1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



211 



Golden's Comb-Honey Management. 



Br J. A. GOLDEM. 



Dr. C. C. Miller has askt me to answer the following ques- 

 tions from a South Dikota siibscrlbsr, relatiog to my method 

 of comb-honey production : 



" 1. Do you make the brood-chambers with the bee-space 

 to match the bee-space of the super, thus making a continuous 

 passage from the bottom to the top of the super, or supers? 



" '2. Are the bees permitted to pass to and from the brood- 

 chamber to the double super during the first Ave days after 

 swarming? 



" Do you keep the queen caged inside the section-cage ? — 

 L. A. S." 



Answrks. — 1. Yes, certainly, the bee-space must be 

 maintained from the bottom on up, matching each super as 

 tiered up, and a bee-space at the top of the brood-chamber 

 entering at the top of the brood-frames, also at the top of the 

 supers. I will just add for the benefit of those desiring to 

 test my method : Take two single supers and tack on the 

 little cleats at each end of the side. Then tack on a strip of 

 thin lumber flush with the bottom, and extend )% or % of an 

 inch above the top of the super— some prefer a K-inch bee- 

 space over the brood and sections in place of a ?| ; then tack 

 on top of the ends of the super a strip, making it as high as 

 the side. F'old strips of tin the width of the super, and tack 

 on the bottom of the end of the supers, letting them in the 

 wood a little so the supers will fit when set on each other. 

 This tin rest is for the section slats to rest on. Put the slats 

 and sections in, and set one on top of the other, and tack a 

 couple of slats up and down at each end, which holds them 

 together. Now you have the bee-space from the bottom of 

 No. 1 to the bottom of No. 2, and enters between supers ; 

 also from the bottom of No. 1 to the top of No. 2, and enters 

 supers at the top of No. 2, and when the cover is on, a bee- 

 space over the top of the sections. The side bee-space should 

 not be less than ^a of an inch, 



2. Yes, the bees have full sway to go where they can do 

 the most work all the time. Having secreted wax for comb- 

 building, you will soon find that the new swarm has stored you 

 a beautiful lot of section honey instead of brood-combs. See? 



3. Yes, the queen is put into the section-cage by spring- 

 ing up the wire-cloth at one corner of the cage, and remains 

 there during the five days. Having placed the cage in one of 

 the upper rows of sections, on the fifth day cut all queen-cells, 

 place the parent hive on the bottom-board, super on top, and 

 let the queen run in at the entrance with a pufl or two of 

 smoke. Then keep tiering up. 



I also will add that before setting the super on top of the 

 brood-chamber, lay a strip of wood under the ends of the 

 brood-frames, sufB^ieut to raise the frames even with the side 

 of the hive proper, thus giving bee-space above the frames, 

 and the bees can't reach the bottom when entering the hive 

 and scamper for the side entrances. Morgan Co., Ohio. 



Bees and Fruit— Coddling Moth Eggs Not Laid 

 in the Bloom. 



BV E. 8. LOVEST. 



This is still a subject of much interest and agitation be- 

 tween bee-keepers and fruit-growers. If all our fruit-growers 

 understood this matter thoroughly and correctly, there would 

 be no need or cause for trouble, and there is no earthly reason 

 why any person interested should not understand the subject 

 intelligently; but unfortunately at present they do not, hence 

 the trouble. 



Altho it is 25 years or more since the first coddling moth 

 larva was introduced Into Utah through the importation of 

 fruit and shingles, yet prior to five years kgo there was no 

 agitation on the subject, but about that time the trouble com- 

 menced. Bills were framed and introduced into the legisla- 

 ture by the dozen without any respect or regard for the bees 

 or bee-keepers, and, strange as it may seem, it was almost the 

 universal opinion that no good could be accomplisht unless 

 the spraying was done on the bloom. In two instances the 

 professors were pitted against us, and while they sympathized 

 with the bees they contended that the spraying must be done 

 In the bloom, or no beneficial results would be obtained. This 

 belief became so strong that the conclusion was reacht by 

 many that either the fruit or the bee industry must go, as 

 there was no possible way to reconcile them. It was the uni- 

 versal belief that the moth laid its eggs in the bloom, and un- 

 less the trees were sprayed in the bloom the embryo fruit 

 would grow over the tiny larvie, and that they would eventu- 



ally eat their way out. Thus the trees should be sprayed in 

 the bloom, and if the bees could not take care of themselves 

 they must take the consequence. 



