746 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mv. 25, 



Some customers will give as much for a pound ofextracted as 

 for a pound of comb, if the quality is the same and they are 

 sure both are genuine, but the large majority will pay more 

 for the comb. Undoubtedly, however, belief in purity enhan- 

 ces the value in the eyes of the consumer. 



2. I thinit not. As a producer of comb honey, I pay no 

 attention to the price of extracted. Neither, in fixing a price 

 on my honey, providing 1 have anything to do with fixing the 

 price, do I figure at all on the cost of production. Some years 

 my honey has cost ine ten times as much per pound as this 

 year, but the price was very nearly the same. Instead of fig- 

 uring on the price of extracted and the cost of production, I 

 figure ou the amount of comb honey produced in general, and 

 the marlfet quotations. Probably most comb honey produc- 

 ers do about the same way. A good many times, however, 

 there is no figuring whatever on the part of the bee-keeper. 

 He simply puts his honey into the hands of a commission man 

 with instructions (if he gives any instructions) to get all he 

 can. 



3 and 4. Altho your data may be somewhat faulty, you are 

 undoubtedly right in thinking that whatever awakens suspic- 

 ion in the minds of consumers as to the purity of comb honey 

 will have some tendency to lessen the demand and thus lower 

 the price. Whether artificial comb would hurt the reputation 

 of comb honey would depend somewhat on the character of 

 the comb. If made as thin and of the same material as that 

 made by the bees, it could hardly make much difference, cer- 

 tainly not so much difference as to overbalance the advantage, 

 providing the common estimate is correct, that bees will store 

 twice as much honey if they don't have to furnish any comb. 



But why speculate as to a thing that has no existence? 

 Artificial comb completely built out, of such character that 

 any intelligent bee-keeper would use it for the production of 

 comb honey, has never yet to my knowledge been made, and 

 it is doubtful if it ever will be. The nearest that has ever 

 come to it is the drawn foundation, or foundation with side- 

 walls perhaps ^4 inch deep — a long ways from fully-built comb. 

 Whether this can be furnlsht at a price to make it profitable, 

 and whether the bees will use it in a satisfactory manner, are 

 yet unsolved problems. But if it should be found profitable to 

 use it, I have little fear of its effect upon the market on the 

 ground of prejudice against it except as such prejudice is 

 aroused by the unreasonable objections of bee-keepers them- 

 selves. Comb foundation is used in most of th^ comb honey 

 that is produced, and I very much doubt whether abee-l<eeper 

 could get any higher price for his honey if the consumer 

 were sure no foundation were in it. Now if the consumer is 

 satisfied to have in his comb honey a certain part of the comb 

 made of wax furnlsht to the bees, why should he object when 

 twice that amount is furnisht ? If there should be a falling in 

 price on account of the greater ease of production, the bee- 

 keeper would at least be no worse off for it, and the consum- 

 ing public would be better off. Surely bee-keepers are large- 

 hearted enough to care something for the welfare of others 

 when it costs nothing to themselves. 



Replacing Qucen§ — Removing Honey from llie 

 Brood Chamber. 



1. I have 12 colonies of bees, and next spring I wish to 

 strengthen them as much as possible by replacing with new 

 queens. Would you advise me to get tested, or untested, 

 queens ? 



2. As I take the queens from the hives, would it not do to 

 transfer those that from appearance seem prolific 7 If not, 

 why not ? 



3. When I wish to remove honey from the main body of 

 the hive, how will I know where to find brood-combs and 

 queen-cells so that they may not be disturbed? F. P. 



Answers. — 1. I would hardly advise it. With little ex- 

 perience in the matter, there would be some probability that 

 some of your colonies would be queeuless for some time, and 

 In any case the laying be somewhat hindered by the change, 

 so that your colonies would not be as strong as if you let them 

 entirely alone. If your stock is good stock, changing the 

 queens would be of no use, unless the new queens are of better 

 stock. If your stock is poor, better get a tested queen, then 

 from her progeny supply the other colonies with queens in 

 harvest time. 



2. If you mean you're going to transfer to movable-comb 

 hives, by all means transfer queens as well, if all right. 



