630 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Od. 7, 



CONDUCTED BY 



r>K. O. O. aiTLLER, MARENGO, ILL. 



[Questions may be mailed to tbe Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.] 



Carrying Out tlic Larro^. 



Why do bees cut their young out of cells and bring them 

 out on the alighting-board ? Is this what is termed " foul 

 brood ?" I notice that this is the case with some of my colo- 

 nies. They cut or gnaw the young bees out of the cells and 

 carry them out ou tbe alighting-board during the night ; or at 

 least I never see any of them only early in the morning and 

 during the day. They remove them from the alighting-board, 

 carrying them as far as possible. Texas. 



Ansvfer. — In foul brood the young bees are not carried 

 out, but the larva dies in the cell and rots while In the soft 

 state. The young that your bees are carrying out are prob- 

 ably young that are disabled by the work of the wax-worm, 

 which has gnawed away the cappings and injured the young 

 bees more or less. 



Giving Eggs or Larvie Tor Queen-Rearing. 



When Is a colony ready to take eggs or larvse for queen- 

 rearing ? Sdbsckiber. 



Answer. — That may refer to the time of year, or it may 

 refer to the condition of the colony. The best time in the 

 year is when bees are gathering plentifully and weather favor- 

 able for building up. No better time than the usual swarm- 

 ing-time, but later may be just as good if the honey-flow con- 

 tinues. With favorable weather, feeding may fairly well take 

 tbe place of the natural honey-flow. 



So far as the condition of the colony is concerned, the 

 only thing necessary is to have it strong. Then 24 hours 

 after the removal of the queen, if all eggs and unsealed brood 

 be taken away from the colony, it will be ready to accept and 

 utilize eggs or larvic that may be given. 



Questions on Wintering Bees. 



1. Would tarred paper tackt upon the outside of a bee- 

 hive make a good winter protection for the bees from the cold ? 



2. Would the vapor in a hive thus protected condense on 

 the inside walls of the hive ? 



8. Would it be a good plan to have a board raised a little 

 from the frames of the brood-chamber come between those 

 frames and the carpet or chaff cushion above them ? 



4. When boards are used, is there any advantage in cover- 

 ing the lower sides of them with cloth? 



When I have seen your name from time to time in the 

 bee-papers coupled with the statenieut that you graduated 

 from the Michigan University, I have queried whether you 

 were in that inslftution from 18.');! to 1855. I distinctly re- 

 member a student by the name of Miller, who was there be- 

 tween those dates, or at the time when I myself was a student 

 at the University. W. H. L. 



ANSWER.S — 1. It would probably bo difficult to use tarred 

 paper In the way you propose, and have it a very effective 

 protection. If nailed close to the sides of the hive, it would 

 make very little difference In its warmth, and it would be 

 bard to nail It on in such a way as to leave a space between 

 the paper and the hive without leaving cracks so large that 

 the air would hardly pass through. Still, this latter might be 

 done. Strips of wood might be tackt on the hive, and on 

 these strips the tarred paper nailed, leaving a space of one to 

 three inches between the paper and the hive. If so managed 

 that everything was close, the paper would be about as good 

 as an additional wall of wood. 



2. Probably it would to a greater or lesser extent, but to 

 a less degree than without any protection. 



3. Hardly. That would make an air space over the 

 brood-frames, and the tighter down the packing comes the 



better, only it is well to let the bees have just enough room tO' 

 cross over from one frame to another. That is, the board 

 would hardly mak.'i it any warmer, altho a thin board, say }■£ 

 or -'s thick, coming close down and then covered with packing 

 might be just as well as without any board. But many use 

 nothing but a single board cover over the brood-nest, altho it 

 seems the additional advantage of having some packing, or at 

 least to have the board cover double so as to have a dead-air 

 space enclosed, would counterbalance the additional expense. 



4. With plenty of packing oiier the board, a thickness of 

 cloth on the under side would make little difference, but with 

 little or no packing over the board, the more cloth under it 

 the better. The point is to have the covering as nearly as 

 possible a non-conductor of heat. The moisture will not con- 

 dense upon it and allow drops of water to fall upon the bees Id 

 the brood-nest. 



Yes, I was in Ann Arbor between 1853 and 1855, and 

 am always glad to hear from any one who was there. It's a 

 grand old institution. 



Bees Having a Play-Spell. 



What is wrong with my bees ? I have 8 small colonies in 

 6-frame hives. The 6 frames are in 8-inch wide hives. They 

 stand in a row from north to south. Last Saturday (Sept. 11) 

 It was very warm, and at noon from the fourth one In the row 

 from the north end the bees came out almost like swarming ; 

 they flew around a little and went back again. When there 

 were a large number in the air, the next one commenced and 

 did the same thing. After that the next one, and when those 

 three were all quiet again, the first one in the row on the 

 north end began, and did the same thing. They have queens, 

 honey, brood, empty combs, and foundation. 



Wisconsin. 



Answer. — I guess your bees were just playing. They 

 probably had not been flying out a great deal for a few days, 

 and that made them fly all the mure. If you will notice bees 

 during warm weather, you will generally find them having a 

 play-spell along some time in the afternoon, when the bees too 

 young for field-work go out to play and take exercise. When 

 they come out for the first time in the spring, or at any time 

 after they have been confined to the hive for a few days, the 

 old bees as well as the young go out to play, making quite a 

 commotion. But you're not going to winter those bees in a 6- 

 frame hive, are you ? If you do, there's some danger of their 

 playing in the middle of the winter — that is, of their " playing 

 out!" 



How Many Colonies for Tins Loeation? 



I own a farm near Emporia, Kans., 60 miles southwest of 

 Topeka. I now have 150 acres of alfalfa, and will increase 

 the acreage to 200. There are but few bees kept near them. 

 I also have 24 acres of bearing apple orchard— all near creek 

 and timber. How many colonies of bees could be kept on the 

 farm, neighbors having considerable alfalfa, and the amount 

 steadily increasing ? Oklahoma. 



Answer. — It is somewhat doubtful whether you will ever 

 get an exact reply to your question. The amount of honey to 

 be obtained from any given source, or from any given area, is 

 exceedingly dillicult to ascertain. Even those most experi- 

 enced, having for years kept bees under circumstances favor- 

 able as they can be in the nature of the case to help decide 

 the matter, dare not attempt to say how many bees can be 

 supported on 100 acres of alfalfa, white clover, or any other 

 honey-plant. When answers are attempted, they differ so 

 widely from different persons that one Is left all at sea. Those 

 who live in the alfalfa fields seem to vary greatly In their esti- 

 mates. If I am not mistaken, one reliable bee-keeper has set 

 two or three acres of alfalfa to each colony as about the right 

 thing, while others might say several colonies to the acre. 

 Your safe plan is to start with a hundred colonies or so, then 

 carefully feel your way with a larger number. Of course. It 

 will make a big difference as to the treatment the alfalfa re- 

 ceives. If cut a number of times in the season, each cutting 

 coming just before it is ready for the bees to work on it, the 

 result will be meager compared to the result when It Is allowed 

 to continue Its bloom. 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 

 should bo an agent for it, and get all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for It. See offers on page 634. 



