Keb. 



1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



139 



frames and then hi)t bricks on tlioso. As t(i viMitllatloii, lliiiay 

 be thiit it is all ri^lit, and It inay not. If tlio air of llm cellar 

 smells fmil an<l closo, try Id cloar It up. Iloniove docayiiiK 

 vegetables if any aro present. Open tlie inside door and lei iho 

 air from upstairs gn into tln^ cellar. If you cannot do Ibis in 

 dayiifjlit because of the bees comiiiK np, do it at ni;;lil . It 

 may b<' lliat opening an inside door will do all that Is neediil 

 to bring up the temperature. 



The Dr. Miller Hive Bottom-Board. 



On page 70, Mr. Doollttio describes the Dr. Miller boMom- 

 board, but his discriptlon hardly tallies with Uw picture tli.ii> 

 given. Which Is right? And how is tlio bottom-board inaile ? 



SuUSCltlHKlC. 



Answer. — Mr. Doolittle is Hsually very careful to make 

 no incorrect statements, and the present case is no exception. 

 Mr. Doolittle describes the bottom-board as I used it for years, 

 and it is no little gratilication to me to know that a man of 

 such experience and judt;nieiit lias <;iven it his approval. 'I'Ih' 

 reversible feature was the valuable thing about it, allowing a 

 di^ep space in winter and as hallow one in summer. The re- 

 versing necessitated lifting;' tlie hive every time, which I con- 

 sider a small cost for the advantage. Hut I thought it would 

 be better if I co\ild change to the shallower space in summer 



without the lifting. So 1 devised a false bottom to fill up 

 the space in summer, making the expense more and the labor 

 less. 



In the picture you see at the left a bottom-board with the 

 false bottom in it, ready for summer use. For winter all that 

 is necessary is to slide out the false bottom, and you have 

 the space two inches deep. Back of this bottom-board, stand- 

 ing up, is another false bottom, showing the under side, but 

 the light upon it was so strong that at the right hand side 

 there is nothing clearly defined about it. 



Now, as to the making: The bottom board is a plain box 2 

 inches deep, and open at one end. It is made of six pieces of 

 % stuff: two pieces 2'J}i\2, one piece 12;sx2, and three 

 pieces I'SyixTj'i. The outside dimensions of the false bottom 

 are IS^x •■lxl>2. It is constructed of two pieces IS^xl^x 

 j^, one piece 10xl'4^x>2. and two pieces 1 1 x9;'sx'4. You see, 

 it is made on the same general plan as the bottom-board, only 

 smaller and much lighter. When in use, the closed end of the 

 false bottom is toward the entrance. 



While talking about the picture I may as well tell you a 

 little more about it. The hive that you see has its entrance 

 closed ready for hauling. A piece of wirecloth folded over 

 the ends and bottom is placed against the entrance and held 

 there by a piece of lath with a nail at each end. and usually an- 

 other nail in the middle driven through the lath into the front 

 of the hive. The stand on which the hive is placed carries 

 double and is a very simple affair. It is made of common 

 fence-boards 6 inches wide. Two pieces 3 3 inches long are 

 nailed upon two other pieces or cleats 24 inches long. That's 

 all. Of course the longer pieces are uppermost. 



Sticking Comb to Separators— 8 or 10 Frames. 



1. I had some trouble about the bees sticking honey to 

 the slat separators. What is tlie reason ? I believe I left it 

 on too long : still, that ought not to make much difference, or 

 else they did not have room to store it. 



2. Which do yon think will be the best to uho, the 10- 

 frame or the H-frame hive ? Of I'ourHO there will be more bi'e« 

 and larger swarm-t In the KJ-frame. and it will take more to 

 feed them through the winter, but I thought they would win- 

 ter betl(!r,thr' larger body together. What is your experience? 



I.MIIANA. 



Answkkh.-- 1. Iteing too much crowded may have caused 

 thi' bees to build the sections to the separators. Sometimes, 

 however, they do It without bidng too much crowded, and I 

 hardly know why. 



'.'. Your own experience in the matter is a great deal, and 

 if sou found lOframe hives best, stick to them. They cer- 

 tainly do not require- so clo-^e watching for safe wint<!ring as 

 do the 8- frame hives. 



New Swarm Rearing a Queen. 



When a colony swarms, if I catch the queen and kill her, 

 and give the swarm a frame of young brood and eggs from a 

 select queen, will they rear a queen? Ii.unois. 



Answkr.— I don't know. If you should kill the queen 

 immediately upon hiving tin- swarm or before hiving it, there 

 would be a probability that the swarm would desert the brood 

 and return to tin' old hive. If it was a second swarm there 

 might be more than one queen. If, however, yon should wait 

 perhaps 24 hours before removing the queen, you would have 

 a pretty sure thing of it. Hut if you try the plan it is not 

 very likely you will follow it up. for the colony will be badly 

 reduced before any new " fielders '' appear on the scene. 



Preparing Bees for Moving, Etc. 



1. My brother and I have 6.5 colonies to move about the 

 first of March. We would like to have your advice as to the 

 best way to prepare them to move. 



We will move them to northeast Missouri. Is that a good 

 country for bees '.' Iow.\. 



Answers. — 1. Specific instructions for preparation can 

 hardly be given without knowing just what kind of hives you 

 hav<'. You will, however, besides the information you can 

 get in your text-book, get some instructions from answers 

 given in this department in late numbers. It may be repeated 

 here, that the chief thing is to have the bees securely fastened 

 in. the hives with provision for abundant ventilation, by hav- 

 ing top of the hive covered with wire-cloth or otherwise, and 

 then to have the hives firmly fastened so they cannot move 

 about in hauling, with the frames running parallel with the 

 rails on a railroad, and parallel with the axles on a wagon. 



2. I don't know about the particular localities in that 

 region. 



m • ^ 



Filling T Supers with Sections. 



I see you speak of filling supers with empty sections and 

 then putting in the T tins. I fasten the T tins to the bottom 

 of the super. Is that the best way ? Ohio. 



Answer. — I prefer to have the T tins loose, for the sake 

 of having it easier to take out the sections. The super is re- 

 versed and the contents pushed out, T tins and all. Then it 

 is an easv thing to lift the tins from their places, after which 

 the sections can be separated. But " filling supers and then 

 putting in the T tins " hardly gives the right impression, for 

 it might be understood that the 24 sections were put in the 

 super and then the T tins were put in, which woul4 be impos- 

 sible. The first row of sections is put in one end of the super, 

 tlien a T tin is slipped under this first row of sections, and a 

 T tin is in like manner put under the second and third row. 

 In filling the super it is not left on an exactly flat surface, but 

 little strips are nailed to the surface in such a way as to raise 

 the sections an eighth or a quarter of au inch, which gives 

 plenty of room to slip the T tin under the sections. Then 

 when the super is lifted from the board the sections settle 

 down in their places. 



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