THE AMEKICA.N BKE JOUKNAL. 



L'lil 





You speak of using the straw mat 

 ill -wintering bees. I would lilie to know 

 how they are made. Perhaps you liave 

 answered tlus question but I am a new 

 :subscriber and have not liad the benefit of 

 it. Will it be best to remove one frame 

 from the eentre of my hive or extract the 

 honey and return it ? I have never used 

 the extractor ; this is the lirst season I 

 have had bees in the movable frames. I 

 tliink there is too much honey in my 

 hives. The frames are all full of honey, 

 with but little brood. I have the Lang- 

 stroth ten-frame hive. K. A. Calvix. 



Send to Albert N. Draper, or C. F. 

 Muth of Cincinnati, for a, mat as a 

 sample. Both advertise them. ^Ve use 

 (luilts instead of mats, but dare say the 

 latter are best. We fear your hives are 

 too full of honey. If so — remove one or 

 more frames from the centre of each, to 

 give room ; moving all the other frames 

 a little further apart. Put on quilts or 

 mats at once. 



It would have been better to extract the 

 honey, and return the combs, but it is 

 late now to do this, unless you keeiJ the 

 combs twenty-four hours in a very warm 

 jilace before using the extractor. 



Deak Editor :— Ought newly formed 

 colonies that have gathered no honey, on 

 account of the drouth, to be fed now, or 

 wait until later ? Does feeding stimulate 

 breeding? Do you think bees can gather 

 enough honey from this time to keep 

 them through the winter ? What do you 

 think is the be,st bee food ? 



J. Ct. Stkeet. 



Syrup made of sugar and water, is the 

 best bee food. The earlier in the season 

 that bees can be fed the better, after 

 frost kills the blossoms. If they have 

 insufficient stores in this niontli (Novem- 

 ber) they must be fed on very warm days 

 or taken into a warm room to feed. 



Dear Editor : — J. Davis tells the 

 readers of the JorRXAL on page 184, Aug. 

 Ko., how to introduce virgin queens and 

 make new colonies, but he does not tell 

 tlicni how to construct the queen nursery 

 he uses; will some of our veteran bee- 



keepers give the younger ones a little 

 light on the subject, if the article is pat- 

 ented or not, if patented where can it be 

 had. Please answer in the Journal. 

 Metamora, O. N. B. Seuking. 



There are several (jueen nurseries pat- 

 ented — one of them by jMr. Davis. We 

 have tried several of them with very in- 

 difterent success. If you apply to some 

 one who advertises them you may get the 

 information that will aid you in under- 

 standing the principles on which they are 

 made. 



Dear Editor : — I am a beginner in bee- 

 culture. Bought 4 swarms of black bees 

 last spring. Have 13 young swarms from 

 them in movable hives. I have Quin- 

 by's and Langstroth's bee books. Have 

 not had any trouble in summer manage- 

 ment by following their directions. Will 

 3'ou please give the best mode of bury- 

 ing bees, in the Journal. Is there any 

 better way than to put them in clamps as 

 Mr. Langstroth describes in his book. If 

 I can winter them I think I am all right. 

 IMost of the bee-keepers about here trust 

 to luck and chance. I asked one man 

 if he wanted to sell his bees. He said, 

 no. Asked him if he took any bee-paper. 

 He replied, no. Asked if he would like 

 to subscribe to one. No, was the reply ; 

 and that is about the way with most of 

 of them. They will not trouble to in- 

 form themselves nor sell their bees. It 

 has been a good season for breeding bees 

 here, but there has not been a large 

 amount of surplus honey made, as there 

 Avas a whole week of windy, rainy 

 weather during the linn harvest. 



Randallsville, N. Y. E. D. Clark. 



There is no better way to bury bees, 

 than to put them in clamps as Langstroth 

 describes. Some report good success in 

 that way. We have not sufficient experi- 

 ence to warrant us in recommending it. 



Dear Editor : — I have two swarms of 

 bees that are full of drones, both large 

 and small, the small ones are regular 

 dwarfs. I suppose they were raised in 

 worker cells. There are plenty of work- 

 er bees, old and young, in both colonies. 

 3Iy opinion is that they have a fertile 

 queen and fertile workers also. They are 

 in hives that I cannot take the frames out 

 to find out the cause. Please gives me a 

 full explanation, and oblige, 



Charles E. Sweetser. 



It is probable that there is a quantity 

 of drone comb in your hivc^, and honey 



