192 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 



longing and the housewife with seri- 

 ous interest. Calls for recipes were 

 numerous and lengthy inquiries were 

 handled by Miss Dean, who was ever 

 willing to explain in detail how 

 honey had entered the make-up of 

 these good things to eat. The tempt- 

 ing appearance of that lovely cake 

 with the end slice lying down will 



long be remembered by all visitors. 



This is the first time that honey 

 and its uses have been brought to 

 the attention of those at Iowa State 

 College. The success of the exhibit 

 is due to Miss Dean, who is ever tire- 

 less to urge the extended use of 

 honey in the home. 



Iowa. 



t 



THE EDITOR^S ANSWERS 



V 



J 



When stamp is enclosed, the editor will answer questions by mail. Since 

 we have far more questions than we can print in the space available, several 

 months sometimes elapse before answers appear. 



Removing Honey — S'.varms, Etc. 



1. What method is practiced among the 

 large beekeepers of emptying the supers of 

 bees when taking off honey? 



2. Late in the fall, when one is taking oflE 

 honey, would it be a dangerous practice to 

 feed one's bees the scraps in the open and to 

 let them clean up the supers and frames be- 

 fore putting away for winter? 



3. I use the regular ten-frame hive with 

 single-wall and Excelsior cover. Do you 

 think that it would be a good plan for winter 

 to wrap hives in tar paper and to put a piece 

 over the top of hive? Would the black paper 

 draw the heat too much when the sun was 

 shining, and we happened to have a nice, 

 pleasant day? 



4. I have always tried to give mv bees 

 plenty of room early in the spring, but seem 

 to have too many swarms come off; I only put 

 on one empty super at a time. Do you think 

 that it might help to put on two, early in the 

 spring? Is there any objection to tiering up 

 a number of empty supers on one hive? 



5. Suppose a hive did not swarm for a 

 number of years, say two or three, it would, 

 I believe, still have the original queen; in 

 this case, should one introduce a new queen? 



6. Do bees really work on the weed com- 

 monly known as Spanish needle? I was told 

 by an old beeman that, contrary to the com- 

 mon belief, they did not work on it. He told 

 me to let him know if I ever saw a bee on a 

 single plant I have looked for it a number 

 of times, but have never discovered a single 

 bee on a Spanish needle blossom. 



7. Suppose one had a very strong colony 

 that had not swarmed had three supers on 

 and seemed to be literally overflowing with 

 bees, could it be possible that there be so many 

 that, when closing down for winter, the brood- 

 chamber would not hold them? 



8. What causes a large number of bees to 

 come out of a hive and circle around almost 

 as though they were going to swarm? 1 have 

 one hive in particular that I have noticed do- 

 ing this — one of my best colonies. 



9. Are diseases apt to appear in a small 

 apiary? I have had but little experience, but 

 have never lost or had a diseased colony. 



MISSOURI. 



Answrs. — 1. Use a bee-escape, between the 

 supers and the hive body. Put it on, the af- 

 ternoon previous. 



2. Some people practice giving the emptied 

 supers for the bees to clean, in the open. We 

 have never liked it, as it causes them to try 

 robbing. Try both ways and decide for your- 

 self. 



3. Yes, tar paper makes a very good protec- 

 tion. It would not be too warm at any time, 

 except summer. 



4. The number of supers to put on should 

 be according to the strength of the colony and 

 the crop expectation. Dr. Miller sometimes 

 put 2 and 3 supers on very powerful colonies. 



5. Yes, if the queen has not been super- 

 seded by her bees and a young one reared, 

 it is best to change her. 



6. Bees work on some kinds of Spanish 

 needles an not on some others. It is the 

 same with goldcnrod. We rarely sec bees on 

 the goldcnrods that grow here, but in some 

 localities they produce a large crop. Even 



the same plant will not produce honey equally 

 in every location We have never been able to 

 secure alfalfa honey here. But we have har- 

 vested thousands of pounds of Spanish needle 

 honey 



7. No, we have never seen a colony so over- 

 flowing with bees that they would not all be 

 held in the brood-chamber for winter. Such 

 strong colonies are very desirable. 



