('.i.ivANixcs IN nni: cui/ruR?:. 



II 



./. //. /., P<i. — There is no way that you 

 ct)uUl remove the colony from the oak-tree of 

 which you speak, if the bees are in the ho(h- 

 of the irec. exce]^t hy cuttinj; it down. If tliC}' 

 arc in a limb of the tree, you can climb it and 

 cut the limb ofi ; but before it is severed en- 

 tirely from the tree you had better fasten a 

 rope to it and let it down ,irradually, otherwise 

 you will smash the combs and j^reatly enra,<;e 

 the bees. After the limb is down, saw both 

 ends around the bees, and carry home just 

 that portion which contains the colony itself. 

 You can then transfer them at your leisure. 



A*. W. A., I 'a. — We should be inclined to 

 believe that the colony you refer to has some- 

 thin_t( that it recognizes as a queen. It ma}' be 

 a virgin queen that is very small — little if any 

 larger than a worker. This would account for 

 all the phenomena you refer to. If the hive 

 were ours we would put perforated zinc before 

 the entrance, and shake every bee out in front 

 of the hive, and compel them to crawl in 

 again ; then watch closely for something that 

 can not go through the perforated zinc. Vir- 

 gin queens will sometimes go through the 

 perforated zinc, but such cases are very rare. 



[Just before the above went to press w-e had 

 a letter from R. A. L.. stating that he found a 

 virgin queen by the use of perforated zinc, as 

 above explained, and now his troubles are 

 ended. He had previously thought the colo- 

 ny queenless, and had tried to introduce la}-- 

 ing queens, but without success. — Ed.] 



ir. C, X. }'. — Yours not dated is at hand. 

 We do not remember the article to which you 

 refer, which you say you sent us some years 

 ago, and which we did not publish. You may 

 rest assured it was not because there might 

 have been some things in it with which we did 

 not agree. In almost every issue of our jour- 

 nal we publish some things that are not in ac- 

 cordance with our methods of working ; but 

 we are glad to give place to them, because not 

 all people can be induced to work by the same 

 methods, nor to see the same thing in the 

 same light. 



Referring to the article which you have just 

 sent in, you tell us of the good re.sults you 

 have secured by your method of wintering, 

 but you do not tell what it i.s. The article as 

 it is would be of no use to us. 



Again, you speak of the great loss of bees 

 throughout the country. I think you must 

 be misinformed. The progressive, practical 

 bee-keepers of the day suffer very little loss 

 comparatively. We have lost scarcely two 

 per cent in the last fifteen years, and among 

 the modern progressive Vjee-keepers we would 

 venture to say that the loss does not exceed 

 five per cent on an average. If you care to 

 submit your method of wintering, and in our 

 judgment it seems to have merit, we shall be 



glad to pul)lish it in our journal. If we could 

 s'.e it we might possibly then discover that it 

 is the same tliat many of us have been u.sing 

 for a good many years. 



Now, I hope you will not think we are try- 

 ing to cast discredit upon your idea — far from 

 that. It is possible that you have a valuable 

 invention, and that it miglil be worth much to 

 yourself as well as to your brother bee-keep- 

 ers. 



TRK.\TING FOUL BROOD I,.\TK IN THK V\hh. 



B. T. C, Maijic. — We would not advise you 

 to burn any of your hives. In the case of the 

 chaff hives, kno'ck out the bottom that holds 

 the chaff, pull out the chaff, and burn it. Aft- 

 er you have the whole lot thus " unchaffed " 

 immerse each one in a vat of boiling water, 

 and keep it there at least forty seconds — a 

 minute would be better. It is possible you 

 may not be able to find such a vat ; but I 

 think if you were to load your hives up and 

 take them to some cheese- factory you could be 

 accommodated. 



Another way to disinfect (and it may be 

 just as good, and it is a good deal cheaper) is 

 to paint the inside of the hives with kerosene, 

 set fire to it with the cover oflF, and let the in- 

 side of the hive blaze until it is charred just 

 enough to show that fire has been inside the 

 hive. To arrest the further progress of the 

 burning, throw in about two tablespoonfuls of 

 water, clap the cover on, and the steam which 

 will immediately form will smother the fire. 

 This plan was recommended by J. A. Green, 

 and I believe by him was found to be entirely 

 successful. The only objection to it is that i't 

 leaves the hives blackened inside ; but this 

 does no harm, and it shows unmistakably that 

 the hive has been disinfected. When the 

 hives have been burned out inside, of course it 

 is not necessary to remove the chaff. 



In the case of single-walled hives I would by 

 all means recommend immersing them in a 

 kettle of boiling water, covers and bottom- 

 boards and every thing, including smoker, 

 honey -knives, and other tools. The honey- 

 knives especially should be boiled thoroughly. 

 Now as to the treatment of the bees : It is 

 so late (Oct. 5) that it is a question whether 

 it would be worth while to try to save them. I 

 would not advise you to destroy them, but 

 shake them on to frames of foundation ; and 

 after they have starved long enough to be 

 weak, dump about three lots of them into each 

 hive, and tlien begin feeding. It may be nec- 

 essary for you to do some returning 'from the 

 old stands ; but if the old hives are removed 

 entirely, the bees will be sure to find the en- 

 trances of hives that contain bees ; and as 

 they will be so thoroughly mixed up, there 

 will be no fighting. If you have forty colonies 

 that must be treated, then you will have a 

 dozen or fifteen, each of which will contain 

 what was left of three colonies. By proceed- 

 ing on this plan I think you will save the bees. 

 The honey you can extract and boil, as you 

 suggest ; but the combs and frames should be 

 burned. It is useless to try to melt out the 

 wax or to try to disinfect the frames. It can 

 be done, but it does"not pay. 



