March (,, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



153 



fiirthor, wi^ cxpccl to lii-i tlm iiifDriiiatioii from you, iinli^n 

 you'll come and do tlio trick for us. (^(uno, now, {c'V"' down. 

 "and got us out of this scrii|ic. Will vvatcli for njply. 



Iowa. 



Answkk— If I was to tell you in lull In this d(:|)urtnnrit 

 how to transf()r boos, I'm afraid tin; lOdltor would tell inc thcio 

 wasn't room for it. Vou sc(\ thcr(^ arc certain thln>;s so l'cu- 

 crally needed to he known hy all hec-kc^cpers that they are 

 put toRcther in a text-hook, and If there were no such hool;, 

 and each nc^wconier had to depend on linditiK In the Journal 

 tlu! thln{£s that arc C(uitaiuc>d in the text-hook, it wonid lake; 

 up a very !ar;i'c part of the journal. Vou mi};ht like that very 

 well for this year, but next year and ove.ry year aftei. t he 

 same thiuRs would have to be told over and over again, and 

 you'd get mad at the repetition, and want something fresh. 

 In the same way, those who have been taking the .lournal be- 

 fore you, would f;et mad, if space was taken up now with 

 things easily found in a text-book. A good text-book will more 

 than pay for itself liy telliut; you what to do witli those tljrei^ 

 colonies, to say nothing of the barrid. You'll have jjlenty of 

 tini(! to study it pretty thoroughly Ion;; before^ it's time In do 

 any transferrin};-, and after studying it if you find anythint; lliat 

 needs further elucidation, send on a whole lot of questions and 

 I'll take delight in answering them. That's what I'm here f(jr. 



Sections Crosswise in the Super. 



1. Can we prodnce as nice, and as much, honey in sec- 

 tions crosswise in the super as lengthwise'? Ohio. 



Answer. — Yes, if the hive is properly leveled. 



Feeding at Transferring Time— Keeping Queens. 



I expect to transfer a colony from a box-hive to a Danz. 

 hive, fixed with full sheets of foundation. 



1. IIow much may I feed that will not overcrowd them 

 while building comb to receive it '? 



2. In case a queen is sent me too soon can I keep her'? If 

 so, how, and for what length of time ? Penna. 



Answers. — 1. That depends upon the bees gathering 

 from the outside while they are drawing out the foundation. 

 Don't think of setting them at it before it is late enough for 

 bees to gather from the fields. If they are getting a fair 

 yield of nectar there will be no need of feeding. If it is warm 

 weather in the fall and they are getting nothing from the 

 fields, you can feed 25 or 30 pounds of syrup without danger 

 of overcrowding. 



2. Y'ou can keep her in the cage a week, two weeks, or 

 more, if the weather is warm, by merely seeing that there is 

 always plenty of food and drink, and that the temperature 

 shall not go below perhaps SO degrees. Or, you can put the 

 cage between the frames of a colony of bees, and there will 

 generally be some good-natured bees that will feed her. I'm 

 afraid, however, that you are thinking of getting a queen 

 before the weather is warm. Don't. 



Hive to Start With—Bottom Starters in Sections 

 Wiring Frames— Stimulative Feeding. 



i. I intend to start in bee-culture and run for comb honey. 

 Which do you consider the best hive for that purpose '? And 

 what size ? 



2. Will it aid, in order to get nice, full sections of honey, 

 to put a starter in the bottom of the section as well as the top ? 

 If so, how wide should the starters be ? 



3. Is it all right to wire brood-frames when only a 2-inch 

 starter is used '? Or does it pay to use full sheets of founda- 

 tion '.' 



4. Which is the best way to feed bees in the spring, to 

 stimulate brood-rearing, in the open air or in feeders'? 



Wisconsin. 



AN.SWERS. — 1. I don't 'Know. Bees will do well in almost 

 any hive with proper management. It makes a difference to 

 the bee-keeper, however, whether he has a hive that is easily 

 handled. Perhaps the easiest way to tell you what I think in 

 that regard is to say that in my own practice I am using dove- 

 tailed hives with Miller frames. My hives are 8-frame, but 

 unless you give the bees very close attention I feel pretty sure 

 lU-frame hives are better, and I have used both kinds by the 

 hundred. (But don't understand that to mean more than 

 three or four hundred.) 



