NOVKMBEK, 191; 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



and burn the inside of the hive-body with a 

 gasoline blow - torch until the wood is 

 scortdied. 



C. H. H., Wisconsin. — How can I move bees with- 

 out giving them a flight in the spring before moving 

 them ? I have 200 colonies in a cellar in Minnesota, 

 about 150 miles from here, and I want to move 

 them as soon as possible in the spring, and it would 

 save me some expense and mucli trouble if I could 

 load them as I took the.n out of the cellar; but I 

 did not think it v.ould be safe to load them without 

 first giving them a flight. 



A. A good deal will depend upon condi- 

 tions. If the bees go thru the winter with- 

 out any signs of dj'sentery, and appear to be 

 otherwise in good condition, we see no rea- 

 son why you could not load them direct from 

 the cellar on to the wagon or automobile 

 truck. If the hives are spotted up in front 

 we would advise letting the bees have a 

 flight before moving them. 



A. J. D., Massachusetts. — I have tried double-wall- 

 ed hives, bat do not like them, because they have a 

 tendency to sweat inside. This makes them very 

 damp in all seasons. 



A. There is no more reason why a double- 

 walled hive should be damp inside than in one 

 with single walls. As a matter of fact, the 

 double hive should be dryer, because the 

 moisture from the cluster of bees will not 

 condense so readily. Cold will penetrate 

 thru a single wall much quicker, and when 

 the warm breath of the bees strikes the cold 

 sides the moisture will condense. Your cli- 

 mate is somewhat damp, and your difficulty 

 can be remedied by putting a burlap over 

 the top of the brood-nest rather than a solid 

 board cover. Over the burlap should be 

 placed packing or a tray of packing material. 

 The moisture will go up into the packing, 

 leaving the inside of the hive dry. 



O. S., Virginia. — I use Danzenbaker hives and 

 4x5 section-supers. Next year I wish to produce 

 extracted honey with shallow Danzenbaker frames 

 in these supers, also the full-depth hive body. Is 

 it not a good plan to put one of these shallow frames 

 on each side of the sections ? What size of ex- 

 tractor will I need for these frames ? 



A. In producing comb honey there is a 

 decided advantage in placing a shallow 

 frame On each side of the sections. As bees 

 prefer the comb, they begin work in the 

 super much more readily. For extracting 

 Danzenbaker combs you will find the stand- 

 ard extractoT to be quite satisfactory. 



C. E. P., Minnesota. — What is the proper tem- 

 perature of a bee-cellar for winter? 



A. In former days 45 degrees Fahrenheit 

 was considered the right point; but the ten- 

 dency now is toward a higher temperature 

 — say 50 degrees. But with this higher tem- 

 perature there should be plenty of fresh air 

 or the bees will become very uneasy before 

 spring. If the ventilation is limited, a tem- 

 perature of 45 degrees is better. Where a 

 furnace is used in an adjoining cellar a tem- 

 perature of 50 or 55 degrees may be used to 

 advantage; but there must be a window in 

 the bee-room thru which ventilation can be 



secured from the outside. If the furnace- 

 room door is left open slightly there will be 

 a constant change of air. During extremely 

 cold weather it may be necessary to close 

 the outside ventilator. 



A. N. C, New York. — Is it practical to unite throe 

 or four two and three frame nuclei in November ? 



A. They can be united; but such a colo- 

 ny is never as good as a fair or medium 

 colony all from the same queen and from 

 the same hive. These small nuclei when 

 united never seem quite to make up a normal 

 colony — probably for the reason that the 

 several families do not immediately form 

 into a homogeneous mass. Moreover, tiie 

 mixture of combs, each containing some 

 stores, leaves the food scattered. When a 

 colony is united in this way it should be fed 

 thick syrup. 



C. J. F., Illinois. — It is generally recommended 

 that colonies be not shaken for American foul brood 

 late in the fall. Is it possible to unite two or more 

 colonies after shaking them on to foundation? I do 

 not wish to have any foul brood around next 

 spring. 



A. This can bo done; but 24 hours after 

 uniting on the foundation the bees should be 

 fed on thicl: sugar syrup — ^2% sugar to one 

 of water — and the syrup must be given hot. 

 It may be advisable to give another feed 

 after the bees have drawn out their combs 

 partly. 



C. H. W., Michigan. — Can liquid food be given 

 to bees as late as Nov. 15 ? 



A. Yes; but the syrup should be 2 14 

 parts of sugar to one of water, and it should 

 be given hot. We have had colonies winte.- 

 fed late on food composed of 2l^ parts of 

 sugar to one of water, and they came thru 

 in nice condition. As a general rule we 

 advise earlier feeding if it is needed — not 

 later than Oct. 1, for most northern locali- 

 ties. The bees can then place their stores 

 properly, seal them over, and form a win- 

 ter nest. Hot syrup for late feeding should 

 always be given at night, to prevent the 

 bees from flying out and becoming chilled 

 if the weather is cold. 



A. C. L., Wisconsin. — Could a ten-frame colony 

 that covers all of its combs with bees on warm days, 

 in October be crowded into less space with division- 

 boards on the sides? 



A. It is advisable to take a couple of 

 combs having the least stores and crowd the 

 bees down into the smaller space. It may bo 

 advisable, in case of a colony not too strong, 

 to crowd them into a six-comb space; but 

 the combs should be full of stores; and if 

 not, the bees should be fed. See article, j). 

 842, on DeMuth's method of bee-wintering. 



P. P. A., New York. — I have trouble in making 

 my labels stick to tin. Can you help me out? 



A. Ordinary paste will not hold a label on 

 tin as well as on glass; however, very good 

 results can be secured by purchasing dex 

 trine, which usually can be obtained of the 

 dealers or at the drugstore. 



