358 



GLEANli^GS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



May 



brood hatches, the cells will be filled with honey, 

 instead of another egg being laid in the cell for the 

 bees to feed. Von may not get honey as fast in the 

 sections, for the reason that the bees will put the 

 honey in the brood-combs as fast as the brood 

 hatches out. Kemember, that a colony of bees with 

 no laying queen should have a full hive of combs — 

 no combs to be built in the brood-apartment. 



E. France. 

 And here is a point where doctors disa- 

 gree. I am sure, from my own experience, 

 that, with some colonies, it puts quite a 

 stop to the whole business of the hive ; that 

 is, if the queen is taken away when they have 

 not made any preparations for swarming. 

 We shall have to conclude, however, that, a 

 great many times, it not only makes no dif- 

 ference, but increases the yield of honey. 

 Prof. Cook, E. France, L. C. Root, and oth- 

 ers, testify to the above. 



\0¥Ef$ 'p.JiB QaEl^IEf^. 



STIMULATIVE FEEDING. 



aOES feeding in spring, for the purpose of 

 stimulating the bees to rear brood, pay ? Does 

 it pay to feed in the fall for this purpose? 

 Peoria, O. R. L. Clegg. 



[We think it does pay to feed, for stimula- 

 tive purposes, both in fall and spring. Of course, 

 you do not want to feed in the fall, however, for 

 stimulating, if the colony already is large, with 

 abundance of young bees. Injudicious feeding 

 may do more harm than good. As the subject is so 

 broad, we think you had better consult the ABC 

 book.] 



THE .lAPANESE BTTCKWHEAT AWAY AHEAD. 



The 3 ounces of Japanese buckwheat I got of you 

 last year yielded at the rate of 140 to one. The 

 silverhuU in the same field yielded only 30 to one, 

 and, if any thing, on better land. Ika Beach. 



JMasonville, N. V., March 30, 1888. 



ABOUT THAT BOILED CORN. 



In answer to your question to A. B. C, on page 

 3.59, in regard to corn, we do not cook it. Cut it ofi', 

 put in brine, and, when wanted for use, soak it as 

 you would salt fisli. My folks stilt have it nice and 

 good. A. W. Spracklen. 



Cowden, 111., Apr. 6, 1888. 



PEPPERMINT HONEY I'NWHOLESOME. 



I put 31 Strong colonies into winter quarters with 

 plenty of peppermint honey. Six are dead of dys- 

 entery, and the seventh is atfected, but may pull 

 through, as I gave them other honey on the 33d. 



Comet, O., Feb. 3T, 1888. B. B. Messnek. 



ONLY ONE HONEY-MEKCHANT IN EVERY CITY. 



I am a believer that there ought to be some com- 

 petent person appointed in every city, to handle 

 all the honey, instead of its being sent to all kinds 

 of commission men. They know nothing about 

 honey nor about handling it. All they want is to 

 get their commission. Wm. Trie. 



Minneapolis, Minn., Mar. 15, 1888. 



HOW TO CLARIEY WAX. 



What is the best way to clarify beeswax? How 

 do you do it? Geo. w. Cook. 



Spring Hill, Kas. 



[The best way to clarify beeswax is to allow it to 

 stand in a melted condition for some time, in order 

 to let the foreign matter settle to the bottom of the 



receptacle. When cool, scrape off the bottom of the 

 cake of wax. The scrapings will be more or less 

 accumulations of dirt and other foreign sub- 

 stances. It may be necessary to repeat the opera- 

 tion of melting once or twice in order to get it suf- 

 ficiently clarified. The solar wax-extractor will 

 perhaps do the work better than any thing else. It 

 also gives the wax a good color.] 



the best time TO transfer. 



What time of the year is the best to drive bees 

 from old hives to new ones? We have just seven 

 colonies this spring to commence with. Part of 

 them are in old rotten box gums that they had been 

 in for years before we got them. 



Afton, la.. Mar. 19, 1888. Mrs. J. E. Turner. 



[The best time to transfer is during apple-bloom 

 in the spring; see "Transferring," in A B C] 



WIRING FOUNDATION WITH THE GIVEN PRESS. 



I should like to inquire of those who use the 

 Given press, if It is possible to press foundation in 

 wired frames with a single sheet. I can make 

 splendid ones with a sheet on each side of the wires; 

 but with one the wire cuts through. 



Birdsall, N. Y. O. E. Burden. 



[We should like to have Dr. Mason answer the 

 above, although we feel quite sure, from what has 

 been said, that one single sheet of wax is all that is 

 used.] 



WHEN AND HOW TO MOVE BEES. 



I have four swarms that I want to move about 

 ten miles ; which would be the best way to move 

 them? Could I take them in a light wagon with 

 safety? At what time in April or May would you 

 advise me to move them? My bees have wintered 

 well, and are all alive yet, though there is time 

 enough yet for them to die. W. H. Jeater. 



Verdun, Ont., Can., Apr. .5, 1888. 



[You can move your bees anytime you wish to 

 now. Of course, it would be desirable to put the 

 colonies on a spring wagon if you have one. There 

 is no trouble at all when a colony is moved ten miles, 

 or even beyond one and one-half miles. See " Mov- 

 ing Bees," in the ABC book.] 



CAN QUEENS CARRY FOUL BROOD? 



Can foul brood be carried, or is it likely to be car- 

 ried, into new localities by purchasing queens of 

 those having it among their bees? J. Langley. 



W id noon. Pa. 



[It is generally considered that the queen, when 

 taken from a diseased colony, will not transmit it to 

 a new colony to which she may be introduced. We 

 hav-e taken queens from foul-broody colonies at 

 different times, and placed them in another portion 

 of our apiarj' into a colony that was perfectly 

 healthy. Those colonies so treated never became 

 diseased. Mr. Frank Cheshire, of England, claims 

 that queens may give the disease, and urges, as 

 proof, that he has found the germs of foul brood in 

 the spermatheca.] 



yUEENS FROM SMALL CELLS. 



I am starting queen-cells, preparatory to Italian- 

 izing my apiary, and I find that there is consider- 

 able difference in the size of cell-starters. Do you 

 find in your experience in <iueen-reaiing that differ- 

 ence in size of queen-cells makes any material 

 difference in the value or productiveness of the 

 fertilizing insect? 1 give the cell-building colony 

 eggs two days old; or, in other words, eggs one day 

 before they hatch, and allow them to hatch in cell- 

 building colony. A. W. Tufts. 



Musson, La., March 31. 1888. 



[We have produced good prolific queens from 

 small cells, and then again we have secured rather 

 inferior ones. W^e always prefer to raise queens 

 from cells full size. We find that we genei-ally get 

 better queens from the latter than from the for- 

 mer.] 



