1920 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



353 



Sealed Brood 



Brood being sealed, does it require any 

 nourishment, i. e.. get any? 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



Answer. — Of course the nurses can do nu 

 feeding after a larva is sealed, hut there may 

 be some unconsumed food in the cell at time 

 of sealing, allowing the larva to receive nour- 

 ishment after being sealed. This probably 

 never amounts to much in the case of worker 

 or drone larva:, but may be considerable in 

 the case of queen larvae. I have seen larv.-c, in 

 sealed queen-cells, not onf-fourth the usual size. 



Mating Queens, Candy, Etc. 



1. After hiving a swarm with a virgin queen 

 or introducing a virgin luicen, cuuld 1 place 3 

 queen-e.xcluder below the brood-chamber confin- 

 ing her and have her safely mate with the 

 drone of that colony? If not, how can I purely 

 mate her? 



2. How can I make queen candy? 



3. Can I make queen-cells out of beeswax? 

 Advise me the best way. 



4. Is the Rauchfuss queen cage all right for 

 introducing queens? MISSOURI. 



Answers. — 1. The queen must go out to 

 mate. She can mate only on the wing, in 

 the open air. You must take your chances on 

 her finding a drone of her race. When the 

 question of control of mating is solved, a big 

 step forward will have been made. 



2. Candy for shipping queens is made by 

 mixing powdered sugar with honey, just as 

 much as the honey will absorb. Candy for 

 bee feed is also made by diluting sugar in 

 water and evaporating it by heat over a stove 

 until the water is evaporated. Be sure not to 

 let it burn. To know when it i. thick enough, 

 dip your finger first in cold water, then into 

 the syrup. If what adheres is brittle to the 

 teeth, it is boiled enough. 



3. Queen-cell cups are made out of beeswax 

 artificially. Any dealer will sell you an outfit 

 for making queen cups. But if you want to 

 do it on a paying scale you had best buy 

 "Doolittle's Scientific Queen Rearing." or 

 "Pellett's Practical Queen Rearing." 



4. Yes. 



Southern Locations 



I am thinking some of going South to try 

 honey producing, as I have lost most all of 

 my bees here this last winter. Could you ad- 

 vise me as to what State would be a good lo- 

 cation, or where could I find the necessary in- 

 formation? MICHIGAN. 



Answer. — On page 206, under the heading 

 "Location," we have answered a similar ques- 

 tion. There are good places in each State. 

 Most of the eastern part of Texas, also south 

 and west of San Antonio, is good. There are 

 excellent spots in Mississippi, Alabama, and 

 Georgia. A good way to locate a convenient 

 spot is to go and see some of those queen 

 breeders in the State that you think you would 

 prefer. They will surely be able to direct you 

 to some spot where you will not be in any 

 other man's way. The most important re- 

 quirement is to keep away from territory al- 

 ready occupied. 



As to the State in which you should locate. 

 it is better for you to select it yourself. 



Tar Paper — Short Bottom Bars 



1. For covering brood-frames I have used 

 tarred paper, also some of the cheap, roofings, 

 using something without gravel next to the 

 bees. Of course I air it to get rid of some of 

 the "perfume." I cannot see anv harm to the 

 bees or honey. 



2. Why not shorten the bottom bars of 

 brood-frames? I do not believe they will 

 build burr comb three-fourths of an inch on 

 bottom of hive. ILLINOIS. 



Answers. — 1. Although tarred paper that has 

 been fully "aired" will probably not cause the 

 bees to desert, if we use it on top of the 



brood-frames. I should hesitate to use it on 

 the frames of a hive in which I would hive a 

 swarm. It might be used after the swarm has 

 put brood in the combs. 



2. Bees do not usually put burr combs in 

 a space of three-fourths inch between the bot- 

 tom bar and the bottom board. But they will 

 do it if they become crowded for room. Italian 

 bees do it more willingly than common bees. 



THE VALUE AND CARE OF 

 DRAWN COMB 



By F. W. Osier 



In a short time extracting for this 

 season will be over and preparation 

 for winter will be in order. Among 

 the many things too often neglected 

 by the amateur beekeeper is the 

 proper care of drawn comb. 



The beekeeper who carefully as- 

 sembles and wires his frames, uses 

 full sheets of foundation, thereby in- 

 suring good straight worker comb 

 and the elimination of excessive 

 drone cells, should carefully guard 

 them froin wa.x worms and mice, 

 either of which quickly destroy a 

 set of combs. After extracting is 

 over the supers should be placed and 

 piled high on one or two strong colo- 

 nies to clean and dry the combs. 

 (This should be done late in the eve- 

 ning, to prevent robbing.) These 

 colonies should' be marked, for if 

 foulbrood e.xists in the yard the colo- 

 nies that clean out the combs are 

 most likely to develop it, and should 

 be carefully e.xamined during the fall 

 and following spring for any signs of 

 the disease. 



