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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Replies by Prominent Apiarists. 



[It is useless to ask for answers to 

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 than one month. 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 ; g-et them returned, and then find 

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 them to he inserted here.— Ed.] 



Mauaffemeiit for tlie Most Increase, 



Query, No. 274.— I wish to work all my 

 bees for all the increase possible this sum- 

 mer, and not interfere with my honey crop 

 any more ibau can be helped. I have built 

 up as many 3-frame nuclei as I have heavy 

 colonies, which now have young- queens 

 about ten days old. It by giving the parent 

 colonies one of these queens immediately 

 after they swarm, would it keep back after- 

 swarms, and g-et Ihe larger crop of honey by 

 so doing ? By building up my nuclei again I 

 would get two swarms from one colony. — A. 



For this locality your plan would 

 work well, provided you was careful 

 and cut out all queen-cells.— H. D. 

 Cutting. 



You cannot expect much clover 

 honey from a colony that has 

 swarmed. The giving of queens to 

 the strong colonies might help them 

 for the tall crop, however.— Dadant 



&SON. 



I think that it would be as well to 

 let colonies take their usual course, 

 and build up nuclei into strong colo- 

 nies as rapidly as possihle without re- 

 ducing colonies.- A, J. Cook. 



Much depends upon the locality as 

 to management (or honey. In my 

 locality it would be bad policy to 

 make nuclei as early as you have 

 done. I should guess that in some 

 cases giving a young queen to the 

 parent colony would prevent after- 

 swarms; in others not; but I have 

 had no experience.— C. C. Millek. 



Not where I live. Build up the 

 nuclei to full colonies, and allow but 

 one natural swarm from eacli full 

 colony, hiving the swarm on the stand 

 of the old colony ; move the old colony 

 to a new stand, and let them rear 

 their own queen. This is applicable 

 to this locality. — G. M. Doolittle. 



In a good honey-flow like the pres- 

 ent, the bees will not allow a queen, 

 either fertile or unfertile, to destroy 

 cells, whether sealed or unsealed. But 

 if the new colony be placed upon the 

 old stand, the queen given to the old 

 colony may be allowed to tear down 

 the cells, and she will certainly do it 

 if a large part of the bees be shaken 

 down in front of the new hive on the 

 fifth or sixth day after swarming. In 

 this case the queen may be given at 



any time. With a contracted brood- 

 chamber and the use of perforated 

 zinc this latter procedure is one of the 

 very best in working for comb honey. 

 — G. L. Tinker. 



I should never give a parent colony 

 a queen immediately after casting a 

 swarm. The colony needs the short 

 absence of a queen. The hive is full 

 of brood when the colony swarms. It 

 would not prevent after-swarming, as 

 a rule, unless all queen-cells were de- 

 stroyed. You can successfully build 

 up the nuclei.— J A3IES Heddon. 



It would, in this locality, usually 

 prevent after-swarming, but would' 

 not be the means of securing any 

 larger crop of honey, than would the 

 practice of what is called the '' Hed- 

 don method;" while it deprives tlie 

 nuclei of their queens at a time when 

 they can illy afford to spare them.— 

 W. Z. Hutchinson. 



It is difl^cult in any given case to 

 advise. In my own locality I should 

 give all the room that could be used, 

 and return all swarms that issue; 

 leaving the matter of increase of bees 

 till the honey season was over. Other 

 localities may demand different 

 methods. Test the matter in the light 

 of precedents given In the Bee Jour- 

 nal during the last four or five years. 

 —J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Oiieen Laying Many Im in a Cell, 



Query, No. 275.— A weak colony lost its 

 queen in March. They reared a very nice, 

 large queen which commenced laying late 

 in April, from 1 to 6 eggs in a single cell. 

 Bees covered only two frames. What is the 

 cause, and what is the remedy ? Will this 

 queen become all right as she gets older, 

 and the colony becomes strong in bees ?— J.R. 



If not a drone-layer, she probably 



will.— G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



The queen is probably unfecundated 

 and should be superseded by a good 

 queen.— G. L. Tinker. 



Very likely when there are bees 

 enough, you will tiud that you have 

 an excellent queen.— C. C. Miller. 



There were probably too few bees 

 to care for all the eggs she laid, and 

 the best she could do was to put sev- 

 seral in a cell. She will probably be 

 all right as the colony becomes 

 stronger.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



I guess that she laid thus irregularly 

 because she did not have room within 

 the limits of the warmth of the bees 

 to engage her time. In such a case I 

 never " jump at a conclusion." When 

 the bees begin to seal the brood is 

 time enough to judge of the worth of 

 a young queen under such circum- 

 stances.— G. W. Dejiaree. 



Your queen is all right, provided 

 she became fecundated that early in 

 the season. If you had given them 

 one or two frames of hatching brood 

 at that time it would have been a 

 great help to the colony and queen.— 

 H. D. Cutting. 



Probably this queen was reared at 

 a time when no drones were flying, 

 and did not become fecundated. The 

 remedy is to give the colony a fecun- 

 dated queen at once, as the one men- 

 tioned will probably never become 

 fecundated.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



That queen has more eggs than she 

 had room for. .*>he is a good queen. A 

 queen will never lay outside of the 

 cluster in cool weather.— Dadant & 



Son. 



She may be a drone-layer, or may 

 be she is all right, and beliaves as she 

 does because of the small size of the 

 colony. I would give brood from 

 other strong colonies and watch the 

 effect.— A. J. Cook. 



Usually the cause is a lack of bees 

 to keep a proliflc queen's eggs warm, 

 if laid in as many cells as eggs. If 

 this is your case, the queen is all 

 right— a good one.— James Heddon. 



Re-Waxin£ Honey-Barrels, 



Query, No. 276.— Would you wash out 

 and re-wax extracted honey barrels before 

 re-filling with this year's crop ? — G. D. 



I do not think that I should, if they 

 have been kept clean, and are sweet, 

 —A. J. Cook. 



Not if tight, sweet, and clean, and 

 the same kind of honey is to be put 

 in them.— G. M. Doolittle. 



I would wash them out, but not 

 wax them. I would not use a barrel 

 that jieeded waxing. — W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son. 



I should, most certainly. It will be 

 necessary to dry the insides thor- 

 oughly before re-waxing. — .1. E. 

 Pond, Jr. 



Give your barrels a good washing, 

 put a light in at the bung and ex- 

 amine ; if you find them well coated, 

 all is well.— II. D. Cutting. 



No, if they are all right and did not 

 leak. We never wash them, but 

 bung them up tight when empty. — 

 Dadant & Son. 



I would wash them out, if needed, 

 but I would never wax barrels for 

 honey. It costs too much. If they 

 will not hold honey without waxing, 

 " wax " your cooper.— James Hed- 

 don. 



I would scald and wash out any 

 vessel that had been previously used 

 for honey, but I would buy good 

 barrels that do not need waxing. It 

 is expensive to wax barrels ; besides, 

 a barrel that will not hold without 

 waxing, is not entirely safe when 

 waxed.— G. W. Demaree. 



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