1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



11 



queen with them. Yon can count on the swarm returning If 

 the queen is dipt, unless they enter some other hive where a 

 swarm entered only a little while before. If there Is no bot- 

 tom to the upper hive, and free communication between the 

 two, of course the swarm will climb right up into the old hive, 

 and then it will swarm right out again the next day. But if 

 there is no communication between the two hives, and the 

 queen enters the lower one, it will be more or less a success. 

 Part of the bees would probably Bnd their way up into the old 

 hive. All this is on the supposition that some one Is by and 

 makes the change in the position of the hives after the issuing 

 of the swarm. That being the case, the wise thing (and in- 

 deed it is a common thing) is to remove the old colony to a 

 new stand, or at least set it a little to one side, although after 

 the swarm is in the new hive it will work all right to set the 

 old hive on top. 



Possibly your idea is to put the empty hive under the old 

 one some time before the swarm is expected to issue, so that 

 the swarm can enter the new hive without the bee-keeper being 

 on hand. Don't try that. It would be a dead failure. For 

 the boes would become accustomed to entering the hive above, 

 and then when the swarm returned they would steer straight 

 for the upper hive. Even if the queen should enter the hive 

 below, there wouldn't be euough bees go with her 



Cost or Comb Honey Production — Controllinj; 

 Swarming — Climate for Calarrli. 



1. What is the cost of producing a pound of comb honey ? 



2. What is meant by the Heddon method of controlling 

 swarming. 



3. Where can I go to keep bees and at the same time be 

 in a good climate for one with catarrh ? 



J. E., Wadena, Minn. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know. I do know, however, that it 

 varies very greatly. If a man has an apiary of lUO colonies 

 or more and gets a very small amount of honey, it may easily 

 cost him a dollar a pound. Another man getting as much from 

 one colony as the first one did from a hundred will of course 

 And the cost very much less. At one time there was quite a 

 discussion as to the average cost of producing a pound of comb 

 honey, but there was much disagreement among the witness- 

 es, and the matter was about as unsettled at the close as at the 

 beginning. 



2. The prevention of after-swarms is thus given by Mr. 

 Heddon: "Let us suppose that colony S swarms June 15. 

 With a non-erasive crayon we mark upon the hive, ' O, June 

 15,' and on the hive in which we put the swarm, ' S, June 1.5.' 

 Thus we distinguish the old colony from the Swarm at a glance, 

 as we make these marks in large characters. 



"When we hive the swarm (always on full sheets of wired 

 foundation) we place it on the old stand, moving the old col- 



ony a few inches to the north (our hives front east), with its 

 entrance turned northward, away from its swarm about 45-'. 

 As soon as the new colony is well at work, having their loca- 

 tion well markt, (say two days), we turn the old colony back 

 parallel with the new one. Now both hives face east, sitting 

 close beside each other. While each colony now recognizes its 

 own hive, they are, as regards all other colonies, on one and 

 the same stand. 



" The dates on the back ends of the hives Indicate that 

 second swarming may be lookt for about June 28. About 

 two or three days before that date, and when the bees are well 

 at work in the Mold, we emovo the old hive to another location 

 in the apiary. This depopulates the old colony, giving the 

 force to the new, leaving too few bees in the old one for the 

 young ' Misses ' to divide; and as they at once recognize this 

 fact, they fight it out on the line of 'the survival of the fit- 

 test.' 



" Remember, that you are to remove the old hive to its 

 final location, when the workers are mostly in the field, and 

 move it carefully, so that very few old bees carried away with 

 it will mark the new location." 



.3. I don't know. Perhaps Colorado. 



Late Kecplns or Drones. 



1. I have a colony of bees I transferred on Sept. 1. On 

 Sunday, Dec. 13, while looking over the hives on the summer 

 stands, I noticed quite a number of drone-bees flying in and 

 out of the hive. Why these drone-bees should be there at this 

 time of the year is what puzzles me. Unless the colony has 

 become queenless, and a laying worker laid the drone-eggs, I 

 cannot explain it. 



2. What is the best course to pursue to save the colony, 

 as it is a good strong one with plenty of stores? Would it 

 be the best plan to let it alone until March, or early spring, 

 and then buy a tested queen, if possible, and introduce her 

 and save the colony ? A. F. M., Rhode Island. 