3. It is a mistake to suppose that there Is a queen-cell 

 somewhere In the hive that Is the permanent abode of royalty. 

 A queen-cell Is used merely to rear in It a young queen, and it 

 is then destroyed. Usually there will be a number of queen- 



cells in a hive, and they may be in any part of the hive. You 

 needn't worry about finding any except about the time of 

 swarming or at the time of superseding a queen. Besides the 

 queen-cells, which haveonly a temporary existence, there are 

 drone and worker-cells, and all the comb in the hive consists 

 of these two kinds. You will easily tell drone-comb from 

 worker by its larger size. Drone measures four cells to the 

 Inch, and worker five. 



It will pay you hhj to get a good text-book on bees. 



Feeding maple Syrup — Honey for Wintering. 



1. Is maple syrup good to feed bees in early spring, to 

 cause them to breed up ? I mean the last runs, that is not 

 salable. 



2. How many pounds of honey does a colony of bees con- 

 sume from the time they are put into the cellar till they are 

 taken out? New York. 



Answers. — 1. Maple syrup will do very well to feed after 

 bees fly in spring, not feeding so much or so late that there is 

 any danger of its going into the surplus honey. 



2. The amount varies very much, and sometimes with no 

 apparent reason. Perhaps from 5 to 20 pounds will be con- 

 sumed from the time of putting in the cellar to taking out, but 

 it must not be forgotten that a goodly quantity will be needed 

 after taking out before any one will be gathered from outside. 



'Wintering a Late Robbed Colon)'. 



I have a colony of bees that was robbed in October of all 

 honey and comb. They went to work and now they have a 

 piece of comb about 6 by 12 inches. Not knowing what to do 

 I have been feeding them on granulated sugar melted up. 

 Yesterday I got some liquid honey with bee-bread^in it. They 

 like it. I have them in a room warm enough so they can work 

 every day on the food. Can I feed them and keep them over 

 winter? If so, what will I have to feed them? What tem- 

 perature ought the room to be kept? Michigan. 



Answer. — It isn't the surest thing in the world that a col- 

 ony will winter all right if late in the season it has not only to 

 be fed but to build its combs. Nevertheless you are probably 

 doing about the right thing with it, and will do well to keep 

 right on till you think the bees have enough stores to last them 

 through the winter. Twenty pounds of food will make them 

 safe, aud if the colony is weak less will answer. But a weak 

 colony will consume more in proportion than a strong one. 

 That is, if you have one colony twice as strong in bees as 

 another, it will not consume twice as much stores, altho it wilt 

 consume more than the weaker one. 



Instead of making the bees build their combs, it would be 

 a good thing if you could buy from a neighbor two or three 

 empty brood-combs, or, still better, combs filled with sealed 

 honey. 



After you are through feeding the bees, don't try to keep 

 them in a warm place, but put them in a cellar where they 

 will be kept dark and quiet. The right temperature is that at 

 which they will be most quiet. That will likely be somewhere 

 about 450. 



Honey as Pood is the name of a 24-page pamphlet, 

 S^xG'i inches, which we are now printing fur general dis- 

 tribution among those who should be users of honey. It is 

 just the thing for bee-keepers to hand to every one of their 

 customers, and also to those whom they would like to have as 

 customers. It is very handy in size — just right to go into an 

 ordinary business envelope. It contains 12 illustrations, five 

 of which are somewhat comic, and help to make it attractive. 

 There is a blank space for your name and address. About 

 yi of the pamphlet was written by Dr. Miller, and then we 

 added thereto many new and valuable honey recipes — for 

 cooking and for medicinal purposes. In all, it makes a neat 

 little pamphlet. Send name and address and we will mall you 

 a sample of " Honey as Food." 



Prices for quantities, postpaid — 25 for 30 cents; 50 for 

 50 cents ; 100 for 85 cents : 200 for .$1.40. By express, 

 not prepaid, 500 for $3.00; 1,000, $5.00. 



Tbe VIcEvoy Foul Brood Treatment Is 



given in Dr. Howard's pamphlet on " Foul Brood ; Its Natural 

 History and Rational Treatment." It is the latest publication 

 on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 

 Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 

 —both for $1.10. 



