THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



control at 40° to 43° and never let it 

 run below 35° and thus prevent the 

 condensation of moisture on tlie combs 

 ■which is the lirst cause of mould. The 

 badly moulded comb had better be cut 

 out, and clean worker combs inserted. 



2. The bees are most certain to 

 build drone comb in place of comb cut 

 out in the sprinjj^ of the year. 



3. Iso; and 1 have tested the mat- 

 ter. 



4. No; we thinlv from one to two 

 hundred drones in proper season are 

 au advantage to a colony. 



ANSWERS TO K. D. A VERY. 



1. Buy twenty-five or thirty pure 

 Italian queens of some reputable dealer 

 and introduce them. 



2. We have had no experiences 

 with the Carniolans but crosses with 

 Syrians and Italians have proved to 

 be very promising. 



ANSWERS RY HENRY ALLEY. 



1. As soon as the bees have hail one 

 good flight, they should be taken into 

 a warm room, and all the mouldy combs, 

 except those having brood in them, re- 

 moved. If possible, place two combs 

 of honey in the brood-nest. Cover up 

 warm with a quilt, and all will be O. K. 

 in a few days. 



2. Replace the comb removed by 

 worker-comb. It is quite a fussy job 



■ to do it with foundation. Unless re- 

 placed, the vacant place will be filled 

 with drone-comb. 



3. No. There is no way to prevent 

 the rearing of drones, unless the hives 

 are opened as often as once in three 

 weeks, and the cap to every drone cell 

 shaved otf. Who would undertake to 

 do such a thing? We have not tested 

 the matter of preventing "drone rear- 

 ing," but how to prevent drones from 

 flying or leaving the hive at all, we 

 have thoroughly tested and can catch 

 and destroy every drone that attempts 

 to leave the hive. 



4. We ihitdc every colony should 

 have a few drones at the time when the 

 bees seem to need them. 



ANSWERS TO R- !>• AVERY. 



1. Purchase queens of the best 

 known dealers. 



2. The Carniolans possess no ad- 

 vantage over the Italians. Their 

 "drawbacks" are just what every bee- 

 keeper does not desire. They swarm 

 themselves to death. 



A BUNDLE OF INQUIRIES. 



QUESTION BY J. C. STEWART. 



I am a long-backed fellow and stoop- 

 ing over fifty colonies last summer 

 nearly ruined my back. I would like 

 some plan of putting my hives up IVorn 

 tlie ground sol can stand. Shall Hose 

 honey and bees by it? Use chafi" hives. 

 I like the " Apiculturist" very much. 

 Am going to use Alley on Queens next 

 season. Season good. Lost ten per 

 cent last winter. With no chatt" fifty 

 per cent loss. 



Hopkins, Mo. 



We advise placing the bees about 

 three feet above the ground, or at such 

 a height that but, little stooping will 

 be necessary. No bees of any account 

 would be lost. Rev. Mr. Marsh, of 

 Georgetown, Mass., places Jiis hives 

 about five feet above the ground. This 

 we consider toohigli for easy manage- 

 ment. A good plan for a stand would 

 be to drive two stakes into the ground 

 and place the hive between them, let- 

 ting it rest on cleats nailed to the sides 

 of the hive. Another plan is this: 

 set a post in the ground ; nail a board 

 firmly to the top and place the hive 

 thereon. Hives placed at such a dis- 

 tance from the ground should be firmly 

 secured, or one of those western cy- 

 clones would nnike sad havoc in a few 

 moments in the apiary. 



QUESTIONS BY F. F. GRAVES. 



I am making 2,000 standard L. 

 frames. Is it advisable to make all or 

 only a part of them reversible? What 

 is tiie most practical appliance yet in- 

 vented for reversing frames? 



Waterville, 3Ie. 



ANSWERS. 



1. This is a question we cannot de- 

 cide. If one is intending to ship bees 

 the frames should be made reversible. 

 We think there is some better way for 

 reversing combs than by the single 

 frame principle. Mr. John M. Price, 

 James Heddon and J. M. Schuck have 

 devised hives by which all the combs 

 can be reversed at one motion. As to 

 the practical)ility of such an arrange- 

 ment time and experience must decide. 



There is no doubt that by frequently 

 reversing the combs (say once eacii 

 three days) swarming can be pre- 

 vented. Mr. Schuck advanced a bril- 

 liant idea when he mentioned the fact 

 in his circular that the iuvertibie hive 



