. 



8. Would you expect any trouble in in- 

 troducing queens to queenless stocks at the 

 close of the basswood season V I wished to 

 do so, but the same authority dissuaded me 

 from it — although I should have bought 

 them of him — saying they would certainly 

 be destroyed. My opinion is that he is 

 wrong. Please enlighten me. 



E. Lambe. 



We have no rule about using the extractor. 

 During a good yield of honey, would always 

 take all we could get without disturbing 

 brood. At other times would take only 

 enough to give empty cells for the bees to 

 cluster in. 



We have had bees work steadily in boxes 

 while we were extracting honey from the 

 main hive, every third day — but these' cases 

 are the exception, not the rule. When able 

 to use the extractor, we don't put on boxes, 

 with our present light. Mr. Dale, a success- 

 ful bee-keeper of our State, writes us: "I 

 know that extracted honey can be produced 

 for at least one-third of comb honey." We 

 make even more difiei'ence than tliis in the 

 value. 



2. There i.s no danger iu opening hives 

 too often, if there is any object in it. We 

 have opened hives to show visitors queens 

 of special interest every day for weeks, and 

 had them do even better than other hives 

 seldom disturbed. One colony containing 



a queen of remarkable beauty, several years 

 ago, was opened nearly every day for the 

 season, and we obtained that year 19G lbs. 

 of honey from it ! No bees ever left be- 

 cause too often handled. 



3. We prefer to introduce queens late in 

 the season. It is, for us, the time of all 

 others, but there is no. risk at any time, if it 

 is done in the right way. 



Dear Editor: — In the June number of 

 the Bee Journal you are asked for a de- 

 scription of the bee quilt. I am a beginner 

 in the culture of bees, and wish only for 

 further information as regards the quilt. Is 

 it \o be kept on iu addition to the cap V Do 

 you recommend its use for the entire year, 

 or for winter only ? If kept on during sum- 

 mer, will it not interfere with proper ven- 

 tilation? ]Mrs. R. F. Green. 



We would keep it on the entire year, ex- 

 cept when we put iu extra frames or boxes. 

 Is is laid over the frames instead of any 

 honey-board. It will not interfere at any 

 time with necessary ventilation. 



I am just a beginner in bee-culture, and 

 look for you to help me along. 



I started last spring with one colony of 

 Italian bees ; increased it to three that sum- 

 mer ; two died through the winter, and 

 left me one very strong, good, healthy col- 

 ony. I looked to them in June (spring was 

 exceedingly late here) when they had some 

 brood, and some honey. I again looked to 

 them the 17th of July, and found plenty of 

 bees, a good deal of brood, but not an 

 ounce of honey in store. What can be the 

 matter ? Is there possibly too many drones 

 in the hive ? How many drones should 

 there be in proportion to the bees ? 



How long before a hive can safely be 

 moved back again, after having been re- 

 placed by a newly made colony ? 



There is an abundance of lucern, alsike, 

 red clover, and flowers around the bees, so 

 they do not starve, and it seems unnatural 

 that they should gather no more than what 

 they consume. 



Mrs. Helena Madsen. 



We should say that honey had not been 

 very abundant in your locality ; and bees 

 being not very plenty in the hive, it had 

 taken all they could gather to raise bees, 

 and they had none to spare. A dozen drones 

 is enough in a hive, if you can prevent the 

 colony raising more; indeed tl;ey would do 

 well without any, // t/ou could make them 

 think it so/ 



We would not move the hive back^ after 



