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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Replies by Prominent Apiarists. 



[It is useless to ask for answers to 

 Queries in tliis Department in less time 

 than one montb. They have to wait their 

 turn, be put in type, and sent in about a 

 dozen at a time to each of those who answer 

 them ; get them returned, and then And 

 space for them in the Jouknai,. If you are 

 In a "hurry" for replies, do not ask for 

 them to be inserted here.— Ed.] 



Shading Hiyes— Di?isioii-Boarils. 



Query, No. 261.— 1. Whatis the best way 

 to make both artiticial and natural shade for 

 hives with thin walls? 2. How is the best 

 kind of a division-board made'/— E. B. 



1. We shade our hives under trees 

 and cover them with a rough board 

 roof. 2. Our division-board is a Ji- 

 inch board with oil-cloth rounded 

 over the ends to make a tight fit and 

 loosen easily. — Dadais^t & Son. 



1. Artificial shade is all that is used 

 in my apiary. A shade-board made 

 of any cheap lumber or shingles suits 

 me best.— G. W. Bemakee. 



1. For artificial, use a thin board; 

 for natural, use grape-vines. 2. I use 

 an inch board the size of the inside of 

 the hive below the rabbet, tacking on 

 the top-bar of a frame for it to hang 

 by. To make it fit tightly and still 

 not swell tight in wet weather, tack 

 strips from old rubber boot-legs to the 

 sides and bottom.— G. M. Doolittle. 



1. I prefer a light board 2x3 feet 

 held in place by a weight. I have used 

 sun-flowers to good advantage. 2. It 

 is made by the bees, and is a good 

 •worker comb. If it is not tight fit- 

 ting, and you wish it to be so, tack 

 strips of cloth to its edges.— W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



1. Grape-vines or trees, fornatural 

 shade, being sure of good circulation 

 of air ; that is, not having so dense a 

 shade near the ground as to stop cir- 

 culation. For artificial shade, boards 

 projecting on the south side over the 

 hive with an air-space under, or a 

 bunch of tall grass or hay laid on top 

 with a stick of fire-wood for ballast. Do 

 you think that thin walls are as good 

 as inch walls V 2. I have never seen 

 a division-board that fully suited me. 

 I am using a plain pine board Jg-ineh 

 thick, but it is not possible to make a 

 close enough tit without making it too 

 hard to move. — C. C. Miller. 



1. Trees are the best natural shade. 

 In using such the " bees wont go to 

 Mahomet," so you must carry them 

 to the trees. For artificial shade I 

 have found nothing better than a flat 

 board laid on top of the hives, and 

 large enough for the purpose, " a la 

 Heddon." A little ingenuity and a 

 ■wide board or a piece of old sail-cloth 

 or burlap will make all the shade re- 

 quired. 2. A piece of 3;(-inch deal, 

 the size of the frame, with the top- 



bar nailed on, makes as good a 

 division-board as anything. — J. E. 

 Pond, Jr. 



1. The best shade is a wide shade- 

 board raised by cross-pieces so as to 

 rest about 4 or 6 inches above the 

 hives. If we are afraid of wind, we 

 can arrange to place bricks on the 

 under side, which will weight the 

 boards and yet not show. I use cross- 

 boards 4 inches wide and connect 

 these by a third board so nailed as to 

 hold one or two bricks. — A. J. Cook. 



What the best way is I do not know, 

 but I can give you my way. My hives 

 are among grape-vines on all sides. 

 I also use a board larger than the top 

 of the hive, letting it project on the 

 south and west sides. 2. I use divis- 

 ion-boards that just fit the inside of 

 the hive, made of ?|-inch lumber ; 

 also Jij-inch lumber, but I see no dif- 

 ference. Nail it on a top-bar of a 

 frame, and let it hang on the metal 

 strip that holds the frames. In win- 

 ter I use a division-board for small 

 colonies 2 inches thick, packed with 

 chaff.— II. D. Cutting. 



1. Where hives cannot be protected 

 by the shade of trees or vines, a large 

 shade-board is a good thing. 2. To 

 make aserviceable division-board, cut 

 a board 2 inches shorter than the 

 hive is inside, and nail cleats on the 

 ends.— G. L. Tinker. 



1. All should be shaded, and when 

 so, the thin-walled hives are coolest. 

 Let natural shade go, and shade your 

 hives with a board, or combination of 

 boards measuring 2x3 feet. 2. We 

 need no division-boards, I think. — 

 James Heddon. 



