168 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



seems plainly to say, that because I have 

 failed no one else can succeed. His lan- 

 guajre would seem to indicate that he 

 considers himself as standing at the top 

 of his profession and all other bee-keepers 

 must "crawl at his feet." The writer says 

 in one place that he has never reared one 

 pure Albino queen, and then says that he 

 never raised one which did not become 

 a drone-layer after the first season ! How 

 are we who read this article to understand 

 it? Is it not a flat contradiction? He 

 cries " humbug," and at the same time 

 tries to invent one to accomplish his 

 selfish ends. He attempts to lieap epithets 

 upon one of whom he is jealous, simply, 

 because that one has sold a few queens to 

 some of his customers. 



He seems to understand some tricks in 

 queen-rearing, perhaps, has practiced 

 eome of them. 



It has always been my custom when 

 selling queens to guarantee them. I have 

 sold queens to all parts of the United 

 States, and have never yet taken any ad- 

 vantage of any one. If I do sell queens 

 to any of his customers is that any reason 

 why he should attempt to slander me ? 



It seems to me that if persons attempt 

 to call a thing a humbug, they should 

 understand it thoroughly before so doing. 

 But the only reason he can assign, is that 

 he has failed to raise Albino queens. 



The American people generally pur- 

 chase where they can get the most for 

 their money, consequently they buy my 

 pure Albino queens — "the best in the 

 world." D. A. Pike. 



Smithsburg, Md. 



"^oUs Sc ^utxizs. 



CONDUCTED BY CH. DADANT. 



Would it be well to disturb the bees 

 when at work in boxes ; by removing the 

 boxes to extract honey from brood cham- 

 bers? 



Answer: — Yes; you can remove the 

 boxes, and extract honey, without incon- 

 venience. But afterward, the bees will 

 put their newly-gathered honey in the 

 brood chamber first, and ten to one, if you 

 have made a large room in the brood 

 chamber, they will take the uncapped 

 honey from the boxes, to fill the brood 

 chamber. 



On April 30th one of my very strongest 

 stocks with as brigiit comb as you ever 

 saw, plenty of pollen and uncapped honey, 

 and a large and yellow queen, appearing 

 as in the height of laying; tliere were no 

 signs of queen-cells as though a queen had 

 been raised. I gave another comb of un- 



capped honey, returned in eight days, and 

 finding no eggs, drone nor worker, I 

 killed the queen. There is not a drone in 

 my apiary. Was I too hasty? Should I 

 have kept her for further experiments? 



A. B. 



No! There are drones now, if not in 

 your apiary, some are in your neighbors' 

 apiaries. We have plenty of them already. 



What use can be made of the contents 

 of a hive depopulated through dysentery, 

 and left full of partially mouldy combs, 

 with some honey? When you feed bees 

 honey in the comb, is it any advantage to 

 uncap it? Mrs. Helena Madsen. 



You can use the mouldy combs, if they 

 are not rotten, in putting them in your 

 strongest stocks, one comb at a time ; or 

 by putting in the hive a strong swarm. 

 But the first plan is the best. 



There is no advantage in uncapping 

 the cells of honey, the bees will uncap 

 them according to their need. Yet if by 

 feeding you desire to excite breeding 

 then it is better to uncap the combs. 



Let me know through the Journal 

 how I can prevent getting hybrid drones. 

 Rev. E. Lewis. 



Put drone combs on your best pure 

 Italian colonies, and take out all drone 

 combs from your impure ones. Raise 

 your queens in a season when there are 

 no drones, i. e., before black or hybrid 

 drones are hatched, or as soon as they are 

 killed by bees, and if you have stimulated 

 your drone raising colonies they will pro- 

 duce drones to fertilize your queens. 



When shall I cut Alsike clover for 

 seed — the first or second crop. 



A. COOPERBIDER. 



Cut after the first crop. 



What should be the distance between 

 the walls of a hive and the ends of the 

 frames, also between the lower part of 

 frames and the bottom board? How 

 much space between the sides of hive to 

 contain 10 frames? lam making some 

 hives 183^x121^ inches, 11 i-g inches deep. 

 I put i) frames in a hive, I used to put 8 

 frames in 12 inches, but think it makes 

 them too far apart. My frames are 

 .17^^x101^ outside, and 10x17 inside, ends 

 of frames % in. thick, top bar 5-16, hot- 

 torn bar 3-16, space top, bottom, and ends 

 of frames 5-16. J- f- r- 



Tlie distance between the outside ends 

 of the frames and the walls of the hive 

 should be from }4 to % of an inch. Be- 

 tween the under side of frames and bottom 



