710 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



J\i'ov. 11, 



CONDCCTKD BY 



Die. o. o. arrttER, Af arb2vgo, ikk. 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct 1 

 Ciiltins Down llie Lang§lrotli Frame. 



1. Would it be wise to cut the Langstroth frame down to 

 a smaller size, and leave it still self-spacing '? 



2. Are there not too many sizes of frames now ? 



3. The Langstroth frame is so large that there are few 

 good frames with comb full down to the bottom-bar. The 

 smaller the frame the nicer they are. Los Angeles. 



Answers. — 1 and 3. Probably you wouldn't be any bet- 

 ter satisfied to cut down the frame. If you made it only half 

 its present size, you would very likely find that the bees 

 wouldn't build the combs down to the bottom-bar without 

 haviug foundation come clear down, and if foundation comes 

 clear to the bottom-bar of course the present size will have 

 the combs built down. 



2. On some accounts it would be a very nice thing to 

 have only one size of frame, but this is a pretty big country, 

 and It's somewhat doubtful if all will agree to use the same 

 frame. 



Transferring Before or After Swarming. 



1. I have 3 or 4 colonies of bees in boxes which I wish 

 to transfer next spring to movable-frame hives. Will it be 

 proper to get a swarm from each and transfer afterwards, or 

 transfer before they swarm ? 



2. If it is proper to let them swarm first, how long after- 

 wards should I wait before transferring, the weather being 

 suitable ? Missouri. 



Answers. — 1. I think I'd let them swarm and hive the 

 swarm in a movable-frame hive. 



2. Then in three weeks I'd transfer the contents of the 

 old hive to another movable-frame hive, because at the end of 

 three weeks all the old brood will be hatcht out and will nul 

 be in the way. 



Keep watch of this department from week to week, and 

 very likely you'll get hold of some hints that will be of use to 

 you in the matter. 



m m 



Fall and Spring Price of Beei. 



What is customary amongst bee-keepers in selling a col- 

 ony of bees in the fall, in regard to food supply of the same ? 

 I notice that dealers who charge -^lO a colony in spring offer 

 the same for .Sf) in the fall. Now, if they are situated where 

 honey commands a good price, and supply a colony with 20 

 pounds or more of honey, at the fall price, it seems as if they 

 must be out of pocket. Please eulighten. In(juirkr. 



Answer. — The amount of honey in the hive really cuts no 

 figure. If a dealer sells a colony in the fall, it has 20 pounds 

 or more of honey, and if he sells the same colony in the 

 spring, altho the honey may not be visible in the hive he is 

 out of pocket the same amount of honey, for the bees have 

 consumed it. Look at tlio matter in this shape : Suppose 

 you buy a colony of bees in the fall, paying ."^tj.OO for it. The 

 seller lets It stand, and you may take it when you like. If 

 you let it stand till spring and then take it away, it's all the 

 same to him. He has the $(i.OO, and you have the colony. 

 But you may ask, "Why should he have more for his colonies 

 in the spring?'' There are two reasons. One is that in most 

 cases there is some labor and trouble connoctcd with prepar- 

 ing for winter and wintering. For that there should be some 

 compensation, hut not a very great deal The principal dif- 

 ference in price comes from the loss in wintering. Suppose 

 a man wants to sell you lO colonies in the fall, and is wlllinit 

 to sell at. •!;(). 00 each, ho will sell the whole lot for .'i(fi(J. If 

 you wait till spring, and he loses 4 colonies in wintering, he 



will sell you the remaining 6 colonies at SIO each, and get 

 the same amount as if you had bought In the fall at the fall 

 price. Clearly that is the right thing (not taking into account 

 for the present any compensation for the trouble of wintering) 

 providing 4 out of 10 is the regular loss that he always suf- 

 fers in wintering. The spring price should be enough higher 

 than the fall price to pay for the trouble of wintering, and 

 also for the loss in wintering, but as a matter of fact a suc- 

 cessful winterer would feel rather ashamed to lose anything 

 like 4 out of 10 of his colonies. But is it not an exceptional 

 case when a difference of .$4.00 is made between fall and 

 spring prices ? or when as much as $10 a colony is askt? 

 Looking through the pages of the back numbers of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, I find Doolittle's dismal old man standing 

 up in the cold winds of March offering bees at precisely the 

 same price he askt in the following September. 



A L.isl of Ten Questions. 



1. I have an extra queen that I wish to keep through the 

 winter. What must I do with her to keep her ? 



2. I have a small colony of bees with a good queen that I 

 can't use any other way. Will they go through the winter on 

 three frames if fed well ? Is sugar syrup all I need to give 

 them, or will I have to give them something for pollen ? 



3. Where did the Carniolan bee come from ? 



4. Will an 8-frame hive well filled carry a colony through 

 the winter ? 



5. Can I get a honey extractor that will take a frame 

 12x12 inches, inside measure ? 



(i. If I run for extracted honey, will a large hive do as 

 well as a two-story hive ? If so, how large a hive, and how 

 far apart, for the frames on theoutsideof the brood-chamber? 



7. How large a bee-space ought there to be at the end 

 and bottom of the frames ? 



S. A certain breeder advertised "Texas queens." What 

 kind of bees are they? 



9. What time of the year Jo bees store honey-dew ? Or 

 do they get any at all in this State ? 



10. When bees have honey and sugar syrup in the brood- 

 chamber, which do they use first ? Virginia. 



Answers. — 1. Of course you can't keep her without 

 worker-bees with her. You can keep her in a nucleus of three 

 or four frames, but a two-frame nucleus may do if it is iu a 

 hive with a stronger colony. Suppose you use ten-frame 

 hives. Take a hive that has a colony that is on seven frames, 

 or that can easily be crowded on seven frames, and have these 

 seven frames on one side of the hive, and have on the other 

 side your two-frame nucleus, with a division-board between 

 them that fits so close that not a bee can get from one side to 

 the other. The heat of the stronger colony will help keep the 

 nucleus warm. The same plan will do with an eight-frame 

 hive, only your principal colony must be crowded on five 

 frames, unless you can have six and still have room for the 

 division-board and the two frames of the nucleus. But it's a 

 pretty strong colony that cannot be crowded on live combs at 

 this lime of year. 



2. They may go through all right alone, but will do bet- 

 ter to be in a hive with another colony, as mentioned in an- 

 swer No. 1. Sugar is all they need for wintering, but they 

 can rear uo brood in spring without at least a little pollen. 



3. From Caruiola, a province in Austria not very far from 

 northern Italy. 



4. They have done so for me and for many others. But 

 you must look out closer than with ten-frame hives to see that 

 they have plenty of stores. 



5. Yes, you can get an extractor for any size of frame 

 you are likely to have. 



6. The majority of those who run for extracted honey in 

 this country think it is better to have more than one story. 



7. At the end of frames U inch is enough, providing your 

 frames hang perfectly true, but many have the space ?8 of an 

 inch. Between the bottom-bar and the floor the space may be 

 V or half an inch, or more. 



S. I suppose they are queens reared in Texas, just as 

 queens you rear are Virginia queens. 



y. There is no particular time, but not, I think, till after 

 pretty hot weather: No doubt honey dew is to be found in 

 Virginia at times. Some years produce more than others. 



lO. Probably they use according to the place and the 

 sealing rather than according to the kind. First that which 

 is in the brood-nest, and if any is unsealed then that comes 

 next. If there is none unsealed, and If it is warm enough for 

 them to move freely to all parts of the hive, they will next 

 bring into the cluster that which is in the outside combs. 



