American Hee JonrnaiJ 



September, 1909. 



the whole. I shoiihl use mesqiiite brush, 

 tying this to the scantlings with wire. 

 Some of these have been described be- 

 fore, and are shown in "ABC of Bee 

 Culture." Such a shed would give a 

 partial shade only, could be easily re- 

 paired at any time, and would not be 

 very expensive. I would build one of 

 these, were I to do so, mainly because 

 I could then make use of my hive-lift- 

 ing device, as Mr. Burgiss does. 



The shed should be built so as to run 

 northwest to southeast, so the hives 

 face northeast and southwest. In this 

 way the hives on one side get at least 

 some of the morning sun, and the 

 noon sun does not strike the hives 

 squarely as when the shed runs east 

 and west. In this case those on the 

 north side would never be reached by 

 the sun at all. All hives which must 

 face in a southerly direction, in a hot 

 climate like ours, sliould, if possible, 

 be shifted to face due southeast, so that 

 the hottest sun at noon strikes the cor- 

 ner of the hive. This I have found the 

 best way to face my hives. 



In the rows I would arrange the 

 hives in twos. Each pair should be (i 

 inches apart, and the pairs with 18 

 inches between them. It is impossible 

 for me to say wliether one could pro- 

 duce enough more, if any more, honey 

 under one of these sheds to make it 

 pay. That is to say. it we compare the 

 bees so situated with those under some 

 natural shade under the same condi- 

 tions. Where there is no natural 

 shade, it of course would pay, over 

 bees kept right in the broiling sun. 

 Besides, I would prefer such a shed to 

 shade-boards on the hives, because, 

 first, these are a nuisance and always 

 in the way, and the operator must work 

 in the broiling heat of the sun. The 

 shed would be the better in this case. 



Apiarian Exhibit at the Texas State Fair 



As superintendent of that department 

 of the Texas State Fair, which takes in 

 all that pertains to our industry, it is 

 my aim to have this year the best ex- 

 hibit of its kind ever shown in the 

 South. We had a splendid showing 

 last year, but wish to surpass it ex- 

 ceedingly the coming Fair. But we 

 must have the material from the bee- 

 keepers, and I urge that all those who 

 can will send liberally to help us. 

 Write for any information and what 

 you have, or how much space you 

 would need, and I will write you gladly. 

 But write at once. Here is our pre- 

 mium list — over $350 to be awarded : 



Golden Italian bees and queen in sin- 

 gle comb observatory hives S 5 S i 



Three-banded Italian bees and queen 

 in single-comb observatory liives 5 ,i 



Carniolan bees and queens in single- 

 comb observatory iiives 5 3 



Caucasian bees and queens in single- 

 comb observatory liives .S 3 



Cyprian bees and queens in single- 

 comb observatory hives ^ ^ 



Holy-Land bees and queens in single- 

 comb observatory hives =; i 



Banat bees and queens in single-comb 

 observatory hives S ^ 



Black queen and bees m single-comb 

 observatory Iiives • s ^ 



Best display of bumble-bees ^ ^ 



Best display of gniund-bees S 1 



Best ana largest displa\' of bees or va- 

 rious races in observatory Iiives Ill '> 



Best and largest display of queens of 

 various races in mailing cages 5 ^ 



Bust case of white section comb honej . 



12 lbs. or more 5 i 



Best case of light amber section comb 



honey s i 



Bust and largest display of section 



comb hone>- 8 =y 



Best display of special designs of comb 



honey 5 ^ 



Best T2 lbs. friction-top pails white 



bulk comb honey i 2 



Best 6 lbs. friction-top pails white hulk 



comb honey ^ 2 



Best ■! lbs. friction-top pails white bulk 



comb honey ^ 2 



Best display of bulk comb honey 10 (1 



Best dozen jars white extracted lione\- 3 2 

 Best dozen jars light amber extracted 



honey 3 2 



Best display extracted honey, granu- 

 lated form .s 3 



Best and largest display of extracted 

 hones' 10 6 



Best sample cake of bright yellow bees- 

 wax, not less than 2 lbs s 3 



Best display in special designs in bees- 

 wax .^ 3 



Best and largest display of beeswax... 8 s 



Best display of fruit preserved in honey .; 2 



Best honey-vinegar, with recipe 3 2 



Best collection of Texas honey-yielding 

 plants, pressed and mounted 5 3 



Best instructive display in apiarian 

 products and of the various uses 

 made of honey and beeswax 20 10 



Best and largest display of bee-keep- 

 ers' supplies Diploma 



cforMillerii 

 ufistion-Bo 



.-,— >tfiitgte.-g 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or to 



DR. C. C. MILLER, Marentro, III. 



Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



Money in Your Packet 



.<\llow niu to suggest tliu wa>' to invest a 

 dollar or two in such a way as to make big 

 money on it. It's very simple: Buy a bee- 

 book. A number of the questions in this 

 number — it's pretty much the same in ever\- 

 number— show that those who ask the ques- 

 tions have nothing in the way of a text-book 

 on bee-keeping. Please don't think it's be- 

 cause I'm too lazy to answer your questions 

 that I say this. After you've done your best 

 at studying the books there will still be 

 jilunty of questions that will come uii in your 

 individual experience, but in the book you 

 will learn a lot of things that you would 

 never think to ask about. 



If you get a book and find it was a mistake 

 to have done so. please write me a savage 

 letter, blowing me up for giving such advice. 

 Then I'll apologize in the most humble man- 

 ner for misleading you. But you will be the 

 first one who has ever felt hard at me for 

 giving such advice. C. C. M. 



Some Queen Questions 



1. How long will it take after a queen is 

 hatched for her to mate? 



2. How long will she be on her mating 

 flight? 



3. How soon will a queen begin to lay after 

 being fertilized? 



4. Do queens change their color and lie 

 much larger? 



5. 'Will strange queens sometimes unite 

 with a queenless colony? Kansas. 



Answers.— I. Five days or longer. 



2. She may be successfully fertilized on 

 her first trip, and she may in some cases not 

 succeed for more than a week. 



3. Generally in 2 or 3 days, but she may be 

 longer. 



4. There is considerable change in the ap- 

 pearance of a queen. After she is 3 or 4 days 

 old she is smaller than when she first leaves 

 the cell, and will be larger after she gets to 

 laying. 



5. Yes. sometimes it happens that a young 

 queen may go into another hive than her 

 own. 



Flax for Honey — Defective Brood — Honey-Dew — 

 Removing Supers in a Slow Flow 



1. Is the blossom of the variety of Max com- 

 monly planted in South Dakota nectar-giving 

 enough to be classed as a good honey-plant? 



2. I have a colony with a queen of m\' own 

 rearing, from reliable stock. She was intro- 

 duced about 2 weeks ago in a laying condi- 

 tion. Her laying shows all the ordinary 

 signs of a good, prolific queen. In spots here 

 and there there will be cells of mature brood 

 witli the cells built out as it the inmate was 

 a drone, but they are never entirely sealed. 

 .All the iiunates of these unsealed brood-cells 



seem to have died just about capping time, 

 and at first they have two black spots on 

 either side of the head, and gradually de- 

 cay. The decaying brood is always dry. 

 crumbling after a time, and never giving any 

 scent. What is the trouble? 



^1. How can one determine the existence of 

 honey-dew in comb honey? 



4. What should good, strong disease-free 

 colonies of black bees and hybrids in 8-frame 

 size Ai.i-hives be worth in the fall? 



=;. Do you keep any particular strain of 

 bees? 



6. Would it not be better in a year like this, 

 when the honey is coming in so slowly as this 

 year in August, to remove the supers to en- 

 courage the storing of honey below? 



ILLINOI.S. 



.Answers.— I. I don't know. Perhaps some 

 one there will tell us. 



2. That's a new one on me. It's all easy 

 enough at the start. Often brood is not 

 sealed over. I think because of wax-worms, 

 but when you say the young bee dies, dries, 

 and crumbles, that beats me. Never heard 

 of it before. Send sample to Dr. E. F. Phil- 

 lips. .Agricultural Dept.. Washington. D. C. 



V Perhaps $2 or S3 a colony. 



4. By its dark color and its taste, although 

 some floral honey is dark and tastes bad. 



5. My bees are Italians and mostly hybrids. 



6. No. the bees will fill up below first. 



What Insect Is It? 



What kind of insect is it that I have sent 

 you in the box. I found it on a sunHower; 

 it makes its appearance every year, and 

 catches quite a few bees by its sword-like 

 tusk, which it thrusts through the bee's 

 body. Penn. 



Answer.— I have looked very carefully 

 through Prof. Cook's full list, and find noth- 

 ing to tally with the specimen you send. 

 Possibly Prof. H. -A. Surface, of Harrisburg, 

 Pa., might help you out. 



A Queen Experience 



I have purchased 2 queens at different 

 times. The colony to be requeened was the 

 common black bee. The queen was killed 

 and the cage containing the new untested 

 queen was placed on the top of the frame as 

 per the enclosed instructions. In 7 days I 

 looked in the hive and saw a queen-cell 

 which I cut out. so I supposed she was killed. 

 I did not look farther I gave the colony an 

 untested queen of my own rearing, with the 

 wing clipped I looked in a week and saw a 

 queen-cell started, but no brood. -As I had 

 bought a new queen for another colony. I re- 

 moved the black queen and just let her run 

 in the former hive No. i. Later I secured 

 another queen for colony No. 1. .In looking 

 for the black queen in colony No. 1, I was 



