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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



551 



been finisht four or five weeks, or should I leave them on tlio 

 hlvo until the super is full ? 



2. I have two other hives that have plenty of befs, but 

 they would not work in the super, altho they had commenced 

 to put wax on the top-bar of the brood-frames flvo weeks ago. 

 A week ago I thought I would try an experiment on them. I 

 took the center section-holder out of the super of both hives. 

 I then removed the bottom from each section, and nailed a 

 thin, narrow piece of wood from one end to the other of the 

 holder (to keep the sections inl, and put it back iu the super 

 bottom side up. I thought with ti.e open side of the section 

 next to the top-bar of the bruod-frame, the bees would surely 

 go up, and on examining the hives to-day I found each of the 

 four sections about half full of comb, and work started on 

 both sides. I intend in a few days to turn that center holder 

 right side up and put the pieces of sections back in place 

 again. What do you think of the scheme ? Is it a good one 

 or not '? Connecticut. 



Answers. — 1. If the honey is for your own use, and you 

 care more for taste than looks, it will be no harm to let the 

 sections remain till later in the season, only they must not be 

 left on so late that the bees will carry the honey down to put 

 in the brood-combs. Honey is not hurt, but rather improved 

 in flavor by remaining in the hive, but the comb becomes 

 darker in color, and your sections will be injured for market 

 by remaining on the hive, for the general demand is for white- 

 looking sections. If they are still storing honey, and you 

 want to get the sections off before they are any darker, you 

 can empty the two supers, sort out the sections that are 

 finisht, then fill up one super with the sections that are partly 

 finisht or empty, and return this super to the hive. But from 

 your report of their work, it is doubtful whether they are 

 storing enough to make it worth while to return the unfilled 

 sections. A flow of fall honey, however, may come to change 

 matters. 



2. As the scheme succeeded in getting the bees to work 

 in the sections when otherwise they seemed unwilling to do 

 so, it was of value to you, but you might accomplish the same 

 thing as well or better with a good deal less trouble. Put in 

 the super a " bait " section, tliat is, a section that has been 

 workt out partly, th9 comb being anywhere from one-fourth 

 inch to an inch deep, whether there is honey in it or not. You 

 will find such a section in the super an excellent persuader. 

 If you don't happen to have anything of the kind, you may 

 cut a bit of comb of any kind out of a brood-frame and fasten 

 it in a section. 



Keeping Aiit§ Out of HiveK. 



How can I get ants out of bee-hives ? and how keep them 

 out? Iowa. 



Answer. — The simplest and easiest plan is to provide no 

 comfortable place for the ants to which the bees themselves 

 have no access. With the plan, now going out of use, of hav- 

 ing quilts or sheets over the brood-frames, the ants have a 

 nice retreat over the sheets. They probably make their nests 

 there for the sake of the warmth, and do not trouble the bees 

 except when the beekeeper opens the hive, and then they 

 trouble both bee-keeper and bees by running over both. Since 

 giving up the use of quilts I have never known the ants to 

 trouble ray bees. A plain board-cover is the only thing over 

 the bees, there being a space of a quarter of an inch between 

 the top-bars and the cover. As the bees have full access to 

 this space, they never allow an ant to enter. Until you find 

 it convenient to change your plan of covers, you may take 

 comfort in the thought that the ants really do little or no harm 

 only when you have the hives open. 



When and Iloiv to Unite Bees. 



1. What is the best month or time to unite bees ? 



2. After removing the queen, do you put the queenless 

 bees with the hive containing the queen, or I'ke versa ? 



3. Cannot the bees be united by simply sprinkling both 

 hives with sugar-water scented with essence of mint, by setting 

 one hive on the top of the other, and drumming the bees up 

 into the top hive ? Maryland. 



Answers. — 1. The best time is when bees are gathering 

 lionay. After all gathering has ceast for the season, bees are 

 more Intent on watching their stores, and every stranger is 

 lookt upon as an Intruder that should be expelled. 



