55U 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



nary examination in stinging. It is 

 done in a flash, and wlieu bees are 

 angry, tliey are not particular wliat 

 substance they run a muck at. They 

 will sting an iron pot as quickly as 

 any softer article. These organs are 

 shaped very mnch like the brush of a 

 well-tailed fo-x, and I believe that the 

 process of cell-tinishing is performed 

 very much as a plasterer finishes a 

 smooth wall, alternately using both 

 trowel and brush. In a similar man- 

 ner the bee alternately uses the sting 

 and palpi. 



" Uow skiufully she builds her cell. 

 How neat she spreads her wax !" 



Guelpb, Out. 



For tde American Bee Jonrcal. 



BuMiug Drone-Cofflt]— Feeding Siipr. 



W. ■/.. HUTCHINSON. 



One season I secured more honey in 

 the aggregate (i. e., counting that in 

 both the supers and brood-nests) from 

 the colonies that built their own 

 combs in the brood-nest. 



1 do not consider it so very " hard 

 to have to turn around and buy sugar 

 for 100 colonies run on six frames all 

 summer," when this condition of the 

 brood chambers is the result of hav- 

 ing squeezed all the honey into tlie 

 sections, in which shape it can be sold 

 for twice what it costs to replace it 

 with sugar. This course may put 

 down the price of honey, but it also 

 puts down its cost, and helps us to 

 successfully winter our bees ; and as 

 for making raillionnaires of our sugar 

 merchants, I see no reason why this 

 will injure bee-keepers or any one 

 else. 



Kogersville, d Mich. 



ror the American Bt-e Journal. 



Mr. Mitchell now says, on page 523, 

 that he did not mean that he waited 

 6 or 7 days after hiving before he put 

 on supers, but rather that the bees 

 swarmed out because he did not give 

 them room enough, and he then gave 

 them more room in the brood-chamber ; 

 and at the sixth or seventh day, as he 

 went to put on more supers, he then 

 found them building drone-comb in 

 the brood-chamber. At least, this is 

 how 1 now understand Mr. M. ; if I 

 am wrong I wish to be set right. 



When he gave them more room in 

 the brood-chamber, does he not see 

 that he thereby brings about a condi- 

 tion conducive to drone-comb build- 

 ing, viz : a large brood-chamber 

 which enables them to store honey 

 therein V and if honey was coming in 

 such a flood that some colonies stored 

 120 pounds of surplus before July 10, 

 it is no wonder that they built drone- 

 comb in which to store it. 



He says that he cannot conceive 

 how my system destroys all wish and 

 instinct ot the bees to build any more 

 drone-comb. The desire to build 

 drone-comb ceases when the swarm 

 issues, and if they build drone comb 

 immediately after swarming it is be- 

 cause they are gathering honey rapidly 

 and must build comb in which to 

 store it ; or because the queen is so 

 old that she will soon be superseded. 

 Mr. M. says he will " try once more." 

 Good. If he tinds it necessary to give 

 the bees more room, in order to make 

 them contented, let him try giving it 

 in the surplus apartment. 



Mr. M. says: " I liave many colo- 

 nies that were given foundation that 

 have about honey enough to winter 

 on, and those that had to build their 

 combs are starving." It is quite 

 evident that there is a difference 

 somewhere in the management or 

 locality, or he could not report ex- 

 actly opposite results from myself. 

 When I use no foimdation in the 

 brood-nest, I secure much the most 

 honey in the supers, while the brood- 

 chamber is nearly free from honey, as 

 compared with the brood-nest of the 

 swarm that is furnished with founda- 

 tion. The honey thus secured in the 

 supers is sold for at least twice what 

 it will cost to replace it with sugar. 



Feeding Bees— Reffloviiig Surplus, 



.J. n. ANDRE. 



Last season I gave a description of 

 how I fed my bees for the purpose of 

 building up weak colonies, or in order 

 to get the brood-chamber well Hlled 

 with brood. Since that time [ have 

 made some improvements over the 

 style of feeder then used, and as it 

 suits me the best of any arrangement 

 for feeding in moderate weather that 

 I have seen mentioned, perhaps it 

 may please some others also. 