Pure Oueens—MatinE of Oiieens, 



Query, No. 262.— 1. Would an Italian 

 (juecn reared from the egg-, by a black 

 colony of bees, be as pure as one reared by 

 an Italian colony ? 2. Is a queen reluctant 

 to mate with a drone from the same hive 

 that she herself is from ? — J. M. C. 



1. Yes.— H. D. Cutting. 



1. I think so. 2. This can only be 

 guessed at.— G. M. Doolittle. 



1. I think so assuredly. 2. No one 

 knows, but from analogy I should say 

 no.— A. J. Cook. 



1. Yes. 2. I do not think that a 

 queen could tell from what hive a 

 drone tame ; if she could, I doubt her 

 having any objections to one from the 

 same hive as herself. — W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson. 



1. Yes, of course. 2. We think not. 

 — Dadant & Son. 



1. Yes. 2. Yes, exceedingly so. 

 The queen's disposition to mate with 

 a drone of a foreign scent is so great 

 that I have found it very difficult to 

 get them to unite with such drones 

 though not at all related. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



1. I think they would, I do not 

 think that the nursing bees exercise 

 any influence as to the purity of 

 blood, by merely nursing the young 

 queens. I have had large experience 

 in this matter, and I am quite con- 

 vinced that neither the worker nor 

 royal progeny of one race of bees is 



affected in the least by being nursed 

 and fed by another race.— G. W. 

 Demaree. 



1. There is no reason either in 

 theory, or practical facts, that would 

 tend to show that she is not. I should 

 consider her progeny pure if she was 

 purely mated. 2. No one can tell. I 

 do not think that any difference will be 

 discovered, however.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



1. Just as surely as a child of yours 

 tended by a black nurse-girl would 

 grow up a white child. 2. At a guess 

 I should say she would hardly recog- 

 nize the difference, but it is quite 

 possible she might.— C. C. Miller. 



StrainiiiE and Parifying f ai. 



Query, No. 263.— What is the best and 

 quickest way of straining and purifying 

 wax ? I am experimenting with some of my 

 bees, to secure the greatest yield of wax and 

 less of honey. Out of a hundred hives I get 

 a good deal of wax, as I remove it freely : 

 but I do not like the looks of it after it is 

 strained. I am at a 16ss to know how to get 

 rid of the sub-strata of impurities after it is 

 strained and cooled.— Austin, Tex. 



The sun wax -extractor promises to 

 be the best for extracting wax. By 

 its use there is no substrata of im- 

 purities to get rid of.— G. L. Tinker. 



I have no trouble in obtaining nice 

 wax with any of our modern tin wax- 

 extractors.— H. D. Cutting. 



After all that has been said about 

 improved wax-extractors, I have the 

 best success with a large kettle and 

 bags of thin burlap. To purify the 

 wax frequent melting in plenty of hot 

 water gives me the Liest results. Hot 

 wax should never come in contact 

 with cold water.— G. W. Dbjiaree. 



!Melt it over a great deal of water, 

 and do not boil too highly. Let it 

 cool slowly, and strain over a sieve if 

 you choose.— Dadant & Son. 



To every 10 pounds of wax add 1 

 quart of water and 1 pint of good 

 vinegar. When all is melted, strain 

 and put it in a warm place so that it 

 will cool slowly. When cold, scrape 

 the dirt from the bottom where it will 

 be found all together, leaving the wax 

 clean and nice.— G. M. Doolittle. 



I know of no better way than to 

 allow the wax to cool in deep tin-cans 

 surrounded by sawdust, or some non- 

 conductor of heat. As the wax cools 

 very slowly the impurities settle to 

 the bottom. The cans should be 

 smaller at the bottom than at the top. 

 — W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Melt a large quantity together, 

 having it deep rather than shallow ; 

 let it cool very slowly, and you will 

 succeed in scraping off all impurities 

 from the bottom.— C. C. Miller. 



Melt it in water, and continue the 

 melting process till it becomes clear. 

 When cold, after first melting, most 

 of the sediment will be found at the 

 bottom of the cake. Shave this sedi- 

 ment off, and melt it over again ; 

 shave off the sediment and so con- 

 tinue till all is clear. Two or three 

 meltings at the most has been found 

 sufficient with myself, even when ex- 

 ceedingly dirty combs are used.— J. E. 

 Pond, Jr. 



