26 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. M, 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. O. O. MILLER, MAREKGO, ILL. 



IQuestions may be mailed to tbe Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.] 



Foiiiiclalioii ill Sections. 



1. Does it pay to use full sheets of foundation in sections ? 



2. Can I fasten the foundation iu better with the founda- 

 tion fastener ? Subscriber. 



Answers. — 1. I think most bee-keepers are agreed in 

 thinking so. Nothing tells more strongly that a man believes 

 in such things than what he does. I put full starters in all 

 my sections. 



2. Yes, better and faster. 



HIvins Swarms on Frames Full of Comb. 



We have been hiving our first swarms of bees on frames 

 with only starters, in the 8-frame brood-nest, and immediately 

 putting on sufficient supers. But now we have plenty of 

 frames the Langstroth size filled with good brood-comb that 

 would be desirable to use, instead of new frames How can I 

 use those old frames, and get the bees to go into the supers as 

 readily as by the Doolittle method above indicated ? 



H. E. W. 



Answer. — Perhaps you can accomplish your purpose by 

 hiving the swarms on so small a number of frames that the 

 bees will be to some extent forced to enter the supers to get 

 all the room they need. Say give them four or live brood- 

 combs when first hived, then ten days or two weeks later give 

 the remainder. Dummies may occupy the vacant space till 

 the full number of combs is given. 



Producing Comb Honey — Leveling Comb in 

 Sections. 



I have .5 colonies in 8-frame dovetailed hives, and run 

 exclusively for comb honey in one-pound sections. I want the 

 honey for home use only. I keep all my queens' wings dipt. 



1. How can I produce the most comb honey in one-pound 

 sections, and get no increase of bees ? 



2. Can I get as much honey without the use of separators 

 as 1 can with them ? Remember, I only want the honey for 

 home consumption. 



3. I have some sections that I put starters of foundation 

 in last summer, and the bees drew it out ready to put honey 

 in them, but failed to do so. Will they be all right to put 

 honey in next season ? 



4. How are combs leveled down ? Is it necessary for me 

 to level them V If so, what is the cheapest and speediest way 

 to do it? J. S. F. 



Answkrs. — 1. That's a pretty hard question to answer, 

 and all would not agree as to the best way. John P. Gates 

 has a way that he says works well in his hands. He has 

 strong colonies that he calls " breedsrs," iu large hives. These 

 are box-hives, and from thein no honey is over expected. They 

 are simply kept to produce strong swarms, and when the 

 swarm issues the breeder is sot in a new place and allowed to 

 build up so as to be strong for swarming the next year. The 

 swarm is hived on the old stand in a small hive, allowed to 

 store all the honey in sections possible, and in the fall dis- 

 posed of in some way — perhaps by uniting with one of the 

 breeders- and the combs of the small hives melted up so the 

 hives can be used again the next year. 



Another way would be to proceed in much the same way 

 with frame hives, uniting to the desired number in fall or the 

 following spring. 



2. It Is generally believed that the use of separators 

 makes no difference in the amount of honey obtained, altho 

 it might be a hard thing to find any positive proof either way. 



8. That depends upoa the condition of tbe sections. If 



some honey was stored in them, and some of it allowed to re- 

 main through the winter, the honey will be granulated, and 

 some of the grains being left in the cells when the bees fill 

 them the new honey will be somewhat injured by the granula- 

 tions. If, however, all the honey is cleaned out of the sections 

 /)!/ Wic /)CC-5 before it granulates in the fall, then the sections 

 will be all right to use again, providing of course that they 

 are all right otherwise. If allowed to stay on the hive after 

 the harvest closes, the bees are likely to spoil them more or 

 less by daubing bee-ghie on the combs. 



•i. There is probably no better way than to use "Taylor's 

 Handy Comb Leveler." It does the work so well and so 

 rapidly that it would pay to buy one rather than to try to do 

 it by any other way I know of. 



CliaflT-Hivc Questions — Longevity or Bees. 



1. What are the merits and demerits of "the chaff hive? 



2. How thick should the wall of a chaff hive be ? I intend 

 to make mine 4 inches. 



3. Will an entrance iJs'xlO inches give sufficient ventila- 

 tion for a chaff hive in the summer, and ?jx4 in the winter ? 



4. During severe cold weather will frost and sweat accu- 

 mulate in the chaff hive? 



5. Don't you think buckwheat chaff would be extra-good 

 to pack chaff hives ? for no rain or snow can penetrate it ; 

 neither will it draw damp. 



6. How much more honey will a colony consume in a 

 single-wall hive during winter, than a colony of equal 

 strength in a chaff hive ? 



7. What strain of bees live the longest ? 



B. T. S.. Fellowsville, W. Va. 



Answers. — -1. I doubt if I know enough to answer that 

 question fully, and if I did, the answer might take up more 

 room than could be allowed. A chief advantage is that sud- 

 den changes of temperature are less felt, and the bees are 

 warmer than in single-walled hives. Some say it's a demerit 

 to have such thick walls, for it takes longer for the heat of 

 the sun to get through when an occasional warm day comes in 

 winter. 



2. Pour inches will not be out of the way, allowing 2 

 inches or more of chaff. 



3. Upon trial you'd probably like a larger entrance both 

 in summer and winter, say }4 by 12 to 16 inches. _ j 



4. Yes, if the colony is weak enough and the entrance 

 small enough. 



5. I've no experience to speak from, but nowadays I think 

 planer shavings are preferred. 



6. I don't know that that has ever been determined. 



7. I don't think it has ever been claimed that there is 

 any difference in the longevity of the different races — as 

 blacks and Italians — but there have been individual colonies 

 whose owners thought they lived longer than the average. It 

 might be a profitable thing to follow up such cases and try to 

 fix such a habit. 



Same Old " I!Iannfacturcd 

 Honey. 



Story About Comb 



I have encountered quite a few people within the last 

 year who claim that comb honey can be made, and is made, 

 without the help of bees. Recently I met a man who lives in 

 Denison, who wanted to bet me .SlOO that ho could take me 

 to Omaha, Neb., and show me where such honey is made, and 

 show me the very process. Also, that such honey could not be 

 told from the genuine article, by the looks. When told that 

 A.-I. Root, for many years, has offered .?1,000 for proof that 

 comb honey could be successfully counterfeited, he said that 

 was " a bluff " to defend his own honey, and that he would 

 not own up to it if he did see it made. Ho furtlier offered to 

 take me to Omaha and show me the plant. 



1. Is there any money available from A. I. Root or 

 any one else that could be used to make such fellows show up, 

 or shut up ? The sentiment is quite general in our communi- 

 ty that comb honey can be counterfeited. I have had as much, 

 or more suspicion shown comb honey in my trade than to- 

 ward extracted. One man that I sold some to, said his wife 

 wanted to bet 50 cents that that honey had never been in- 

 side a bee-hive ! I asked him why she thought so, and he re- 

 plied that she said the sections could never have been inside a 

 bee-hive and bo so clctin ! That was all ; it was simply suspic- 

 iously clean ! Wouldn't that almost make any one tired ? The 

 man has known mo for several years, otherwise I don't think 

 I could have convinced him that the honey was genuine. 



2. Now, Doctor, I don't want to seem presumptuous, but 



