1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



103 



up. What more natural than for it to return by the familiar 

 route to its old home from which it has been moved? 



But bees behave quite diflferently after havinj? been shut 

 up through the winter. Watch the bees sporting about th(( 

 hive when they talce a cleansing flight early in the spring, and 

 you'll see them flying with their heads toward the hive, just 

 the same as young bees mark the location for the first time. 

 They probably do not fly very far from the hive, and the next 

 time the weather permits a flight they will go through the 

 same performance again. Now if thoy were moved to a new 

 location just before taking one of these flights, it would be 

 natural to expect them to mark the new location and cling to 

 it, even if it be only a short distance away. So the thing for 

 you to do is to move your bees in the winter or early spring at 

 any time when they have been confined to the hive for some 

 days. There are exceptions to all rules, and I've seen bees 

 taken out of the cellar after the winter's confinement and put 

 on a new stand fly back to the old stand on first coming out. 

 But if no hive was there for them to enter, they would return 

 to their own hive. So if your bees were moved a short dis- 

 tance there might be a case in which some bees would go back 

 to the old place, but if moved half a mile before there is any- 

 thing for them to work on, and when they have not flown for 

 a week or more, hardly would I expect any to go back. Of 

 course, in any case of moving, there can be no harm in taking 

 the precaution to put a board up before the entrance to make 

 the bees take note of surroundings on first fiying out. 



Gellins 



Parlli'-Filled Seetiong Cleaned 

 Next Season's Use. 



Up for 



Id going over last year's stock I find I have quite a num- 

 ber of sections in which the starters have been half drawn out 

 and a small amount of honey stored in them, but not sealed 

 over. The honey was thin and has soured. Will the bees 

 clean them out before storing this year's crop, if put on the 

 hive ? and what effect will it have upon the bees? It would 

 not do to market sections with a spot of sour honey in them. 

 I do not like to throw the sections and drawn comb away, but 

 would rather do so than injure the bees. H. J. L. 



Answer. — It would not be safe to let the bees have sour 

 honey till the weather gets warm enough so they will fly every 

 day, but after that time you need have no fear so far as the 

 health of the bees is concerned. The only question is with re- 

 gard to the combs being cleaned out fit to use. It would hard- 

 ly do to risk it by simply putting the sections on early. In- 

 deed it would not be advisable to put them on the hive at all 

 till time for the bees to commence filling them. Put the sec- 

 tions out somewhere away from the hive so the bees will feel 

 it's public plumder, and they will much more surely clean out 

 all that's liquid. Whether they will clean out all the gran- 

 ules is a question. It's a good deal safer to have the sections 

 cleaned out in the fall before any granulation takes place. 

 And this must be not on the hive but away from it. If you 

 risk getting them cleaned out in the spring, be sure to set 

 them out early enough so the bees will have plenty of time to 

 work at them before there's any thought of the harvest. 



Fastenins 



Foundation in Brood-Frames- 

 pliidc of Carbon. 



-Bi-sul- 



1. What is the best way for a novice to fasten foundation 

 in brood-frames ? 



2. Is patent wired comb foundation better and easier to 

 handle than other kinds? 



3. I notice on page 23, that Mr. Chapman explains the 

 use of bi-sulphide of carbon for killing worms, gophers, mice, 

 etc. I suppose it would be perfectly safe if kept away from 

 fire. How long would he leave the saturated rags in a gran- 

 ary to kill mire ? Could they be left there without doing any 

 harm? In killing gophers, would it not be best to place the 

 rag in the hole? W. B. 



Answers— 1. A safe and easy way Is to have a saw-kerf 

 In the under side of the top-bar into which the foundation will 

 easily go. For tolerably heavy brood foundation the kerf 

 should be 5,^32 of an inch wide. For lighter foundation the 

 kerf should be narrower, and wider for heavier foundation. 

 The kerf should be y inch deep if the top-bar is thick enough 

 to allow it. Turn the frame upside down, slip the foundation 

 into the saw-kerf, then drop a few drops of melted wax along 

 the top-bar to fasten the foundation. You can perhaps do 

 this most easily by making a wax candle. Take a string not 

 as heavy as common wrapping-twine, pack around it scraps of 

 foundation or other beeswax till it is 1}^ or 2 inches thick. 



