1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



19 



But no, another week and out they came 

 again, this time a queenless oolonj . tor 

 tEe queen was wingless and unable to 

 ilv ; we picked Lei out of the grass and 

 as soon as the swarm returnea, put her 

 back in the hive; this was their last 

 attempt and the colony made us abont 

 90 lbs. of comb honey this summer : the 

 whole lot has averaged 76 lbs. per colony 

 from the original six. 



We have also exchanged weak with 

 Strong colonies; this may have a ten- 

 dency to keep both from swarming but 

 it is by no means a certainty, and as we 

 do not aim to have weak colonies in 

 swarming time for that purpose, the 

 plan cannot be very well followed up. 



it has been supposed and remarks 

 have been made to that effect, that a 

 hive with sufficient chaff protection and 

 plenty of empty comb would form a 

 most" perfect non-swarmer. To test 

 this, we built a hive with about 4 inches 

 of chaff all around, supplied the neces- 

 sary comb and transferred a colony into 

 the same; we did not expect that this 

 colony would do anything but work, at 

 least not until all the combs were Idled 

 with brood and honey. But how great 

 was our surprise, upon returning home 

 from one of our weekly trips, to hear 

 that our non-swarmer had followed suit 

 by also giving a swarm. 



To sum it all up, our 5 years' experi- 

 ence has brought us to the conclusion 

 that under our present circumstances, 

 the shaking off process is the most 

 desirable way of managing to keep bees 

 in working condition through swarming 

 time, but if we could be with our bees 

 constantly, we would let them swarm 

 the natural way. Of course, we would 

 take the precaution to get our bees as 

 strong as possible by the use of division 

 boards and changing combs, and rear 

 our queens in the forepart of the season 

 to have them laying and ready for use. 

 Then, when a swarm issues, we would 

 hive it on the stand of the strongest 

 colony that is the nearest ready to 

 swarm and remove this one to a new 

 location. The mother colony, which is 

 then queenless, must be provided with 

 a young queen, and all queen-cells of 

 those from which no swarms are de- 

 sired, must be destroyed. The entire 

 apiary should lie managed in this w-ay 

 and by close attention and judicious 

 application of surplus room an abun- 

 dant crop of honey may be expected. 



Maples, N. Y. 



For tne American Bee Journal. 



Mating Queens in Confinement. 



KING CRAMER. 



I made a small hole 3 inches long and 

 '.. inch wide in the honey-board, and 

 look the lid Off the cloth, when the 

 young bees and the drones Hew around 

 within this box, as if they were living 

 in and out of a hive. Every afternoon 

 the lid was taken off the cloth 2 hours, 

 and then replaced. 



I have 2 queens in my apiary that 

 mated by this process, and they were 

 the only ones that I tried, as it was too 

 late in the season to experiment further; 

 but I can with safety say, that by the 

 end of another season there will be 

 hundreds of queens mated by this pro- 

 cess, and fertilizing queens in confine- 

 ment will be proclaimed a success. 



Dent, O. 



s rUCT/OXSM^OM 



best, had queens bred from a colony 

 that I procured from Mr. Oatman. The 

 queens are very prolific and the workers 

 great foragers, being fully up to the 

 reputation given them by Mr. Ileddon. 

 I intend to give the Cyprians a thorough 

 tesl next season. I expect to get two 

 Cyprian queens next spring from Mr. 

 Alley. I am highly pleased to have the 

 E$EE JOURNAL weekly, surely you have 

 taken a step that bee-keepers may well 

 feel proud of. I cannot understand 

 how any one can undertake to keep 

 bees without the aid of the Bee Jour- 

 nal. The writings of Mr. (i. M. Doo- 

 litile in the American Bee Journal 

 for 1880, were of infinitely more value 

 than the year's subscription. In fact 

 each number is a feast of good things 

 to the apiarist. Leonidas Carson. 

 Frederick, O.. Jan. 7, 1881. 



<£f. 



