180 



I'HE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



WITH 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



"Red Clover" Italian Bees. 



<laery. No. aai.— Is there any great dif- 

 ference in Italian bees as regards their 

 working on red clover— enough at least to 

 justify one in buying queens for that strain 

 of bees ?— W. M. 



Hardly.— G. M. Doolittle. 



The difference is more imaginary 

 than real. A •' red clover " strain of 

 bees is all " bosh.''— J. P. H. Bkown. 



I do not know, but as " red clover " 

 queens cost little if any more, the 

 trial of them is certainly not ob- 

 jectionable.— \V. Z. Hutchinson. 



It is so reported. If you contem- 

 plate buying " red clover " queens, 

 have the party selling such send you 

 a sample of his bees, and test for 

 length of tongue with the Italians 

 that you have.— II. D. Cutting. 



I have my doubts about it. No bee 

 can reach the bottom of the clover 

 tube. These latter may be so full of 

 honey that any kind of bees can reach 

 the nectar. Italians could get more 

 of it than the blacks, and could reach 

 it sooner. It may be that some Ital- 

 ians do better than others.— A. J. 

 Cook. 



Spring Feeding of Bees. 



Query, No. 222. — Describe the best 

 manner of spiing feeding in order to hasten 

 breeding. Also, what is the best and cheapest 

 feeder for early spring feeding? Should 

 not the vessel be small, and directly over 

 the cluster ?— Mich. • 



Fill a brood-comb with feed and 

 place it next to the cluster. No feeder 

 can be cheaper ; for you have empty 

 combs on hand, so the cost is nothing. 



— C. C. MiLLEll. 



As before stated, I do not believe 

 in the practice. If I did, I should 

 use any preferred top-feeder, never 

 any other kind.— James Heddon. 



The division-board feeder is the 

 best and cheapest for early spring 

 feeding. Turn the feed in warm and 



Elace the feeder at the side of the 

 rood once a day, but only when bees 

 can safely take wing. It is not best 

 to feed on cool or windy days.— G. L, 

 Tinkek. 



The best feeder that I have tried 

 for cool weather in the spring, to 

 feed liquid feed, is a very shallow 

 box partitioned ofE to keep the bees 

 from daubing themselves, and having 

 a tube-like passage away up througli 

 its centre. But I believe the most 

 powerful stimulant to early breeding 

 18 extracted granulated honey, into 

 which some " oil-cake meal " has been 



kneaded, made into flat cakes and fed 

 as candy right over the cluster; and, 

 after all, some colonies that have 

 plenty of sealed honey manage to get 

 these first.— G. W. Demaree. 



I think that some kind of an en- 

 trance feeder (and there are many 

 kinds) used to stimulate the strong 

 colonies, and then equalize by draw- 

 ing from the strong and building up 

 the weak. This method has several 

 good features. Some very practical 

 bee-keepers feed in the open air.— 11. 

 B. Boardman. 



The best feeder, like the best hive 

 and best frame, is the one that is 

 liked the best by its owner. If by 

 spring feeding is meant stimulation 

 only, I advise feeding only an ounce 

 or two regularly each night in some 

 feeder that can be brought close down 

 to the cluster in order that it may be 

 kept warm. If because the colony 

 lacks stores, then add a frame or two 

 of honey ; if that cannot be done, 

 tlien feed a large quantity in a large 

 flat feeder that can be set down close 

 to the tops of the frames. — J. E. Pond, 

 Jr. 



TigM Ceilings in Brood-Cliamliers, etc. 



Query, No. 223.— 1. Is it advisable, In 

 the spring, to have the ceiling of the brood- 

 chamber tight, so as to keep the inside 

 warm ? 'J. In a Simplicity hive, how can we 

 prevent bees from opening a current of air 

 by gnawing the ends of the enameled cloth ? 

 —An Inquii-er. 