Answers. — 1. Laying workers may be present, in which 

 case the drones, or at least part of them, are likely to be quite 

 small. A drone-laying queen may be to blame — small droue.s 

 in this case also. It is possible, however, that a good queen 

 may be in the hive. Sometimes a strong colony retains its 

 drones quite late, even into winter. 



2. In any case there is nothing to be done in the way of 

 introducing a queen before spring, and possibly it may not be 

 the best thing even then. If laying workers are on hand, the 

 bees will be so old that it will not be worth while to waste a 

 queen on them, and you may better unite them with another 

 colony quite early in the spring. If you are inexperienced 

 with bees, you're not likely to unite, for a beginner always 

 counts much on the number of colonies he has, and when he 

 has more experience he'll value number of bees more than 

 number of colonies. 



Question;) -Box> 



In the multitude of counsellors there is 

 safety. — Prov. 11-14. 



Source of Greatest Amount of 

 Honey — Honey Liked Best. 



Qnery 40.— 1. From what source Is the 

 ffreatcst umount of honey obtained in your 

 locality 'I 



2. What honey is generally liked best in 

 your locality, clover, basswood, or what?— 

 New Yohk. 



6. M. Doolittle (N. Y.)— 1 and 2. Bass- 

 wood. 



Dr. C. C. Miller (III.) — ! and 2. White 

 clover. 



R. L. Taylor (Mich.)— 1 and 2. White 

 clover. 



J. P. H. Brown (Ga.)— 1 and 2. Pop- 

 lar and asters. 



Eugene Seeor (Iowa) — 1. Linden. 2. 

 Linden and white clover. 



E. France (Wis.)— 1. White clover and 

 basswood. 2. White clover. 



Emerson T. Abbott (Mo.)— 1. Bass- 

 wood and clover. 2. Clover. 



Jas. A. Stone (III.)— 1. White clover; 

 and in the fall, heart's-ease. 2. White 

 clover. 



J. M. Hambaugh (Calif.)— 1. From the 

 mountain sages, principally black sage. 

 2. Sage honey. 



Mrs. L. Harrison (III.)— 1. This year, 

 sweet clover. Twenty years ago, white 

 clover. 2. Clover. 



W. G. Larrabee (Vt.) — 1. White 

 clover. 2. There is not much choice be- 

 tween clover and basswood. 



Mrs. J. N. Heater (Nebr.)— 1 and 2. 

 We get the bulk of our crop, which is 

 also liked the best, from heart's-ease. 



Cha*. Dadant & Son (Ill.)~l. Clover 

 and fall blossoms. 2. Clover for white 

 honey ; Spanish-needle for yellow honey. 



H. D. Cutting (Mich.)— 1. White and 

 Alsike clovers. Our basswoods are 

 nearly all gone. 2. Clover and basswood 

 is preferred. 



Prof. A. J. Cook (Calif.)— 1. White 

 sage and wild buckwheat. We have no 

 clover or basswood. 2. Honey from 

 white and ball sage. 



Rev. M. Mahin (Ind.)— 1. White clover. 

 2. White clover is, I think, the favorite. 

 Of late years we have had very little 

 surplus from any other source. 



A. F. Brown (Fla.)— 1. Black man- 

 grove. 2. Very little choice among 

 orange, palmetto, mangrove or golden- 

 rod. My crops go to Northern markets. 



P. H. Elwood (N. Y.)— 1. Basswood. 

 2. Some say clover, and others say bass- 

 wood, but the majority of those express- 

 ing their opinions do not know clover 

 from basswood. 



C. H. Dibbern (III.)— 1 and 2. Some- 

 times one source, and sometimes another. 

 White clover is our very best, linden 

 next, and heart's-ease third. Buckwheat 

 and miscellaneous weeds last. 



Dr. A. B. Mason (Ohio)— 1. Some 

 years from sweet clover, and some years 

 from fruit bloom, white clover, sweet 

 clover, and fall flowers. 2. Basswood, 

 or a mixture of light-colored honeys 

 flavored with basswood. 



J. E. Pond (Mass.)— 1. In the spring 

 the fruit-blossoms; in late spring and 

 early summer, swamp vegetation. In 

 mid-summer, clover, etc.; in the fall. 



