April 3, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



217 



quieter bees are kept, or roniaiii during the lime they arc in 

 the cellar, the better, and fresh air admitted by means of 

 an open door or window certainly arouses and excites tlnm. 

 In some cases this fresh air causes a great roar of excite- 

 nicnl and I believe it does harm. 



'J'berc is a saying in regard to drugs, to the efTerl that 

 their use is atways a great evil, but that their use is sonu-tuncs 

 necessary in order to overcome evil. Now 1 believe that 

 Ibis fresh air does barm by exciting the bees, but I know 

 much greater harm would result in some cases if it w.is not 

 admitted. In the case 1 have been dcscri'bing I do not bcluve 

 a dozen colonics would have survived if the windf)ws bad 

 remained closed from the time the bees were put in until 

 the weather was warm enough to put them out in the spruig. 

 I have always been an advocate of plenty of fresh air for 

 cellar-wintered bees, but I l)elieve it is much better to admit 

 it througli a room or ventilator, in some way gradually, so 

 as not to excite the bees. Southern Minnesota. 



* The Afterthought. 



The "Old Reliable" seen through New and Unreliable aiaases. 

 By B. B. HASTY, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, O. 



HIVE-COVERS AND ANTS. 



Another way to have the double cover free from ants would 

 be to hav(^ the two edges entirely open. Then, if it was thought 

 worth the fuss and frafiments involved, they might be closed 

 for winter with strips of wood — to be pulled off in the spring. 

 Page 132. 



THAT ADVICE TO BEGINNERS. 



Beginner's advice for those wlio ought not to begin, eh ? 

 That's all right, Mr. Morehouse; yet, like the famous and 

 brief advice to those about to 7narry, it may not be heeded. 

 When the passion and the fever burn at their highest, a moun- 

 tain pitched right iu the path would be only a pebble under 

 the wheels. Page 133. 



SWARMING. 



Mrs. Barber's remark that during an epidemic of swarm- 

 fever more than half the young queens disappeared before be- 

 ginning to lay, is an important corner of an important subject. 

 Workers feel murderously hateful because their desires are 

 continually thwarted — is my guess about it — and it correct, 

 how are we going to help ourselves except by letting them have 

 their own way ? A modified guess might be that bees at such 

 times are excitedly meddlesome, and too easily convinced that 

 somebody needs killing. 



I think abundant pollen-supply and steady honey-flow — 

 not quite heavy efiougli for much surplus — to be two of the 

 most important provocatives to swarm-fever. Bad wintering 

 the winter before stands about third, perchance. Hot weather, 

 frequent showers, small hives, and frequent manipulation — 

 especially persecution to kill their drone-brood — are also pro- 

 vocative, I think. Mr. Ilawley's remark that during a heavy 

 honey-flow two apiaries under the same management behave 

 differently about this matter of swarming — well, it makes one 

 scratch his head and say : " There it is again." As Mr. Aikin 

 rightly suggests, enthusiasm for honey-storing on the part of 

 the bees is the grand remedy ; and this must begin before the 

 fever gets started. Uufortunately, that's what we can't pos- 

 sibly secure when by reason of dearth it is lacking. Page 135. 



THE DEMAND FOR EXTRACTED HONEY. 



Wonder if A. F. Foster is a prophet where he says the 

 use of extracted honey is going to decline relatively. Doubt- 

 less would if certain evils are to continue forever. But let us 

 brace up and say, "The Kingdom of Glory is coming " — and 

 then pitch into the evils as often as we can. My customers 

 are decidedly increasing X,\u\ proportion of extracted which 

 they take. Page 135. 



MATING QUEENS IN CONFINEMENT. 



Mr. Flower, you are rough on the editors, to complain of 

 the small space devoted to mating in confinement. How can 

 they devote space to it until competent brethren try the thing 

 some more, and report ? It seemed last spring that we should 

 have something new in that line ; but the season passed, and 

 it now looks as if nobody actually got at it. Page 137. 



I.ONO-TONOI'KD MKKH AND WOMKN. 