1. Yes.— G. L. Tinker. 



1. Yes. 2. This is a practical ques- 

 tion, but after years of experience I 

 hardly feel competent to answer it. I 

 have discarded enameled cloth and 

 have gone back to sheeting.— C. C. 

 Miller. 



1. Decidedly yes. I use newspapers, 

 spreading them" two or three in thick- 

 ness over the quilts, and some board 

 weights over them. 2. If you must 

 prevent this, lay some strips of wood, 

 and Ht them down closely at the ends 

 of the cloth. With my square-joint 

 hives the cloth is cut out as large as 

 the outer dimension of the top of the 

 hive, and laps on its edges, so that the 

 upper sectional part of the hive rests 

 on the edges of the cloth, thus secur- 

 ing a close-packed joint. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



1. Yes, by all means ! Not only to 

 retain the heat but also to create 

 moisture. 2. If any trouble is found 

 from bees gnawing ends of enameled 

 cloth, it can be prevented by binding 

 with tin or tacking it to a thin strip 

 of wood }4 of an inch thick and 1 inch 

 wide. I cover with enameled cloth 

 and then place a cushion made of 5 or 

 6 thicknesses of old woolen carpet 

 over all, and have no trouble. Bees 

 will not gnaw much if no light comes 

 through.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



1. Yes, though this matter is not so 

 vital a one as many suppose, it seems 

 to me. I have seen rousing June 

 colonies that had passed the spring 

 all open at the top of the hive. 2. I 



could not be induced to use cloths 

 about my hives in the spring, summer 

 or autumn. — Jasies Heddon. 



Fertilization of Qneens. 



Query, No. 224.-1. Which is the best 

 method to insure a queen's mating purely 

 where there are other races of bees in the 

 vicinity ? 2. How far will the queen go 

 from her hive on the " bridal tour?"— Elgin, 

 Texas. 



2. She often mates with drones 5 to 

 7 miles away.— G. M. Doolittle. 



1. I know of no sure method. 2. 

 Queens will often cross with black 

 drones distant 4 miles. " Clean out," 

 if possible, the " other races of bees 

 in the vicinity.— J. P. H. Brown. 



1. The best practical method is to 

 rear an abundance of pure drones in 

 the home apiary. 2. I have had 

 queens mated with drones whose 

 hives were IJ^ miles away. — W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



1. )lear your queens so early that 

 other drones will not be flying. We 

 secure drones early by stimulative 

 feeding. 2. It is hard to tell, but for 

 some miles, as has been demonstrated. 

 —A. J. Cook. 



2. It is reported that queens will 

 mate with drones .5 miles away. — H. 

 D. Cutting. 



1. Rear your drones and queens 

 early or late in the season. 2. The 

 queen will go probably a mile. We 

 have seen matings of our Italian 

 drones with black queens 3 miles off, 

 when we first bred Italians, in 1865. — 

 DADANT& Son. 



Broofl-Frame and Section-Case Coyers. 



Query, No. 225.— What is the best cover 

 for brood-frames and section-cases ? The 

 bees cut cloth, quilts, muslin, etc., and some- 

 times make a terrible mess of them. I use 

 sticks sawed and planed out of lath, mostly 

 for shutting spaces between the frames, and 

 I like them better than anything I have 

 tried, but I would like something better If I 

 could get it. For sections they will not do ; 

 and cloths full of holes, and sections smeared 

 with propolis are not agreeable. What is 

 better ?— T. M. C. 



I use enameled cloth. — G. M. Doo- 

 little. 



I like factory-cloth and chaff sacks 

 from October to JSIay, and a board or 

 Heddon honey-board after that.— A. 

 J. Cook. 



If you use good cloth painted, you 

 will have no trouble. As a matter of 

 course, it does not last forever, but 

 will last several years. When we use 

 sections, we hang them in broad- 

 frames without any division between 

 the stores. If you use the Heddon 

 crate you must use his honey-board 

 also.— Dadant & Son. 



I think it the best way to have the 

 tops of the frames or sections a bee- 