2. That amounts to asking on which stand the united 

 colony shall be placed. On the stand where the queen has 



been. Move a colony of bees to a new place, and when the 

 field-bees next make an excursion they will on their return go 

 straight to the spot they have been always used to returning 

 to, but if queenless bees are given to a colony having a queen 

 they are so tickled at finding a mother that on first fiying out 

 many of them mark the location and return to it. 



3. Yes, you don't need to lake even that much trouble, 

 for the queenless bees will find their way into the other hive 

 without any drumming. One good way is this: Bring the 

 queenless colony to the place where the queen is ; put it under 

 the hive with the queen, letting each have its own entrance, 

 and put between the hives a piece of paper with a hole In it 

 just large enough for one bee at a time to go from one hive to 

 the other. The bees will do the rest, and will remove the 

 paper as fast as desirable. 



Now New Subscribers 



4 September— Oct.— Nov.— December 4 



4 MONTHS FOR 25 CTS. 



18 Weeks— 18 Copies— of the American Bee Journal for but 

 25 cents ! Can you afford to miss thai :' 



The Report of the ButTalo Convention 



will be iu the American Bee Journal during these 4 months. 

 This Report alone will be worth §1.00— but you get all for 

 just the 25 cents, besides a lot of other excellent apiarian 

 reading-matter. If not now a subscriber, hadn't you better 

 send on that 25 cents and enjoy at least a trial trip of the 

 old American Bee Journal ? 



Get Your Bee-Keeping Friends and Neighbors 

 to Take the Old American Bee Journal. 



We would like to have each of our present readers send us 

 two new subscribers for the Bee Journal before October 1, 

 1897. That surely will not be hard to do, when each will 

 need to pay only '-'5 cents for the last -i months of this 

 year, or only about 6 cents a month for the weekly 

 American Bee Journal. Any one with only a colony or two 

 of bees should jump at such an offer as that. 



Now, we don't ask you to work for us for nothing, but 

 will say that for each two new 2,jc. subscribers you send us, 

 we will mail you your choice of one of the following list: 



Wood Binder for the Bee Journal 



50 copies of leaflet on " Why Eat Honey/"' 



50 •■ ■• on •• How to Keep Honey ' 



50 •' " on '■ Alsike Clover" 



loopy each " Preparation of Honey for the Markef'dOc.) 



and Doollttle'a " Hive I Use " (5c. i 



1 copy each Dadants' ■•Handling Bees" (8c.) and " Bee- 

 Pasturage a Necessity " (lOc.) 



Dr. Howard's book on "Foul Brood," 



Kohnke's " Foul Brood " boolc ;•■•••, •,■••.•,■■•■; 



Cheshire's" Foul Brood" bookdOc.) and Dadants' "Hand- 

 ling Bees " [8c ] 



Dr. Foote'e Hand-Book of Health 



Rural Life Book 



Our Poultry Doctor, by Fanny Felld 



Poultry for Marked and Profit, by Fanny Field 



Capons and Caponizlng — 



Turkeys for Market and Profit 



Green's Four Books on Frult-Growlng 



Ropp Commercial Calculator No. 1 



Silo and Silage, by Prof. Cook 



BienenKultur LGerman] • 



Kendall's Horse-Book [English or German] 



I Pound White Clover Seed 



1 " Sweet " ■• 



1% •• Aleike '■ " 



1% •■ Alfalfa " " 



H4 " Crimson " •' 



The Horse— How to Break and Handle 



20c. 

 •iOc. 

 20c. 

 20c. 



15o. 



18c. 

 2oo. 

 25c. 



18c. 

 250. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

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 25c. 

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 40c. 

 Soc. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

 25c. 

 20c. 



We make the above offers only to those who are now sub- 

 scribers ; In other words, no one sending in his own 25 cents 

 as a new subscriber can also claim a choice of the above list. 



GEORGE W. YORK & CO. 

 118 Michigan St., - CHICAGO, ILL. 