8. Those are the young bees taking their 

 first flight, fr?>m strong colonies, usually in the 

 afternoon. You will find that information in 

 any text book. 



9. Diseases do not depend upon the size 

 of the apiary; but I kept bees for 40 years 

 before I ever saw any foulbrood. 



Swarms Clustering 



In the October number of the American Bee 

 Journal, in reply to a question, you give a 

 reason for bees forming a cluster when the 

 swarm first leaves the hive, and ask if any 

 one knows a better explanation, that he give 

 it. John Burroughs, the American naturalist, 

 states that he believes that they send out 

 scouts to find a new hive, the rest of the bees 

 clustering meanwhile, and as soon as the 

 scouts return the swarm leaves. I cannot 

 tell you in which of his books he states this, 

 for it is found in one of four essays on 

 "Birds and Bees," selected from his works 

 and published together in a classic for study 

 in high school English classes. This was when 

 I first acquired an interest in bees. 



KANSAS. 



Answer. — The suggestion which you Quote 

 from John Burroughs about the question on 

 page 351, was already made by Mr. Lang- 

 stroth. See paragraph 415 of the revised edi- 

 tion. However, it is a fact that first swarms 

 always settle, although there is out little doubt 

 that scouts hunt for a home as well before as 



after swarming. But Mr. Langstroth wrote, 

 paragraph 419 of the Revised Edition: 



"The fact that the bees have clustered makes 

 it almost certain that, unless the weather is 

 very hot, or they are exposed to the burning 

 heat of the sun, they will not leave for at 

 least one or two hours. All convenient dis- 

 patch, however, should be used in hiving 

 swarms, lest the scouts have time to return, 

 which will entice them to go, or lest other 

 colonies issue, and attempt to add themselves 

 to it." 



However, the fact that secondary swarms 

 rarely settle would indicate that the weight 

 of the old queen has some influence upon their 

 action. 



Feeding 



1. I have three swarms that I got in August, 

 too late for them to gather enough honey for 

 the winter. I have been feeding them sugar 

 and water, equal parts; they will take a cupful, 

 each swarm, three times a day, and they have 

 filled some comb and sealed it, but don't seem 

 to have used half the amount that I have 

 given them to put in combs. Where do you 

 suppose they have put it ? Or do they eat 

 that much while feeding? 



2. Two of my swarms are large. I plan to 

 divide them, each into three swarms, and give 

 each an Italian queen, in the latter part of 

 May, as I want to increase and get more colo- 

 nies. Will that be practical? 



3. In buying a pound of bees, and queen, 

 and hiving them the last of May, will they 

 gather enough honey for the coming winter, 

 if it is a good honey season? Or would they 

 gather enough to use a super for them? I in- 

 tend to put them on full sheets of foundation 

 in frames. 



4. Upon examining the frames in one of the 

 large colonies, I did not find any brood in the 

 cells. Is there a time of the year when the 

 queen does not lay eggs? 



5. Can I leave the super on and put some 

 section honey there, and will they find it in 

 case they run short of sugar syrup ? I have 

 a good dry basement, and plan on wintering 

 them there. 



6. Is dandelion honey good for winter feed? 



IOWA. 



Answers. — 1. You have used twice as much 

 water as necessary and they have evaporated 

 it. That is why there does not seem to be 

 as much in the cells as you have given them. 

 Use half as much water or twice as much su- 

 gar." 



2. It is impossible to advise this early as to 

 how many colonies you can produce from 

 each one of your colonies, spring count, be- 

 cause you do not know, neither do I, how 

 weak or strong they will be in • May. Don't 

 divide too much. Make one division from 

 each, when they are strong, and another later 

 if they fill their hives. Of course, the better 



Display of the Domestic Science girls at Ames, Iowa, showing uses of honey in the home. 



