468 



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 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 ; get them returned, and then find 

 space for them in the Joubnax,. If you are 

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

 them to be inserted here.— Ed.1 



Using Plain Slieets of Wax. 



Query, No. 283.— Do you know of any 

 bee-keeper who has tried putting in a wired 

 frame a plain sheet of wa.\ without the 

 delineations of the cells pressed upon it, and 

 then gave it to a colony of bees for working 

 up into comb ? If so, please say what the 

 result was ; if not, please try the experi- 

 ment and report through the American Bee 

 Journal.— L. J. S. 



The experiment has been tried fre- 

 quently with unsatisfactory results.— 

 G. W. Demaree. 



I have heard that it has been done, 

 but I do not remember with what 

 result.— H. D. Cutting. 



I have used plain sheets of wax in 

 sections in that way. The result 

 generally was that they were left as 

 they were.— G. M. Doolittle. 



The bees often build comb on it, 

 but it is very irregular, and may be 

 drone-comb as well as worker-comb. 



— DADANT & .'^ON. 



I tried something of the kind before 

 foundation was made, but not with 

 wire. It was not always successful. — 



C. C. MiLLElt. 



Yes, several of us have tried plain 

 wax-sheets with uncertain and un- 

 satisfactory results. If you try it you 

 will use nothing but printed sheets 

 after the experiments.— Jasies Hed- 



DON. 



I do not know of any one who has 

 tested tlie matter, and I cannot see 

 any practical value in such a test. If 

 any one has the curiosity and time 

 suHicient, they may lind out how 

 much lunger it takes to draw out 

 comb thai! to build new from simple 

 starters.— .J. E. 1'ond, Jr. 



Snace Between Brood-Frames, 



Query, No. 284. — How much space 

 should be allowed to a frame ? or what 

 should be the respective width of an 8 or a 

 10 frame hive ?— G. K. 



For a %-inch top-bar allow 1^4 

 inches from centre to centre of the 

 frames.— II. D. Cutting. 



I use \% inches to the frame.— G. 

 M. Doolittle. 



An inch and three-eighths works 

 nicely.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



About \}4 inches to a frame— 8 

 frames in 12 inches.— A. J. Cook. 



With perfectly straight combs I am 

 inclined to favor 1,14 inches from 

 centre to centre ; certainly not closer, 

 and perhaps this is too close. I am 

 anxious for light on the matter.— C. 

 C. Miller. 



There are advantages both ways. 

 After many experiments Father 

 Langstroth gave a net space of 141-^ 

 inches for 10 frames. I use and pre- 

 fer 11 J^ inches for 8 frames.— James 

 Heddon. 



One and three-eighths inches from 

 centre to centre of the frames is just 

 right for the brood-nest, though they 

 may be worked a little closer or a little 

 wider apart. I make my 10 frame 

 hives 14Js inches wide. They give 

 entire satisf action.— G. W. Demaree. 



After much experiment I am con- 

 firmed in the belief that brood-frames 

 should be spaced from centre to cen- 

 tre 1 % inches, no more nor less. One- 

 fourth inch should be allowed at each 

 side.- G. L. Tinker. 



The space between frames should 

 be not less than l%,nor more than IJ^ 

 inches. Mr. Langstroth used 1 7-l(i 

 as a standard ; we use IJ^ inches.— 

 Dadant &Son. 



A 10-frame hive should be 14 inches 

 wide to give the best results in sur- 

 plus comb honey ; for extracted 

 honey it should be M to J^ inch wider. 

 The regular Langstroth 10-frame hive 

 is 141^ inches wide inside. My belief 

 is that frames are spaced too wide 

 apart, as a rule, to give the best re- 

 sults in comb honey.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Clarifying Beeswax, 



Query, No. 285. —What is the best 

 method of clarifying wax V If acid is used, 

 of what quality and strength ? Does it in 

 any way injure tlie texture of the wax ? — R, 



Allow it to cool slowly when heated. 

 I do not know, but I should think that 

 acid might do harm.— C. C. Miller. 



Heat the wax slowly, and let it 

 cool very sloivly. Acids will do for 

 bleacher's wax" but not for founda- 

 tion wax. — Dadant & Son. 



To every 10 pounds of wax use one 

 pint of vinegar, together with one 

 quart of water, in melting. Strain 

 and tix so it will cool very slowly. 

 When cold scrape the sediment from 

 the bottom.— G. M. Doolittle. 



Frequent melting in clean hot 

 water, in my opinion, is the best way. 

 Acid of any kind cannot be used 

 without injuring the wax. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



Let the melted wax cool slowly in a 

 tall tin can. Surround the can with 

 sawdust or some non-conductor of 

 heat.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Explanatory.— The figures before the 

 names indicate the number of years that the 

 person has kept bees. Those after, show 

 the number of colonies the writer had in the 

 previous spring and fall, or fall and spring, 

 as the time of the 3'ear may require. 



This mark indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near the center of the State named; 

 6 north of the center; 9 south; 0+ east; 

 ♦O west; and this 6 northeast; N3 northwest: 

 o» southeast; and 9 southwest of the center 

 of the State meutioned. 



for the American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie Winter Stores of Bees. 



WM. F. CLARKE. 



Surprise is expressed at my claims, 

 on page 293, and Mr. Heddon asked, 

 " Is it possible that a man like Prof. 

 Cook, a man we all have to look up to 

 as an authority in these matters, 

 should put a quietus on the pollen 

 theory, and never realize it, but all 

 the time think that he was stating 

 truths that sustained it ?" 



I answer unhesitatingly, it is both 

 possible and actual, which positions I 

 shall now proceed to prove. 



Prof. Cook IS an extraordinary gen- 

 ius. Extremes meet in him. He is 

 like a noted clergyman who was wont 

 to say that he could preach the best 

 and the worst sermon of any man in 

 London, (Eng.) On some phases of 

 apiculture, Prof. Cook is away ahead 

 of all his competitors ; on others he is 

 just as much in the rear. He reminds 

 me of the proverb, " It takes great 

 men to put forth great nonsense," or 

 as a certain old book has it, " Great 

 men are not always wise." I could 

 easily cite illustrations of the correct- 

 ness of these statements from the 

 Professor's writings, but instead of 

 doing this I shall call up an impartial 

 and competent witness, Mr. Frank 

 Cheshire,who, in the scientific volume 

 of his great work on bee-keeping just 

 published, page 90, says Prof. Cook 

 has made " several statements which 

 are astoundingly inaccurate," and on 

 pages !)4 and 98 repeats the assertion. 

 Ou page 128, Mr. Cheshire says con- 

 cerning a certain point, Prof. Cook 

 " is so inaccurate in every particular, 

 that he is best refuted by quotation," 

 precisely the way in which I claimed 

 to have refuted him at Detroit, after 

 listening to his essay on the pollen 

 theory. The following from pages 

 132 and 133 is pretty hard ou one 

 whom '• we all have to look up to as 

 an authority." Mr. Cheshire says : 



" An old Fiench entomologist pub- 

 lished some capital drawings of bees' 

 legs, but his numbering read back- 

 wards, since the reversing action of 

 the printing press had been forgotten. 

 He was copied by Blanchard, who, 

 failing to note his authority's mis- 

 take, called the drone leg the queen 

 leg, while the latter went to the 



