JANUARY 15, 1914 



40 



Conversations w^ith Doolittle 



At Borodino, New York. 



SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 



" What is your experience with raw or 

 boiled linseed oil for coating hives'? Would 

 it not be better than paint? Don't your hives 

 get water-soaked without paint or oil"? " 



Answer. — I have never used clear linseed 

 oil on wood surfaces, but 1 do not see why 

 it should be better than paint. To paint 

 liives properly, or any thing else, the first 

 coat should always be mainly oil and a very 

 little white lead, or whatever is used to 

 thicken the oil. Thin oil penetrates the wood 

 instead of being absorbed by the pigment 

 used; and when it hardens, it largely pre- 

 vents moisture passing through the jjores. 

 Some seem to think that the propolis which 

 the bees use on the inside of the hive lias the 

 same etfeet as does oil or paint; but this is 

 a mistake, ns the thin coating of propolis- 

 varnish which the bees use in all places (ex- 

 .^epting on rough surfaces) contracts, checks, 

 or cracks to sucli a degree when cold weather 

 comes on in the fall, or during cold nights, 

 that it becomes sufficiently porous. 



" If shade-boards such as I recommend are 

 rsed, the sun does not shine on any part of 

 the hive during the hottest part of the day. 

 And any shade-board which will properly 

 shield the hive from the sun will shield it 

 from all storms as well, unless such storms 

 are accompanied by extreme winds; and 

 then the water will only be driven against 

 the bottom part of the hives. 



INDUCING LATE BROOD-REARING. 



" My bees did not continue to rear brood 

 as late the past fall as they generally do; 

 consequently they went into winter quarters 

 deuleted in numbers, and I fear for the re- 

 sults next season. Is it possible to force 

 bees to continue brood-rearing during the 

 fall by feeding such colonies as are not in- 

 clined to do so '? " 



Answer. — It is quite generally supposed 

 that late feeding will induce late breeding, 

 pnd so it will; but when the laying of the 

 (jueen has dwindled away the last of Aug^ust 

 or fore part of September, it takes time to 

 gfet her started again. Even a natural flow 

 of nectar from the fields, if of short dura- 

 tion, fails to produce brood-rearing after 

 the queen has once -topped laying. Brood- 

 rearing is never carried on during Septem- 

 ber or October, in this locality, to an extent 

 equal to what it is in May and June, no 

 matter how long feeding is continued, or 

 how good the yield of nectar from the fields 

 may be. And especially is this the ease 

 where the laying of the queen has once 

 ceased, preparatory to the bees entering 



upon a state of rest for the winter. But 

 continued feeding will start up brood-rear- 

 ing after a week or ten days have elapsed; 

 snd when once started again it will general- 

 ly be kept up as long as the bees can com- 

 fortably take the food without becoming 

 chilled. If we desire brood-rearing to con- 

 tinue into cold weather, it can be kept up 

 well toward winter by feeding regularly 

 each day, and in all cold snaps giving the 

 feed as w^arm as can be borne by the hand. 

 But after having colonies come out well the 

 next spring, where no eggs were laid by the 

 queen after August 10 to 20, I do not now 

 worry about this matter of late brood-rear- 

 ing as formerly. Very late breeding often 

 results in prematurely wearing out the vital- 

 ity of such bees as are of the right age to 

 stand the rigors of winter the most success- 

 fully, and in such cases late brood-rearing 

 is a detriment rather than a remedy. 



PUTTING FOUNDATION IN BROOD-FRAMES 



" I wish to fill my frames for the brood- 

 chamber of the hives with foundation this 

 winter; but when nailing them up I did not 

 know that it was necessary to have a saw- 

 kerf cut in the under side of the top-bar in 

 order to hold the foundation. What would 

 you do in such a case? " 



Answer. — In all the frames I have made 

 during my 40 odd years of beekeeping life 

 T have never used a saw-kerf in one of them, 

 ror do T consider it necessary. Proceed as 

 follows: Upon a board slightly larger tlian 

 the frame fasten anotlier board, just^large 

 enough to slip into the frame easily, and 

 scant half as thick as the top-bar is wide, 

 r^it the frame over this " form," then lay on 

 the foundation with its straight edge or side 

 close against the under side of the top-bar. 

 It is well to have a handle of some kind on 

 the under side of the first-named board. 

 when, by holding the whole firmly in the 

 left hand, you can pour from a tablespoon 

 into the angle between the top-bar and the 

 foundation a teaspoonful, or such a matter, 

 of melted wax; and by holding the form in 

 such a way that the melted material will 

 run quickly from one end of the foundation 

 to the other, the same can be fastened in the 

 frame as securely and as perfectly as by 

 any other process. When I first used this 

 plan I turned the frame over and fastened 

 the other side in the same way. But years 

 of fastening only one side has proven that 

 this is not necessan'. Keep a vessel of the 

 wax warm over a lamp or in some other con- 

 venient way. I use this method even when 

 the frames are well wired. 



