228 



fHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Re?ersiiig Brood-Comlis, 



Querj", No. 235. — When reversing a set 

 ot brood-combs will the bees leave the honey 

 where it is if they have no surplus apart- 

 ment on the hive ? — C. 



I think not. but never tried it.— U. 



C. MlLLEK. 



Bees, as a general rule, store their 

 surplus above the brood, but it de- 

 pends upon circumstances as to 

 whether they will remove sealed 

 honey, as you state the question. I 

 have never known them to change 

 the position of their sealed stores in 

 the late fall or winter months. Bees 

 are slow to remove sealed stores at 

 any time, because it must be done at 

 considerable loss. Our bees here will 

 leave their sealed stores in " patches "' 

 all over the brood-nest, though it is 

 the chief source of our winter losses, 

 during severe winters.— G. W. Dem- 



ABBE. 



It will depend upon the season and 

 the yield of honey. The claim is that 

 reversing sends the honey into the 

 sections ni a hurry ; the claim is in- 

 correct, however, in so far as experi- 

 ence shows it not to be the case at all 

 times, and we must have further 

 tests to prove that it really has any 

 effect at all in this direction.— J. E. 

 Pond. Jr. 



That depends upon what the bee.s 

 are doing. If at a time when all 

 colonies are inclined to fill the brood- 

 combs, they would leave the honey 

 ■where it is; if. on the other hand, 

 breeding is going on rapidly, the 

 honey would be fed out to the brood. 

 Before the advantages of inverting 

 combs can be appreciated, the opera- 

 tor must learn ichen to do it. — James 

 IIeddon. 



Using Olil Comlis. 



Query, No. !i36 — I have a lot of old 

 «ombB from last year, some of them taken 

 from hives where the bees had died ; the 

 latter contain dead brood and considerable 

 bee-bread ; would it be safe to give these 

 combs to the bees attain without extractinjf 

 ihe brood therefrom? and would the old 

 bee-bread be likely to work injury to the 

 bees y— W. J. C. 



It would be safe, but do not give 

 too many at a time. — W. Z. HuTCn- 



TNSON. 



I think it would be safe to give the 

 old combs as they are; but I should 

 prefer to melt them into wax and give 

 foundation.— H. R. Boardman. 



To use these carefully one at a time 

 would, I think, be entirely safe; 

 especially in good, vigorous, strong 

 iioionies.- A. J. Cook. 



I should prefer Uy melt up such 

 combs and use foundation. The old 

 bee-bread would do no harm.— G. L. 

 Tinker. 



Give one at a time to strong colo- 

 nies, and no injury will come there- 

 from ; but, on the contrary, your 

 combs will soon be as nice as ever. — 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Where there is much dead brood, 

 we would object to using old combs. 

 If the bee-bread is too old and spoiled, 

 the combs had better be melted over. 

 Try one comb in a populous colony 

 and see wliat they do with it. If the 

 bee-bread is spoiled, they will cut it 

 out, and throw it away. — Dadant & 

 (Son. 



Such combs as contain mucji dead 

 brood, I should work into wax after 

 cutting out and burying the portions 

 containing the dead brood. The bees 

 will quickly clear out the old bee- 

 bread.— James Heddon. 



Likes anil Dislil^es of Bees, 



Query, No. 237 — Can persons control 

 bees that can control themselves ? or do 

 bees distinguish any one e.Ycept by their 

 actions and motions ? Some people think 

 that they are the special favorites of bees, 

 while others must stand at a distance or 

 suffer the consequence.— H. 



I think that actions pretty much 

 decide the matter, although odor and 

 color may have something to do witli 

 it.— C. C. Miller. 



I have never been able to discover 

 that bees had any personal prefer- 

 ences or prejudices ; but they show a 

 very decided aversion to some kinds 

 of texture in clothing worn, such as 

 fur or fuzzy woolens, and perhaps to 

 some colors in clothing. — H. R. 

 Boardman. 



Yes, with the assistance of a good 

 smoker. 1 did think, years ago, that 

 bees took especial pains to go across 

 the street to sting me. but now I 

 think differently.— H. B. Cutting. 



I think that "some people" are 

 mistaken in this regard. The prob- 

 lem liinges on the Iww. and not by 

 whom, bees are treated. To your first 

 question I say yes.- James]Iieddon. 