Of course the bee-keepers viewed with dismay this state 

 of affairs, but by organizing with the fruit-growers, the bee- 

 keepers controlled the balance of power, and, as a rule, they 

 protected their bees ; only in a few instances did those foolish 

 theories prevail, and then the bee-keepers paid dearly for 

 other people's ignorance. This occurred two years ago, when 

 several thousand dollars worth of bees were killed, myself 

 being a heavy sufferer; and when I remonstrated against the 

 party doing the mischief, he said that he lost 200 colonies of 

 bees in New York State the same way, and while he felt sorry 

 for us he thought it was no harder on us than it was for him ! 



The reason that many of our bee-keepers suffered two 

 years ago was because the matter was left with the different 

 county courts and county fruit-tree inspectors; thus, those 

 believing in blossom spraying caused trouble. Some counties 

 strictly forbade spraying in the bloom, while others so ordered 

 it. One county issued a proclamation ordering eight spray- 

 ings. In some instances, spraying twice during the bloom, 

 and some of our bee-keepers were threatened with the law 

 because they refused to poison their own bees. I advised our 

 bee-keepers to stand firm in this matter, and not only refuse 

 to spray in the bloom, but if they could prove that any persons 

 had poisoned their bees we would sue them for damages. 

 These eight sprayings referred to — five of them were put on 

 before the first coddling moth larv;e were found in the county ; 

 the other three were put on before and during the month of 

 July. Then they stopt while the moth continued their opera- 

 tions nearly two months later, destroying the greater portion 

 of the apple crop, while other counties that put on four spray- 

 ings, commencing about the middle of June, saved consider- 

 able of their fruit. 



I started in almost alone five years ago to fight this popu- 

 lar error — for such it has been — and I was just as positive 

 then as now, that it was an error, and from the experiments 

 and observations that I have made of late years, I can assert 

 without fear of contradiction that no coddling moth eggs were 

 ever laid in the bloom. 



I had noticed more or less for 10 years before this blos- 

 som sprayiug agitation commenced, that the coddling moth 

 always laid their eggs on the apples until the first cold storm 

 in the early fall. This put me to thinking. I askt our fruit- 

 growers if they thought it could be possible for Nature to 

 provide an insect that would deposit a portion of its eggs on 

 the petals of the blossom, and then continue through the sum- 

 mer to deposit the balance of their eggs on the fruit. To try 

 and throw some light on the subject, I commenced a series of 

 experiments, and I discovered what may appear to some, one 

 or more secrets. I took the larvajinto the hot-house or green- 

 house in the winter and early spring months. I found that 

 by keeping the temperature up to about 60^ from the time 

 the moth hatcht out they would lay their eggs, which would 

 hatch out and the larvie would bore into the fruit, mature, 

 and eat their way out, spin their cocoons and hatch out as 

 moth again in about six weeks; and by raising the tempera- 

 ture to about 703, tije whole process could be accomplisht in 

 about five weeks. 



I also demonstrated that if the temperature was dropt far 

 below 60^, the moth would not hatch out, and when hatcht 

 out with the same low temperature, the moth would not lay 

 their eggs, and in about two weeks or so they would die off 

 without laying their eggs. This was also demonstrated here 

 two years ago in the open air. There was a warm spell in 

 May, and many moths were hatcht out, and this was followed 

 with about three weeks of low temperature, and the moth died 

 off without laying their eggs, so that there were no wormy 

 apples to speak of before July. As the trees will blossom out 

 at a considerable less temperature than 60-, they are always 

 in bloom before the moth hatches. This has been proven 

 here in Utah for years. In parts of Wasatch and other coun- 

 ties the trees bloom and bear fruit, yet no coddling moth or 

 larvse can or do live even if imported there, because the tem- 

 perature is too low for them to live or exist. 



Now, if any one doubts the above statements, let him 

 demonstrate the matter for himself, and if he experiments 

 while the trees are in bloom, he will find that while the moth 

 will lay their eggs on the fruit, they will not do so on the 

 blossoms. 



One thing more : I have noticed the larvse do not always 

 bore into the apple at the spot where the egg is laid. The egg 

 is very small, so that it is very hard to locate, but after find- 

 ing it, if we mark the location we will find that sometimes the 

 tiny larv;e will move some distance, and If it finds any other . 

 object touching the apple — such as a leaf or another apple — It 

 will usually commence boring into the apple at that point, or 



