THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



61 



"Can you tell us how to prepare our 

 boxes for surplus honey next season? 

 We must arrange hereafter to sell comb 

 honey — extracted honey is a drug here, 

 and we had better have much less comb- 

 honey than extracted, if one will sell and 

 the other will not. Can you recommend 

 anj' special form of box or hive ? " 



There are several points in this ques- 

 tion which are worthy of attention. As 

 to extracted honey being a "drug," we 

 think it the fault of the bee-keepers near 

 any market, if it becomes so. Put your 

 honey into the market in attractive 

 form — take pains, and you can make a 

 market which will improve with every 

 year. 



If you wish, you can have a good quan- 

 tity of comb-honey in any form of hive, 

 but to secure this you must have your 

 liives full of bees, from the last of May 

 until the first. It makes little difference 

 to the bees what style of boxes you use — 

 but the kind that sell best are the ones 

 you want. What are called section boxes 

 are attractive in the market, and grocers 

 like to handle honey in them. Large 

 boxes containing small frames, that hold 

 about a pound of honey each, are what 

 we can most safely recommend. 



Hereafter it will be easier and more 

 profitable to get box-honey, because the 

 comb productions will enable us to give 

 the bees, comb in all boxes to start on. 

 The impression has been given that the 

 comb foundations are not fit for surplus 

 honey. They are being made now speci- 

 ally for the purpose, of the most delicate 

 texture, and so light that a pound will go 

 a great ways in boxes. We hope next 

 season they can be aflForded at such prices 

 that it wil! pay all those who wish comb- 

 honey to fill their frames and boxes with 

 them. We are satisfied that if this can be 

 done, double the quantity of honey can be 

 obtained in boxes and frames. 



In making your boxes this winter have 

 them as light as possible. Boxes are sold 

 with the honey, and customers want to 

 buy as little wood for the price of honey 

 as you can make convenient. 



We shall try to show you how to man- 

 age your colonies in the spring, so that 

 they will have the bees — without which 

 your boxes, even if filled with nice comb 

 foundations, must remain empty. 



I purchased last fall a swarm of bees in 

 a movable frame hive, which came off last 

 summer. It had plenty of bees, so we 

 capped brood with but little honey. I have 

 fed both sugar syrup and candy. 



Now 1 want to know, is there danger in 

 over feeding? 



Will it not do as well to feed dry coffee 

 sugar as to feed either syrup or candy ? 



Brown Co., O. Geo. W. Forman. 



You must examine the comb and see 

 if your bees are storing too much of the 

 syrup. If it is stimulating them to brood 

 rearing, it is well; but if they are filling 

 the combs and giving the queen too little 

 room, they have too much. 



Dry sugar is not as good food as syrup. 



I want a good receipt for making vin- 

 egar of honey. Is there any difference 

 between the gray and black bees? Do bees 

 know their hive by its location or appear- 

 ance ? How many swarms in the Ameri- 

 can hive can I winter in a cellar room 

 10x14 feet? O. C. Blanchard. 



Take one part honey to two parts water ; 

 put in some " mother," as it is called, 

 from a vinegar barrel, if you have it — if 

 not, a small quantity of good yeast. Keep 

 in a warm place until sour enough. 



The gray bee is apparently a distinct 

 variety from the black bee. 



Bees mark their location, not the hive. 

 You can prove this by moving the hive 

 even three feet away from its old place, 

 and then watch the bees return. 



Just as many as you can put in it one 

 tier above another. 



My bees swarmed while I gathered 

 honey. I extracted 1,900 fts from Aug. 20 

 to Sept. 10, and had during this time 21 

 natural swarms. It was a rule to " sling" 

 every morning from 7 to 11, and get a 

 swarm at between noon and 3 o'clock. 

 Most swarms were 2 feet long. One 

 swarm taken in Sept. 5 had 7 frames 

 built on Sept. 20, with 32 lbs of honey. 

 Could not prevent the swarming. Hives 

 from which I look 3 and 4 boxes of honey 

 swarmed three or four days afterwards, 

 and all in the latter part of August and 

 the first part of September. C. Sonne. 



It seems to be reported that bees 

 generally swarmed more than usual this 

 year, and that greater quantities of brood 

 were reared. We think you should have 

 taken the queens from the hives, and 

 thus prevented swarming until the fever 

 was over. But it is hard to give rules for 

 such a season as the past one has been. 