After the comb is clean and dry, 

 which can usually be done over night, 

 bee-escapes can be used to get rid of 

 the bees. The supers should then be 

 taken to the honey house or work 

 shop. Each frame should be exam- 

 ined and all bur comb scraped off, 

 to be run through a wax press or 

 solar wax extractor later on. It is 

 surprising how much wax can be ac- 

 cumulated in this way. 



When the frames are cleaned, re- 

 turn them to the supers, spacing them 

 wide (about 8 to 10 to a 10-frame su- 

 per). Now place a cover on the 

 ground, bottom side up, and place 

 your first super in the cover; pile the 

 others on top, put a queen excluder 

 on the top one and an empty super 

 with a tight cover on top of all. The 

 combs are now ready to fumigate 

 with carbon bi-sulphide. Take a 

 shallow dish and fill it with carbon 

 bi-sulphide solution and place it in 

 the empty super resting in the queen 

 e.xcluder; close the cover and leave 

 for 48 hours. This treatment should 

 destroy the wa.x moth larvae and will 

 leave your combs sweet and clean for 

 next summer's use. Frames of honey 

 kept for spring feed should be treated 

 in the same way. It is just as well to 

 examine the comb two or three times 

 during the following month to satisfy 

 yourself that nothing further is de- 

 veloping, as it is a question as to 

 whether this treatment kills the un- 

 hatched eggs of the wax moth or not. 

 It is a good plan to put your comb 

 out when cold weather sets in and 



give them a good freeze after the bi- 

 sulphide treatment, but the fumiga- 

 tion must come immediately after ex- 

 tracting, as wax worms are fast 

 workers. Frames of honey should 

 never be frozen, but empty, dry comb 

 will not be harmed by the cold. 



Just a word of warning about car- 

 bon bi-sulphide. This solution pro- 

 duces a heavy gas, which falls 

 through the supers, destroying the 

 wax worms in the comb. The fumes 

 are poisonous and highly inflammable 

 and will produce headache and nau- 

 sea if breathed too much. The open 

 air is the safest place to handle it in. 

 Perhaps it would be just as well to 

 warn my readers to get their lives in- 

 sured and phone the undertaker be- 

 fore drinking any of this solution. 



Comb can be saved from rats and 

 mice by keeping queen excluders on 

 top of the supers. 



Toronto. 



DES MOINES COUNTY MEETING 



The annual meeting of the Des 

 Moines County Beekeepers will take 

 place at Burlington, Iowa, on Octo- 

 ber 20, 1920. Beekeepers are invited. 

 For particulars address Mr. J. W. 

 Stine, Route 4, Burlington, Iowa. 

 Some one from the American Bee 

 Journal staff will probably be pres- 

 ent. 



A NEW BEE BOOK 

 "Dadant's System of Beekeeping" 



Send for a copy today. 

 Price $1.00. 



Send for our list of bee books. 



CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT. 



Advertisements in this department will be 

 inserted for 5 cents per word, with no dis- 

 counts. No classified advertisements accepted 

 for less than 36 cents. Count each initial or 

 number as one word. 



Copy for this department must reach us not 

 later than the 20th of the month preceding 

 date of issue. If intended for classified de- 

 partment it should be so stated when adver- 

 tisement is sent. 



B££S AND QUEENS 



SEE ATWATER'S NEW CLASSIFIED 

 HONEY ADVT. 



DAY-OLD QUEENS at practical prices. Su- 

 perior improved Italian stock. Mailed in 

 safety introducing cages. Safe arrival guaran- 

 teed to any part of the U. S. and Canada. 

 Send for circular. Prices: 1, 75c; 10, $6; 100, 

 $60. James McKee, Riverside, Calif. 



FOR SALE — 100 colonies of bees, 50 old hives, 

 2-story 8 and 10 frames; 60 new 10-frame; 

 $250 of bee supplies, all for $1,000. Good bee 

 range, first-class condition; all 1920 queens. 

 J. H. Swanson, Gen. Delivery, Phoenix, Ariz. 



FOR SALE — 56 colonies of bees, tn 10-frame 

 standard dovetailed hives, wired frames, free 

 of disease; in first-class shape. 



G. H. Creech, Central City, Neb. 



NUCLEI for 1921 — We beg to advise those 

 who intend to purchase nuclei to enter their 

 orders early in order to be certain of being 

 able to obtain them, as the demana greatly ex- 

 ceeded the supply during the past season, and 

 the majority of late orders went unfilled. We 

 are now booking orders for three- frame nu- 

 clei of Italian bees, with Italian queen, at 

 $6.50 Hybrid bees, with guaranteed pure 

 Italian queen, at $5.50. Terms, one-third down 

 with order. No disease, safe arrival and satis- 

 faction guaranteed. Iri.>b Bros., 



Doctortown, oa. 



BEES AND QUEENS from my New Jcr»ey 

 apiary. J. H. M. Cook, 



lAtf 84 Cortland St. New York City. 