To make the feeder, use lumber % 

 of an inch thick for the sides of the 

 box ; cut one piece 2 inches longer 

 than the other three, and nail them 

 together in a manner that will leave 

 the box square inside ; this will give 

 a projection of one piece at two of 

 the corners of one inch. The side 

 pieces will need to be 2 inches wide. 

 Fasten on the bottom with screws or 

 in a way that it may be easily taken 

 off. In the side of the box which has 

 the long piece, bore an inch hole, or a 

 piece may be sawn out nearly to the 

 bottom. Cut a neat piece of comb 

 that tills the box, or two or more 

 pieces if well matched together. Nail 

 a piece of wire- cloth with meshes just 

 small enough to keep the bees from 

 getting out on the top of the box. 

 Bore a hole in the back side of the 

 hive, place the box against the side of 

 the hive with the hole to correspond 

 with the one in the hive, and fasten 

 with screws through the piece on the 

 side that projects by the corners. The 

 cover should be somewhat larger than 

 the box, and fit fairly well, and well 

 cleated on top to keep it from warping. 

 In using this feeder pour the feed 

 through the wire cloth, taking care 

 not to run the comb over and let it 

 drip through the bottom of the box, 

 as it might create a desire to rob. The 

 idea of putting on the bottom so that 

 it may be easily taken off, is for the 

 purpose of removing the comb when 

 one is through feeding, for unless ex- 

 tra care is taken it would go to feed 

 the worms before wanted again. 



This method of feeding will not an- 

 swer for cold weather or in chaff 



hives, but for single-walled hives of 

 any description, box or frame, I want 

 nothing better in moderate weather, 

 as one can see and tell just what he 

 is doing ; can feed at any time of the 

 day without any danger of being 

 stung, and, if careful, without any 

 robbing. An ordinary tea-pot with 

 crooked spout answers best with 

 which to pour the feed in. 



I notice that some advise taking out 

 the full sections from the cases as 

 soon as a few are filled, and replacing 

 them with those containing founda- 

 tion. This may do if separators are 

 used, but the majority of bee keepers 

 at the present time are not using sep- 

 arators with the one-pound sections, 

 and if their experience is the same as 

 mine, they will lind in nearly every 

 instance where a section containing 

 foundation is placed beside one nearly 

 full, that the honey in the full one 

 will be carried out into the empty 

 one ; and if one is placed between 

 two, it insures a very thin comb, 

 making it bad to take to market un- 

 less one is careful and places them in 

 the same position in the crate that 

 they were in the case. 



In taking off surplus I take case 

 and all, and those sections that are 

 nearly full I put together ; those that 

 are only half full I put in another part 

 of the case, and fill out the case with 

 empty ones, which is put on when I 

 take off the next one. It does not 

 irritate the bees so much, is just as 

 well done (in fact very much better 

 unless one takes time to fix them 

 when removing the sections), and it 

 is a great deal more quickly accom- 

 plished. 



Lockwood,9 N. Y. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Coffee for Curing Foul Brood. 



J. DENNLER. 



With each spring we liave here and 

 there foul brood showing itself. Like 

 a black and hideous spectre this the 

 worst of all diseases amongst bees, 

 from time to time makes its appear- 

 ance. It brings death and destruc- 

 tion to many an apiary, and gives to 

 the apiarist much trouble, and often, 

 loss. 



The nature of this disease is well 

 known, and of late has been sufB- 

 ciently written about not to require 

 repeating here. As to the remedy, 

 however, opinions vary very much, 

 some recommend salcylic acid, carbol 

 acid, or camphor, etc., and will be 

 certain of good results. On the other 

 band a great number doubt the quiet 

 disappearance of the disease, and 

 only advocate the entire destruction 

 of "the colony as the only proven 

 remedy for saving the remaining 

 colonies. If it were permissible to 

 make a statement here we would like 

 to make the following : The former 

 have operated in good, the latter in 

 poor honey seasons. In good honey 

 seasons tlie disease disappears of itself. 



The opinion that we advance, that 

 heretofore nature has been the active 

 comb.iter of fo-al brood, is shared by 