For several years I have read in the 

 American Bee Journal the different 

 methods tried of mating queens in con- 

 finement, and all the experiments that 

 I have read of were made with a box or 

 a barrel with a glass in the end of it. 

 If a queen or a drone flies up and strikes 

 that glass, there will be no more mating 

 that day. There is no better way to 

 kill bees than to let them butt against a 

 glass. Not only that, who can tell just 

 the right time to take out the queen for 

 confinement or mating V I at once saw 

 that could not be practicable, and began 

 some experiments, the result of which, 

 together with the modus operandi of ar- 

 riving at it, I purpose, with your con- 

 sent, to lay before your readers. 



I took a frame of brood, with as many 

 young bees as I could get, and put them 

 m the second story of a Langstroth 

 hive, with a strong colony of bees in the 

 lower story in order to get their heat for 

 the occupants of the upper story, as the 

 nights (about the 1st of September) 

 were getting cold. Now we have a 

 small swarm of bees in the upper story, 

 with the honey-board between the bees 

 below and those above, and also a honey- 

 board over the upper bees. 



On the second day they were there I 

 gave them a queen-cell. In two days it 

 hatched out. I then gave them 10 or 15 

 young drones. Now 1 had the queen, 

 drones and bees all confined in the upper 

 story of the hive. The bees were fed 

 and watered every morning. 



The fertilizing box is 2 feet high, and 

 fits the hive on the top. It has a muslin 

 cloth tacked over the upper end and the 

 lid of the hive over that. 



When the queen was three days old, 



aRLEim 



Bees in Minnesota.— I am well pleased 

 that the Journal is to come every 

 week in place of once a month. Last 

 spring I had 12 colonies, which were 

 wintered in a dry cellar without losing 

 any ; sold 1 ; increased to 22 ; obtained 

 about 350 lbs. of comb honey, and plenty 

 of honey for wintering. I bought 20 

 colonies of blacks in box hives last fall, 

 for $00, making 42 ; then I heard of dif- 

 ferent persons who were going to kill 

 their bees for the honey. I obtained 

 permission to " drive" the bees out, and 

 thus obtained 16 colonies more, all 

 blacks. In December I bought all of 

 Mr. Nelson Perkins' apiary, there being 

 30 colonies of Italians and hybrids, 30 

 empty hives, 2-30 combs in frames, ex- 

 tractor and boxes, making in all 88 col- 

 onies. I have lost 2 queens up to date ; 

 they are wintering well to all appear- 

 ance. It has been down to 40° below 

 zero here this winter. The fanners here 

 are going to sow considerable Alsike 

 clover in the spring. I intend to en- 

 courage it all I can, I will sow all the 

 sweet clover I can in waste places. How 

 close can I put my hives together in the 

 spring and have them do well ? Will it 

 do to feed amber cane syrup to stimu- 

 late breeding in the spring V 



Wm. Lossing. 



Hokah, Minn., Jan. 13, 1881. 



[Four to six feet between hives at the 

 sides, and 8 to 10 feet between, at front 

 and rear, which will give ample room to 

 manipulate one row without interfering 

 with the next. We think a good arti- 

 cle of amber cane syrup could be used 

 to advantage for spring feeding. When 

 the bees can pass in and out of the hives 

 with perfect freedom, many kinds of 

 feed may be sparingly given, which 

 would prove disastrous if given in large 

 quantities to winter on.— Ed.] 



Sections.— Will you please advise me 

 through the Bee Journal, which size 

 of sections would be preferable to adopt. 

 I am a. new beginner in the bee busi- 

 ness, and have not produced any comb 

 honey as yet to speak of, and before ma- 

 king frames, buying sections, etc., I 

 would like the opinion of some one ex- 

 perienced in the business, as to whether 

 bees will store as well in the small 

 4 1 4 x4 1 4 ' sections as in larger ones, and 

 also whether honey in the larger sections 

 will bring as good prices as in the small 

 ones ? Will bees store as rapidly where 

 separators are used as where they are 

 not? E. Hunt. 