No matter about its looking pretty. Light your candle, and 

 when fairly started hold it to one side and let the drops of 

 melted wax fall where you want them. The frame should 

 have been previously wired, and perhaps the best way is to 

 have four horizontal wires, ordering the frames to be pierced 

 for wiring when you order your frames. The foundation may 

 come close to the sides, that is, close to the end-bars, but must 

 not come clear to the bottom or it will sag. Leave a space of 

 about % of an inch at the bottom. To fasten the wire, in the 

 foundation hold the frame over a lighted lamp or gasoline 

 stove, wire side down. Move the frame along so the wire 

 throughout its whole length will be held over the lamp and 

 melt its way into the foundatiou. Aid this by gently pressing 

 upon the foundation as it passes over the lamp. You will soon 

 see how fast you should move. If you go too fast the wire 

 will not be heated enough and will not sink into the foundation. 

 If you move too slowly the foundation will melt. You will find 

 that the wire heats rapidly and the wax slowly, so the hot wire 

 will melt its way into the wax before the adjoining wax has 

 time to melt, and if you make a good job it will look as if the 

 wire had been made in the foundation. 



2. As the wire is already in the foundation, of course 

 there ought to be that much less trouble. 



3. If no fire comes near the fumes of course there Is no 

 danger of explosion, and probably the fumes will disappear in 

 the course of 2-4 hours. If the saturated rags should be left 

 permanently in a granary no harm would result, but if the 

 place be too open the fumes would not produce the full effect. 

 For gophers it might be the best to pour the sulphide in the 

 holes and promptly stop the holes. This advice is open to cor- 

 rection by any one who has had more experience. I've had 

 none. 



M I » 



Ciiangins tlie Flavor of Comb Honey. 



Is it impossible to change the flavor of comb-honey ? 



E. B. 



Answer. — Yes, you can make a decided difference in the 

 flavor by keeping it in a damp place so as to sour it. If it Is 

 not very thoroughly ripened you might even change its flavor 

 for the better by keeping it in a warm, dry place. But to 

 change by any other process from one flavor to another with- 

 out breaking the comb is very likely impossible. 



Best Sugar to Use for Feeding. 



1. Is it not generally considered that confectioners' "A" 

 sugar is really more pure than granulated sugar? Is it not 

 true that bluing is put in granulated sugar for the same pur- 

 pose that our women put bluing in the water in which they 

 rinse clothes ? 



2. If you were going to buy sugar for feeding, would you 

 get granulated, or confectioners' " A " ? 



3. Is the ordinary powdered, or pulverized, sugar usually 

 pure? or is it generally adulterated with starch? If it is 

 adulterated with starch, does it do any harm if used in 

 making feeding-candy for winter use? Subscriber. 



Answers— 1. One of the things about which there's a big 

 lot of ignorance scattered around is regarding the matter of 

 sugar, and I've more of that ignorance than I care for. In 

 England they say that beet sugar is unfit for bees, and you 

 can buy sugar there, as also in Europe, that is guaranteed 

 pure, for bees. I tried to get some information as to sugar 

 through the Chicago Record, one of the ablest and most in- 

 dependent papers in existence, and they promist to look the 

 matter up, but never got any farther than to tell something 

 about the preliminary part, getting the unrefined sugar from 

 beets. I can hardly believe that Havemeyer has that paper in 

 his power, but it seems to me that from some source we ought 

 to be able to find out about the difference between cane and 

 beet sugar when refined, what adulteration exists and how to 

 detect it, what grade of sugar is likely to be most free from 

 adulteratiou, and such other information as would be of value 

 not only to the mass of bee-keepers, but to the great sugar- 

 eating public whose health is probably much affected by the 

 GO pounds per capita annually consumed. 



As to bluing, I can only make a guess, and I guess you're 

 right in thinking the washerwoman and the sugar refiner have 

 the same reason for using bluing, to prevent any yellowish 

 look. It may not do the bees any harm, but it surely does 

 them no good. Some samples of sugar have much more bluing 

 than others. 



2. I don't know which is best, and always use granulated. 



3. I'd rather have it without the starch, decidedly. Hav- 

 ing starch in it is something like obliging them to eat pollen. 



