330 



AMERICAN BEE JOlIEIvAi^ 



May 22, 1901 



make matters safe you can kill all the escort bees without 

 fear as to conveying' the disease. 



4. If I wanted to be very saving in outlaj-, I would give 

 a swarm four or five frames with starters, and when these 

 frames were filled out I would give the remaining frames 

 filled with foundation. I do not think of any other condi- 

 tion except that of the necessity of economy that would 

 make it desirable to do other than to give full frames of 

 foundation to fill the whole hive. The super may be given 

 to the swarm as soon as it is hived if a queen-excluder is 

 used, otherwise there should be a delay of perhaps two days 

 to avoid the danger of having the queen go up in the super. 



Introducing aueens. 



If I take an Alley queen-trap and trap the first queen, 

 can I introduce a new queen without using an introducing- 

 cage. if I don't catch the swarm ? Wisconsin. 



Answer. — If you have an Alley trap at the entrance, 

 the queen will be caught in the trap and the swarm will re- 

 turn ; and I suppose your idea then is to remove the queen 

 that is in the trap and give another queen in its place. The 

 chances are that the new qneen will be killed. Even if 

 caged, the plan would not be a success, unless you wish the 

 bees to swarm with the new queen. 



Putting on Supers— Placing Hives. 



1. My bees work from about 7 a. m, till the sun goes down 

 when it is a nice day. and they have something on the hind 

 legs as they go into the hive. Can you tell me what it is ? 

 It looks like honej'. 



2. When do you prefer to put on supers. 



3. Will bees do as well to have their hives all in a row 

 about 12 inches apart, or is it better to have them further ? 



Iowa. 

 Answers. — 1. Bees never carry honey on their legs. 

 Usually the load carried on their legs is pollen, but pollen 

 does not look like honey. Sometimes propolis or bee-glue 

 is carried on the bee's hind legs, and looks somewhat like 

 very thick honey. 



2. As soon as the first white-clover blossoms. 



3. The}' are better not to be placed regularly quite so 

 close together, but you can manage to have all right without 

 occupying any more ground. Leave the hives with the odd 

 numbers, 1, 3, 5, etc.; right where they are, and then move 

 No. 2 close up to Xo. 1, No. 4 close to No. 3. No. 6 close to 

 No. 5, and so on. 



-*-•-• 



Increase Wanted— Extracting Honey. 



1. I put 9 colonies into the cellar to winter, one of them 

 being a nucleus colony that I started about September IS. 

 You remember I wrote you during the winter the particulars 

 about this colony. I put them out April 5. Well, all of the 

 9 colonies are in good shape, as far as I can see, and I 

 thought I would divide them instead of letting them swarm. 

 I have 3 extra hives on hand. Do you think I would better 

 divide, or let them swarm once ? I want to increase, but not 

 too fast. 



2. Can I, or rather would it be practical to extract from 

 the brood-chamber the frames of honey used during the 

 winter or spring ? 



3. What is the best plan to arrange the hive for ex- 

 tracting ? Should I use a double hive, or just the brood- 

 chamber of one hive ? 



4. Is the Cowan extractor as good as any ? 



5. Would you advise me to get a 2-frame extractor ? I in- 

 tend to keep bees always, and want to keep 40 or SO colonies, 

 so you can judge from this. As I never saw an extractor 

 at work, I do not know much or anything about it. 



Nebraska. 

 Answers. — 1. If you have not much experience in the 

 matter, perhaps it will be as well to let each colony swarm 

 once. 



2. If warm enough, and if the honey is not granulated, 

 it can be extracted. But it will almost surely be better to 

 leave it in the brood-nest. You will find that up to the time 

 of the beginning of the main honey-flow the bees will con- 

 sume a large amount of honej', and if you extract all out of 

 the brood-chamber j-ou will compel the bees to fill up the 

 space you have made vacant before they do anything in the 

 super. It is not at all likely that there is any more honey in 

 the brood-chamber now than there should be. 



3. It is not considered a good plan to disturb the brood- 



chamber at all by extracting the honey from any of the 

 combs in it. Put a queen-excluder over the brood-chamber, 

 and over this put a second storj- to contain the extracting- 

 combs. 



4. Yes, it is an excellent extractor. 



5. Unless you expect to run above one or two hundred 

 colonies, the 2-frame will be all right. Some say it is all 

 right for 200 or more. 



Painting Hives— Foul Brood— Wax-Extractors. 



1. Will it hurt bees to paint the hives thej- are in ? 



2. Is there any danger of getting foul brood by intro- 

 ducing queens bought of queen-breeders ? 



3. How can I make a good solar wax-extractor ? 



. Vermont. 



1. No. except that with ordinary paint there may be a 

 little trouble in having their feet daubed with it while it is 

 very fresh. It will help the matter^ to use a drier in the 

 paint and to do the painting in the evening. 



2. It is pretty generally agreed that a queen will not 

 carry the disease, but the workers might if taken from a 

 diseased colony. So it is safe to kill the escort. Answer- 

 ing your question on general principles, it might be said 

 that the danger of getting foul brood through buying 

 queens is very small ; for an honest man would not sell 

 queens if he had foul brood in his apiary, and the number 

 who would be so dishonest as to send out the disease is 

 probably very small. 



3. That depends a good deal on what you mean by " a 

 solar wax-extractor." You can put a pane of glass over a 

 box, and have in the box a sheet of tin with small perfora- 

 tions, placing on this the scraps to be melted, with a recep- 

 tacle underneath to catch the melted wax, and it will do a 

 good bit of work. If you mean a solar wax-extractor as 

 good as one you can buy, it will not pay you to undertake it, 

 and it would not be worth while to give a description, for 

 you can buy one cheaper than you can make it. If you 

 want something still better than a solar wax-extractor, get 

 a steam wax-press. 



# ■ » 



Spraying with White Hellebore. 



If gooseberries and currants are spraj-ed with white 

 hellebore, will it do any harm ? Will it kill the bees ? 



Ohio. 



Answer — That depends upon w'nen the spraj-ing is 

 done. When the plants are not in blossom, the spraying 

 will do no harm. Spraying when the plants are in blossom 

 will be a damage to the bees and also to the fruit crop. 



A Beginner's Questions. 



1. Does the old queen come out with the first swarm ? 

 If so, how old is the virgin queen at that time ? 



2. How many days old is she before she makes her 

 bridal trip ? 



3. Do they ever mate while swarming ? 



4. After the young queen hatches, how long will the two 

 stay in the hive without swarming or killing one of them ? 



5. I hived a good swarm April 20. Will they be apt to 

 swarm this year if I give them plenty of room ? I gave 

 them three frames of drawn comb and five with brood- 

 foundation starters. 



6. How soon shall I put on a super? 



Southern Illinois. 

 Answers. — 1. The old queen comes out with the first 

 swarms generally about the time the first queen-cell is 

 sealed, or about a week before the young queen leaves her 

 cell. 



2. Somewhere from five to ten days old. 



3. Sometimes. 



4. The old queen leaves before the young one leaves 

 her cell. 



5. Likely not ; but they maj-. 



6. Just a little before the main flow begins. In your 

 location it is likely white clover is the first thing from which 

 surplus is stored, and you should put on the supers as soon 

 as you see the first white-clover blossoms. 



I am sorry you didn't ask the question, "Should I get a 

 text-book ? " Of course it might not do for me to answer 

 the question you have not asked, but if you had asked a 

 question of that kind I should have said that it would prob- 

 ably be big money in your pocket to pay $5.00 for a text 

 book, and then study it carefully. 