.\nd Mr. I'lower is a lltl' nrngb on the long-tongued bee, 

 als(j. 'I'he long-tongued woiijari does, mor<' freijiiently than 

 the ordinary woman, maki- :: wonderful housekei^per keeps 

 th<^ dirt out, keeps tbe Hies oni ki'eps the f>oy8 out, keeps the 

 traveling agents out ( " IJIamnml cut diamond : " and ■' Two of 

 a trade :" ) kcicps thi' owner of i be house out, when he might 

 be wasting lime in an easy cbair; and keeps suporlluous eom- 

 panv out, that might bo wasting tb<; time and resourcei). Page 



lar. 



WINTERING A NUCLEUS IN AN OBSEIIVATION BIVK. 



Comrade Chrysostom certainly did a unkjue thing when 

 he wintered out-of-doors (Ncirtbirn Itjdiana) a three-frame 

 nucleus in an observation hive. The tfiree frames, if I under- 

 stand aright, were one above tbe other ; and the only space 

 the bees had to cluster in were l)etween the one comb and the 

 outside glass. Possibly glass has a value as a winti^r wall 

 wbicli we have not (^'cploited y<a. Page 14'J. 



CAN BEES HEAR ? 



If we are to take at full face value the account on page 142 

 an<l 1 43, it S(!enis to be the long-looked-for, and al ways-provok- 

 ingly-lacking. positive proof that bees can bear. It they can 

 b(^ taught by long feeding — and patient whistling of a particu- 

 lar tune always wliile feeding — to leave the hive and lly sev- 

 eral rods at the sound of the whistle, what more can be asked ? 

 But there must be no "gammon" — no intentional or acciden- 

 tal timing of the sound with some other thumping or display 

 or pc^rfume which actually calls the bees. And it must not be 

 always at exactly tbe same time of day. On the wind side a 

 smell' too slight to be noticed by people would probably be suf- 

 ficient. Possibly tbe perspiration smell of their keeper stand- 

 ing there would be enough, especially if they had been drilled 

 to that by licking honey off his hands. I, too, think bees 

 hear: but when we get the positive evidence let it really be 

 positive. That they are often non-responsive to sounds fails 

 to prove they lack hearing. They are just as often amazingly 

 non-responsive to tbe sense of sight ; but that does not prove 

 they cannot see. 



Questions and Answers. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. O. O. AULLBR, Marengo, ni, 



(The Qoestlons may be mailed to the Bee Journal ofBce, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers by mall. — Editor,! 



Keeping Combs of Honey for Swarms. 



I lost 4 colonies of bees out of 26 this winter. The 

 combs in the 4 hives are as bright as ever and ?4 full of nice 

 sealed honey. How can I keep these combs and honey for 

 swarms next season and prevent wax-moths from destroy- 

 ing it then, using a disinfectant which will not cause the 

 bees to leave the hive in which I shall put a swarm on these 

 combs ? What should I use, and how ? Ohio. 



Answer. — Use bisulphide of carbon. Set a saucer or 

 other dish over the frames, pour into it one or two teaspoon- 

 fuls of bisulphide of carbon, then cover up as nearly air- 

 tight as you can, having no leaks at top or bottom ; pile 

 them up in a pile and treat the whole at once, putting the 

 drug on top of the pile, and using a fourth of a pint for the 

 four. You may as well leave the pile covered up till the 

 next day. Then if you keep the combs where the moths 

 will not get at them, they will be all right till you are ready 

 to put swarms in them. Look out '. though. Bisulphide of 

 carbon is highly explosive, and if you bring a light near it 

 there may be trouble. 



Transferring Bees from One Size Frame to Another. 



I have a colony in an old hive which I desire to transfer 

 to a dovetailed hive, but I do not want the mess of cutting 

 out the comb from the frames and fitting them to the Hoff- 

 man frames. TVould it be a good plan to put full sheets of 

 foundation in theframesof the new hive and place the old one 

 on top some time in May. with the queen in the lower hive 