2. Vi!s, they are more certain to bo IIIIimI down to the bol- 

 tom. A good wirlth for a bottom starter Is }i Inch. 



li. It Is not worth while to wire framest with such a narrow 

 start(!r. I liellove It pays to use foil Hhoets of foundation in 

 brood frames, by which means you are sure of worker-comb, 

 and your comb's will be straight and just where you want 

 thorn. 



4. Probably one can be made to do as well as the other, but 

 with opeuair feeiling you are not sure which colonies Ret Ihi' 

 benelil, and you are not sun^ that your bees will not divide 

 with those of your neighbors. 'Remember, however, that 

 stimulative feedi'ng In spring is a two-edged »word, and it 1» a 

 safe thing for beginners not to meddle with It at ail. 



The Queen's "Feelers.' 



Several times during my work among the bees and ijueens, 

 I have noticed queens go through maneuvers that Inclines me 

 to believe that in a perfi'('t ipieen the so-called stinger Is a 

 feeler that helps her to depo.sit her eggs so systematically. 

 I would like to know your opinion as to whether this would 

 be possible. I have had no queens sting me, and I hav<; 

 thought that thos(> persons stung by qu<^ens happen to have 

 imperfectly developed queens, more on thc^ work(^r-bee order. 



I could as honestly believe that the qufeen, in perfect de- 

 velopment, has a feeler as to believe she has a stinger. 



C'ALirORNIA. 



Answer — There hardly seems to be any need of a feeler 

 at both ends; for before a (lueen lays an egg in a cell she 

 always explores it by thrusting her head into the cell, and un- 

 less she can see in the cell— and she can hardly see when she 

 lays at night — it must be that she examines the cell by means 

 of her " feelers'' or antenn;c. 



Solar Wax-Extractor— Foundation-Fastener and Sec- 

 tion-Folder. 



1. How can I make a solar wax-extractor for melting 

 combs ? 



2. How can I fasten full sheets of foundation in sections? 



3. Send me a simple plan of a section-folder, that I can 

 make myself. New Y'ork. 



Answers. — 1. The essential thing is a box covered with 

 glass, and it may be of any size, from a small box covered with 

 an 8x10 pane of glass to 'a house large enough for your fam- 

 ily to live in. Then there must be a surface on which to put 

 the combs. This may be of perforated metal to allow the wax. 

 to pass through the perforations, or it may be without per- 

 forations, the surface slanting so the melted wax will run oflr. 

 Under this a vessel to catch the wax. 



2. If you have only a dozen to put in. you can use a patty- 

 knife. Have the foundation warm enough to be tolerably soft, 

 work in a warm room, and press the foundation hard into the 

 wood. If vou have them by the hundred, it may pay you to 

 get a Parker foundation-fastener. 



3. 0, bless you ! I couldn't do that. Don't know of any 

 so simple but what you can buy them for a good deal less than 

 you could make them. But if you think you can't afford to- 

 "buy one, you can fold sections pretty well without any ma- 

 chine. But if you have a considerable number of sections to 

 fold, I advise you to buy a machine. 



Our Wood Binder (or Holder) is made to take all the 

 copies of the American Bee Journal for a year. It is sent 

 by mail for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. The Bee 

 Journals can be inserted as soon as they are received, and 

 thus preserved for future reference. Upon receipt of SI. 00 

 for your Bee Journal subscription a full year m advance, 

 we will mail you a 'Wood Binder free — if you will menti^nl 



Why Not Help a Little— both your neig-hbor bee-keep- 

 ers and the old American Bee Journal— by sending to us the 

 names and addresses of such as you may know do not now 

 get this journal ? We will je glad to send them sample 

 copies, so that they may become acquainted with the paper, 

 and subscribe for "it, thus putting themselves in the line of 

 success with bees. Perhaps you can get them to subscribe, 

 send in their dollars, and secure for your trouble some of 

 the premiums we are constantly offering as rewards for 

 such effort. 



