266 



Mar 28, 1907 



American 'Ree Journal 



matters little when they are moved, up to 

 fruit-bloom. A mile or less would be better 

 earlier. 



4. Yes, or for 3, especially if you expect to 

 increase. 



5. Many do not use escapes at all in run- 

 ning for extracted honey. If you make the 

 experiment with 1 or 2 at first, you can better 

 tell how many you want, if any. 



6. While it is generally thought best to use 

 excluders for extracted honey, some do not 

 use them, such prominent men as C P 

 Dadant and E. D. Townsend being of the 

 number. The latter says that by giving addi- 

 tional supers always on top he has no need for 

 excluders. If you find it is better to use them, 

 you will need one for each colony. 



7. I know nothing about Dongolian bees. 

 If you have good Italians you needn't worry. 



Comparison of Sections-Drone- 

 Comb 



1. Under ordinary conditions will il:ixi^x- 

 \% inch sections contain as much honey when 

 used without separators as i\iii}4xlX inch 

 sections when used with separators? 



2. Do you advise cutting out all drone- 

 comb in the brood-chamber in spring? 



3. Will bees repair the damaged comb with 

 worker-comb? Iowa. 



Answers.— 1. A fair way to decide would 

 be to try the two side by side in the same 

 super. I have never tried that, but we ought 

 to approximate the right answer by a little 

 tigurmg. L nder ordinary conditions the bees 

 leave a space of about »|' inch between 2 filled 

 sections, and the same space between the face 

 of a section and the adjoining separator 

 According to that, a V\ section without sep- 

 arator ought to produce a comb I'.; inches 

 thick, and a 1'^ section with separator ought 

 to produce a comb 1-'^ inches thick; thus 

 making the first 1-11 heavier than the second. 



2 and 3. It you cut out either drone or 

 worker-comb, or if in any way there is a hole 

 to be filled up by the bees, they are pretty 

 sure to fill It with drone-brood; so there's no 

 use in cutting out drone-comb and allowing 

 the bees to fill it afresh with the same kind of 

 comb. My advice would be to cut out the 

 drone-comb and at the same time fill the holes 

 with worker-comb or worker-foundation 



The "Dovetailed" Hive 



What is a "dovetailed hive?" I notice 

 that a number of hives are made with what is 

 commonly understood in bee-keeping as the 

 " dovetailed " corner, although it is not a 

 true dovetail, according to the dictionary 

 definition of the word. Illinois. 



Answer.— I'm not sure I know enough to 

 answer your question in a satisfactory man- 

 ner. It would be easy to say, " I don't know 

 what a dovetailed hive is; look at the cata- 

 logs and see;" but I think I do know a little 

 about what a dovetailed hive is, only it isn't 

 the easiest thing in the world to write defini- 

 tions. But I'll brace myself and try: 



A dovetailed hive is one that has no dove- 

 tailing about it, but its corners are fastened 

 with what would commonly be called square 

 tenons, lock-cornered or fingered; it has 

 frames lT'',x9'„, outside measure; any hive 

 coming under this description is a dovetailed 

 hive, provided it has no other name. Mind 

 you, though, I'm not to be held liable for any 

 damage that may occur from any incorrect- 

 ness in the foregoing description. I might 

 consult a number of the catalogs, and try to 

 make out from them more clearly just what a 

 dovetailed hive is; bat I don't want to do 

 that, for I don't want to get myself so mud- 

 dled that I'll be standing on my head the rest 

 of the day. 



Next thing you'll be firing at me a question 

 to this effect : " Why is it that any one ever 

 did such a thing as to call a hive a ' dovetailed 

 hive ' when it's not dovetailed, and when the 

 part that's called dovetailed is found equally 



on almost any otner hive that's not called 

 dovetailed?" Please don't insist on an an- 

 swer to that question ; I don't know. It's an 

 unfortunate name, but I didn't make it, and 

 it has come into such general use that it's 

 hardly likely it will now be changed. " John 

 White" may not be the most appropriate 

 name for a negro ; but if it's his name, why 

 it's his name, and that's all there is about it. 

 But there's no law against your trying to get 

 up a better name — I mean for the hive, not 

 for John White. And say, before we part, 

 allow me to ask you a question: What would 

 you suggest as a better name for the hive that 

 is now called "dovetailed hive?" If you 

 want to think over it, just send your answer 

 by mail. 



" Hansen Ventilator "-Alexander 

 Feeder 



1. Where can one procure a " Hansen Ven- 

 tilator?" 



3. If I have a correct idea of the Alexander 

 feeder, it is used under the bottom-board of 

 the hive. How do the bees get access to the 

 feed? Iowa. 



Answers.- 1. I have seen it mentioned in 

 print I think once, but have never seen any 

 description, so far as I remember, and do not 

 know where it is to be obtained. 



2. The feeder is, so to speak, part of the 

 bottom-board, at the back end of the hive, on 



the plan of the simplicity feeder, so the bees 

 come directly down from the frames into the 

 feeder. 