Sheridan, Mich. 



[The market shows no preference be- 

 tween 1 and 2 lb. boxes, nor do the bees. 

 Opinion is divided regarding separators 

 being a hindrance, on which question 

 we take negative grounds.— Ed.] 



Too cold for anything.— The mercury 

 froze up on January 8th and again last 

 night at 10 p.m., and remained frozen 

 until a.m. to-day. The cold is in- 

 tense. All business is suspended. The 

 mercury has not been above zero since 

 Christmas ; much suffering prevails. I 

 fear it will kill most of the bees here ; 

 many are dead now. Mine are still dry 

 and nice being strong and well packed. 

 The weather since Nov. 1 , 1S80, is the 

 severest known to the oldest inhabitant. 

 E. A. Morgan. 



iucadia, Wis., Jan. 14, 1881. 



Poor Winter for Bees.— The Weekly 

 Bee Journal comes to hand all right. 

 1 am well pleased with it contents, and 

 only wish I knew how to get as much 

 information in regard to bee-culture 

 with the same money as I expect to re- 

 ceive from the Weekly in the next 12 

 months. The past season here was 

 rather poor for bees, but I think they 

 generally went into wtnter-quarters 

 with enough honey to carry them 

 through. The winter so far, lias been 

 very severe and bees that are neglected 

 will be lost. I feel very easy about my 

 bees. I have them packed in chaff on 

 their summer stands. I have wintered 

 them in that way for the past 9 years. 

 John I. Martin. 



Falls City. Neb., Jan. 8, 1881. 



Superiority of Italians.— Bees done 

 poorly here last seaion. Many will die 

 this winter for want of stores, though 

 mine have plenty to winter on. except 

 a few black colonies. I took about 700 

 lbs. of comb honey from about 30 colo- 

 nies ; the Italians and hybrids leading 

 the blacks about 75 per cent. Your 

 valuable Journal is read with much 

 interest and profit. W. H. Smith. 



Burlington, Iowa, Jan. 10, 1881. 



Wants the Weekly.— You will have to 

 change my subscription to the Weekly 

 Journal. I subscribed for the Semi- 

 Monthly but I cannot do without the 

 Weekly. It has been a good Monthly 

 and I have no fear but it will be just as 

 good a Weekly. I wish you success. 



Big Springs, Mich. J. Precious. 



[We do so, with pleasure, and if there 

 are any others who desire to change to 

 the Weekly, we will with pleasure ac- 

 comodate them. — Ed.] 



Catnip and Jessamine.— These are ex- 

 cellent honey plants in this locality — 

 much better than others I see noticed 

 in the Bee Journal. 



Albert E. Foster. 



Covington, Ky. 



Wintering Well.— I am wintering 72 

 colonies, they are all right now, except 

 one that is wasting away. I think more 

 than one-half of the bees in this region 

 are dead now. I must have the Weekly 

 Bee Journal. James Harper. ' 



Mason, Mich., Jan. 12, 1881. 



Bees had a Fly.— My bees are in fine 

 condition, on summer stands, under a 

 shed eight feet wide and fifty feet long. 

 Yesterday was warm enough for them 

 to take a fly, but to-day is very cold. I 

 have not heard of any material loss of 

 bees in this section this winter. I have 

 received two copies of the Weekly Bee 

 Journal, and to say that I am pleased 

 with it would not fully express my ap- 

 preciation. I always expect to work for 

 its interest and for the noble work in 

 which it is engaged. I wish it a rich 

 harvest this vear. W. W. Lynch. 



Maysville, Ky., Jan. 14, 1881. 