Yes. I have never seen any one of 

 ordinary coolness but that could 

 handle and control a colony of bees. 

 The superstitions of the dark ages are 

 fast dying out, and ere long we shall 

 all learn that there is no mystery 

 whatever in bee-management. — J. E. 

 Pond. Jr. 



To the first part of the question, my 

 answer is no It requires several 

 traits combined in the person, to 

 make him a successful manipulator of 

 bees. If I was going to point out the 

 ground-xvork of a successful apiarist, 

 it would be a lasting interest in bees. 

 Everything else by close application 

 can be acquiied.\ Two-thirds of the 

 people believe that bees " hate them," 

 and the other tliird, that they can 

 manage bees as they please. There 



is nothing in the whole thing except 

 that the man who is unfit for the bee- 

 business, is unfit for it. — G. W. Dem- 



AREE. 



Prevention of all Increase. 



Query, No. 238 — 1 have 22 colonies 

 which 1 wish to work for comb honey and 

 avoid all increase next summer : how may I 

 do itV— G. 



This is a rather hard nut to crack. 

 We would advise using large brood- 

 chambers, and attracting the bees 

 into the sections early, by giving 

 them, here and there, a section partly 

 filled from last year. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



By using-reversible hives, possibly; 

 otherwise it is difficult. Why not get 

 one swarm from each colony V — A. J. 

 Cook. 



It does not appear to be possible to 

 prevent all increase in a good flow of 

 nectar in working exclusively for 

 comb honey ; nor is it desirable. — G. 

 L. Tinker. 



I never could succeed in doing such 

 a thing, nor do I think the most comb 

 honey could be secured in that way 

 even if successful. — G. M. Doolittle. 



I am not certain that it can profit- 

 ably be accomplished ; but I would 

 suggest hiving a swarm in a new hive 

 upon the old stand, putting on a 

 queen-excluding honey-board, then 

 the surplus-cases, and over this put 

 tlie old brood-nest. Allow no queens 

 to hatch in the old brood nest, and 

 when the bees are all hatched shake 

 them out in front of the hive. A hive 

 with a loose bottom-board would be 

 needed.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



The ways are varied, depending 

 upon location, season, and varieties 

 of bees. After all were known it 

 would require 2 or 3 columns to de- 

 scribe one course of management, and 

 then some one would say that the 

 plan would fail. — James IIeddon. 



Convention Notices. 



tW~ A cordial Invitation is extended to all to 

 attend the ><th annual meetint: ot the Texas State 

 Bee-Keepers' A.ssociation. to be held at Jud^e W. 

 H. Andrews' t)ee-farm, at McKinney, Tex., on May 

 5 and t>. 18^6. Indications for a ^rand meeting 

 prow brighter every day, and every effort will be 

 made to render this meeting: the best and larKest 

 ever held in the State. No hotel bills to pay. 



B. F. CabhoLL. Set. 



l^" The next annual meetiDH of the Western 

 N. Y. and Northern Pa. Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at Randolph. N. V , on May 4, IHfe. 

 A. D. Jacobs. Sec 



t^~ The DesMoines Co. Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will meet at the Court House in Burlington. 

 Iowa, on Tuesday, Apr. ;27, I88fi, at l<i a.m. Any 

 articles sent to the President, Mr.Geo. Biscfaoff, at 

 Burlington, for exhibition, will be well cared for 

 and returned or sold, as the sender may direct. A 

 cordial invitation is exte^ed to all Interested in 

 bee-keeping. John Nau. Set. 



ly* The semi-annual meeting of the Western 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will beheld In Pythian 

 Hull. N. W Corner of Main andilth Sts., (entrance 

 on llthSt.J.at Kansas City, Mo., on Apr. 129 and 

 30, IHMH, The Cable Line can be taken from the 

 Union I>epot for nth and Main Sta. The following 

 essays will be read: "The Honey Market," by 

 demons. <^loon & Co. : " Bee-Keeping in Iowa." by 

 E. Kretchmer; "Best method of handling bees 

 for comb honey." by A. A. Baldwin; "Missouri 

 Bee- Keeping." by J. D. Pearce : "Does bee-keep- 

 ing pay as a pursuit?" by Jos. Nysewander ; and 

 " Invertible Frames and Hives," by J. M. Shuck. 

 P. BAl.liwiN. Sec. 