Getting Straight Combs-Hive- 

 Covers— Races of Bees 



We have had a fine winter, the snow is 

 about 4 inches deep at present, and the cold- 

 est weather was about 26 degrees below zero. 

 Our bees are in the cellar, and seem to be 

 doing nicely. I have 6 colonies — 2 in box- 

 hives and i new colonies from last season in 

 Langstroth hives, but as we neglected to put 

 foundation in all the frames, the bees soon 

 made immovable-frame hives out of all but 

 the last one. Now we want all these on 

 straight combs, as soon as practicable, and 

 expect to transfer the bees in the boxes by 

 means of the Heddon method during fruit- 

 bloom. 



1. The box hives have only one opening 

 (the entrance), so that when turned wrong 

 side up and a box set on top of the hive to 

 catch the bees when they are drummed out, 

 how are the bees to get into the box on top? 



2. What will be the best way to get the 

 other colonies on straight combs? 



3. Will an empty hive with wired frames 

 of foundation be safe if left " standing around 

 any old place." 



4. What kind of hive-cover do you prefer? 



5. What do you think of the " Colorado" 

 cover? 



6. Which race of bees do you think best for 

 this locality, or for any place in this latitude? 



7. Are Carniolane as good as Italians, in 

 your estimation? 



8. What about Mr. Byer's idea of the blacks 

 being as good as Italians? or are we begin- 

 ners simply to overlook such talk as that? 



Iowa. 

 Answers. — 1. Turn the hive upside down 

 and with a cold-chisel pry off the bottom just 

 as if no bees were in the hive; the only dif- 

 ference being that you will have to use 

 enough smoke to subdue the bees and keep 

 them out of the way. You will have less 

 trouble with bees in the way if you allow the 



bees to swarm (of course hiving the swarm in 

 a movable-frame hive, setting this on the old 

 stand with the old hive close to it, and 8 days 

 later moving the old hive to a new stand), 

 and cut the combs out of the old hive 21 days 

 later. That's the up-to date method in Eng- 

 land now, and they do more transferring 

 there than here. 



2. Hard to tell that without seeing them. 

 It may be that they are not very bad, and that 

 by a little cutting apart you can get the 

 combs out, straightening each one into its 

 own frame, and cutting out entirely any that 

 can not be otherwise coaxed into place. If 

 you can not do that, and even if you can, you 

 may take a hand-saw and out down so as to 

 sever all comb attached to the sides of the 

 hive. Turn the whole upside down, and it 

 may be that by a little bumping the whole 

 contents will fall out of the hive and you will 

 lift it off. Perhaps, however, the bees have 

 built combs so as to fasten the frames to the 

 ends of the hive. Pry off the hive-bottom if 

 it is nailed on, and with the saw separate 

 everything from the ends. Then you have 

 full chance to cut the combs out of the 

 frames or do whatever may be needed. 



3. Almost entirely safe in this locality. In 

 warmer localities it might not be so safe, but 

 with occasional looking-after there would be 

 little danger. 



4. The best I have found yet is a double 

 cover with a ^jj-inch space between upper and 

 lower parts, and covered with tin or zinc. 

 The objection is that they cost 25 or 30 cents 

 apiece. But the cover is the last thing about 

 a hive to economize upon. 



5. It's a good cover. 



6. All in all, it is pretty safe to tie to the 

 Italians. 



7. Taken as a whole, probably not. 



8. Quite a number of level-headed men are 

 to be found among those Kanuck bee-keepers, 

 and J. L. Byer is one of them. He may be 

 right in saying that if as much pains had 

 been taken with blacks as with Italians, the 

 blacks would be as good as the Italians. But 

 the pains has not been taken, and the average 

 black is behind. He has mixed blood, and 

 he says he is in no hurry to change it. Maybe 

 he will continue in that mind; maybe he 

 won't. 



I^orfs aiHO 



Hard Year on Beginners 



This has been a hard year on beginners. I 

 had 14 colonies and there were only 4 that I 

 got any surplus from, and I had to feed some 

 of them in the fall to Keep them from starv- 

 ing. It has been too warm this winter for 

 bees to do well — they have worked nearly 

 every day. They have brought in pollen 

 every month during the winter, but they con- 

 sumed a lot of honey. 



While it has been discouraging to the be- 

 ginner, you will find enclosed SI. 00 to have 

 my subscription renewed for the " Old Re- 

 liable," as I can't keep bees without it. 



Deport, Tex., Feb. 36. C. B. McDaniel. 



Tests of Purity in Bees 



As I am a lover of peace, and a very busy 

 man, I seldom dispute any man's statement, 

 but pages 137 and 138 contain an item that 

 can not pass unchallenged. That writer has 

 pasted up his ignorance for a target for queen- 

 breeders to shoot at. He evidently thinks 

 that a queen must cost a big price to be worth 

 having. He says he is satisfied that those 

 cheap queens advertised are mongrels or 

 worthless. 



Nowi advertise cheap queens, and I am 

 satisfied that he does not know what he is 

 talking about. If he did, he would talk less. 



Then, he attempts to tell us what a tested 