Result of last Season.— With 56 colo- 

 nies last spring (poor as the season 

 was) I obtained a nice lot of honey. I 

 purchased an extractor last spring and 

 the result was really surprising. From 

 9 colonies I obtained 93 gallons or over 

 1 ,000 lbs. of as nice honey as ever graced 

 a table or tickled the palate of an epi- 

 cure. Of comb honey I cannot say to a 

 certainty how much I obtained. I ex- 

 perimented with one colony to see what 

 could be done scientifically and I ob- 

 tained 79 lbs. of nice comb honey in 

 small boxes. The others, to a great ex- 

 tent worked on the let-alone plan, gave 

 me from 5 to 10 lbs. of honey or a fine 

 swarm of bees. I also reared a number 

 of queens. Those colonies that did the 



Bees in good Condition.— I had a light 

 yield of honey the past season, but 

 1 doubled up my colonies and they have 

 plenty of honey to winter on. They 

 are on the summer stands and are at 

 this writing in excellent condition. 

 They have not had a flight since the 

 middleof November. The weather has 

 been steady and very cold. I hope you 

 will make a success of the Weekly Bee 

 Journal for I think that it cannot be 

 published and read too often by the 

 apiarist. Upon the close reading of the 

 good experience of the many, our suc- 

 cess greatly depends. 



Davis, Mich. Wm. P. Evritt. 



Dysentery.— I had 18 colonies last fall 

 most of them well packed in chaff on 

 their summer stands, and with plenty 

 of sealed honey, but as soon as cold 

 weather set in, they began to come out 

 of their hives and die, till about one- 

 fourth of them are dead, and the rest 

 are in a very bad condition. Some left 

 from 10 to 20 lbs. of nice capped honey 

 in the hives. Some of the combs are 

 badlv daubed up. Will that honey do 

 to feed other bees in the spring V Or 

 will those daubed combs be injurious 

 to young bees ? I think it is dysentery 

 caused by bad honey gathered late in 

 the fall. J. M. Pearson. 



Troy, Ohio. 



[When the bees can fly in the spring, 

 the honey, even though a little sour, 

 will not injure the bees. The daubed 

 combs will very soon be cleaned up by 

 the bees.— Ed.] 



Cold.— It is 26° below zero here this 

 morning, but we think it will not dis- 

 turb our 136 colonies of bees very much. 

 Rust Brothers. 



Ellicottville, N. Y., Jan. 12, 1681. 



Unprotected.— I hear that many bees 

 are already dead where they are unpro- 

 tected. I am well pleased with the 

 Weekly Bee Journal. Now that we 

 are to have its visits weekly, I think 

 every one should renew their subscrip- 

 tions promptly and send at least one 

 new subscriber. I will do all I can for 

 it in this region. M. A. Newman. 



Collins, 111., Jan. 13, 1881. 



Perishing by the Hundreds.— Bees are 



not wintering well here ; they have been 

 confined so long. They fly out, drop on 

 the snow by the hundreds and perish. 

 They have had no purifying flight since 

 Nov. 5. They worked on various kinds 

 of decaying fruit, and this is the chief 

 cause of the difficulty. Send on the 

 Weekly I cannot afford to lose a single 

 copy. D. W. Fletcher. 



Lansingville, N. Y. 



Uses the Langstroth Hive.— It has 



been rather a poor year for honey here 

 in Maine. I had last fall 50 colonies, 

 most of them in Langstroth hives, but 

 some in Root's simplicity, and chaff 

 hives. I put 23 colonies in cellar. I 

 have had the best success there. I have 

 used the Langstroth about 20 years, and 

 I like it thebestof any I have used, take 

 it altogether, although I have had as 

 good success in wintering in the Ameri- 

 can. I have 27 colonies packed in chaff 

 and straw on summer stands to try it. 

 Lucian French. 

 Dexter, Me., Jan. 13, 1881. 



A Good Showing.— In 1879 I started 

 with 1 Italian and 1 hybrid colonies.— 

 Increased to 6, and wintered in cellar 

 without loss. Next year they increased 

 to 21, by natural swarming, and gave 

 500 lbs. of red clover comb honey, leav- 

 ing plenty to winter on. 



Taylor, Wis. J. W. Ellison. 



