1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



567 



plate method. Fill a crock or other vessel one-half full of 

 sufjar, then fill up with water, eithnr cold or hot. If you don't 

 wish to feed as much as the crock will hold, you may use any 

 smaller quantity desired, measuring in equal parts of sugar 

 and water. It doesn't matter whether you go by measure or 

 by weight. Now put over your crock two thicknesses of flan- 

 nel or other woolen cloth, or five or six thicknesses of thin 

 cotton-cloth, such as cheese-cloth, and over this put a plate 

 upside down. Then with one hand under the crock and the 

 other over the plate, turn the whole quickly upside down. Put 

 an empty hive-body over your hive, set the crock and plate on 

 top of the brood-frames, cover tight so no bee can get in ex- 

 cept the bees of the hive, and leave the rest to the bees. If 

 you wait till the weather gets too cold, the bees will not take 

 it down. 



o. If you introduce her this fall, you will be just that 

 much ahead next spring, and your whole force for the honey 

 harvest will about all be of the improved stock. 



4. Hard to say without knowing more of the circum- 

 stances. Perhaps not a great amount of honey had been 

 yielded by the flowers, the bees having only been able to 

 gather a litlte more than enough for their daily needs. Re- 

 member that enough for their daily needs means a good deal 

 when they are rearing a large amount of brood. 



Removing Surplii§ Laic in the Sca§on. 



This is my first season of bee-culture, and while I think 

 fortune has favored my management so far, I have now 

 reacht a point of uncertainty. I have seven colonies — all new 

 swarms — which have been very industrious. They are enjoy- 

 ing ihe luxuries of the latest hives, and have been perfectly 

 satisfied with their quarters. On July 15 I removed the super 

 from the oldest colony, and the other supers are about filled 

 now. Would it be policy to remove supers this late in the sea- 

 son (Aug. IfS). if the prospects for honey-gathering were 

 fairly good ? Or would these colonies, being new swar-JS, 

 provide a winter store regardless of the supers? Is it cus- 

 tomary to allow supers partially filled to remain on the hive 

 during winter ? New Member. 



Answek — It is not too late to remove the supers, and in- 

 deed it is the general custom to remove all supers at the close 

 of the honey-How, whether they are completed or only just 

 begun. It is a good thing perhaps for the bees, to allow 

 supers with their contents to remain on the hive during the 

 winter, but It's a pretty rough thing on the sections. They 

 win be darkened, plastered with propolis, and not very fit for 

 use another year. Probably no up-to-date bee-keeper leaves 

 sections on the hives over winter. If there is room for it in 

 the hive, you may generally count that the bees have enough 

 supplies stored in the brood-chamber, but if your hive has only 

 eight frames it may happen that it is so filled with brood that 

 there is not room enough for honey. In that case you'll have 

 to feed. If two or three of the frames are entirely filled with 

 honey and the rest about half filled, you need not feel anxious. 



A Bcsinncr''$ Troubles. 



I have 5 colonies of bees— 4: swarms and one old colony — 

 and I won't get one pound of honey. This has been a very 

 poor year; the rains seemed to wash the honey out of the 

 white clover, but lately the bees have been gathering some 

 honey. My old colony is not as strong in bees as it was in 

 the spring; the bees come out early, and some fly away, 

 while others fall on the ground, and they jump and seem to 

 be excited. I understand from other bee-men that the wings 

 of an old bee aie ragged ; all of my sick bees have nice, clean 

 wines, and as near as I can tell are young bees. The peculiar 

 part of ills, if I pick them up and hold them between my 

 hands, they will liven up if nearly dead, and fly away as lively 

 as any bee. 



The queen in this colony is not very prolific, and the hive 

 Is of an odd size: I have a standard size with nice, straight 

 combs from a colony that lost their queen. How would it do 



to put the bees into the standard hive, kill the queen, and re- 

 place her with a more prolific one ? The queen doesn't rear 

 young as fast as they die. How would it do to make some 

 ginger or pepper tea, and feed it to the bees in some sweet- 

 ened water or honey ? I don't think it is paralysis, as the 

 bees are not black and shiny ; they seem to be numb, and get 

 all right when I warm them up In my hands. 



Washington. 



Answer.— If I understand you correctly, you started with 

 one colony in the spring and have four swarms from it. If 

 that is the case, and all five are In anything like fair condi- 

 tion. It can hardly be said that you have had a very poor sea- 

 son, and after sending out four swarms the old colony ought 

 to be very weak. As the bees revive and fly away lively after 

 being warmed in the hand, it may bo only that they are chilled 

 in the cool of the day, and are not diseased. 



They probably would not take very kindly to ginger or 

 pepper tea. Catnip is better for them, allowing the bees to 

 gather from the catnip bloom. 



Changing hives would hardly help matters any so far as 

 the bees are concerned, but if the queen is at fault a change 

 of queens might be a benefit. But if the colony was greatly 

 weakened by swarming, you cannot expect the queen to do as 

 good work laying as if she were in a strong colony. 



A Swarm tliat Swarmed. 



Your humble servant is considered to be quite an author- 

 ity (local) on bees and their habits, but my opinion was askt, 

 and I was compelled to answer I do not know. I will give the 

 circumstances : 



On or about May 20, a runaway swarm was hived in a 

 Simplicity hive. About two weeks ago, 30 pounds of surplus 

 honey was taken off, and yesterday (Aug. J.2) they cast a 

 large swarm. I made an examination at 7 o'clock, p.m., to 

 find the cause of a swarm being cast in a honey-drouth. I 

 found drones and evidence of queen-cells, and at least two 

 inches of honey sealed in each frame, but few capt brood, and 

 could see no signs of eggs. I shall make further examination 

 in a few days for eggs, etc. 



The question was askt me: What was the cause? I 

 never in my 12 years' experience saw, heard, or read of any- 

 thing like it. Perhaps if the bees were my own I could an- 

 swer it myself, but I have watcht the colony closely'ever since 

 they were hived, and I am at a loss to answer it at present. 



New Jersey. 



Answer.— When a colony casts a prime swarm, it may 

 cast one or more after-swarms in from one to two weeks 

 later, and as a rule neither the old colony nor any of the 

 swarms will cast a swarm after that time during the same 

 season. Still it may happen that the first swarm of the old 

 colony may become so strong as to throw off a swarm a few 

 weeks later. The chances for a swarm are increast if by 

 any means the queen of the prime swarm is killed. Circum- 

 stances point to that in the case you mention. May 20 the 

 swarm was hived, and by the last of July it had become 

 strong in both brood and bees. If nothing had happened to 

 the queen it very likely would not have swarmed. But the 

 queen was killed, and 12 or 15 days later a swarm came off 

 with the oldest of the young queens. By that time there was 

 nothing left in the hive in the way of brood except some sealed 

 brood, whereas if the swarm had come off with the laying 

 queen, there would have been unsealed brood and eggs. A 

 strong colony rearing virgin queens may send forth a swarm 

 when flowers are yielding sparingly, whereas the bees are 

 more prudent about swarming with a laying queen. 



Xhe Names and Addresses of all your bee- 

 friends, who are not now fikiue ilic Bee Journal, are wanted 

 at this office. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscriptions, 

 and earn some of the premiums we are offering. The 

 next few months will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

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