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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL- 



Beplies by Prominent Apiarists. 



[It is useless to ask for answers to 

 Queries in ttiis 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 Journal. If you are 

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

 them to be inserted here.— Ed. 1 



Uniform Temperature in Hives. 



Query, No. 310.— Is there any practical 

 method by which practical uniformity of 

 temperature can be maintained within a 

 hive in the winter season, when wintering 

 on the summer stands ? If so, what is that 

 method ?— E. 



No.— Dadant & Son. 



I do not know of any— G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



I doubt it.— C. C. MiLLEK. 



I know of nothing better than sur- 

 rounding the hive with non-conduc- 

 tors of heat.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Just the right kind and right quan- 

 tity of " packing" might accomplish 

 it.— James Heddon. 



It is a question. Of course thick 

 packing comes the nearest to it.— A. 

 J. Cook. 



Mathematically, no ; but sufficient 

 " practical uniformity of temperature 

 can be maintained " by judicious and 

 prop8r packing to answer all practical 

 purposes for successful wintering.— 

 J. P. H. Brown. 



1. I do not know of any. 2. A large 

 colony well protected from the winds, 

 with some absorbent on the tops of 

 the frames that will allow moisture 

 to pass off, and the heat to be re- 

 tained.— J. E. Pond, Jk. 



Yes, put a thin board cleated on 

 top, with a half bee-space beneath, 

 over the frames, and shut off all up- 

 ward ventilation. Give a large en- 

 trance guarded against high winds, 

 and protect the hive with 3 inches of 

 fine, dry cliaff or sawdust packed 

 close all about the hive. Such prep- 

 aration prevents currents of air 

 through the hive and all undue loss of 

 heat, enabling hibernation in early 

 winter, and the best possible condi- 

 tion for breedin" in late winter. 

 With just enough combs to hold 

 needed stores, it is the only highly 

 successful methods of wintering out- 

 of-doors.— G. L. Tinker. 



Th re has been no attempt so far 

 as I know, to keep up a uniform tem- 

 perature in the hives while on the 

 summer stands. There is certainly 

 no practical method known to the art 

 of man by which it could be accom- 

 plished. I have frequently thought 

 that it would be practicable to raise 

 the temperature in the hives at inter- 



vals during protracted cold spells, so 

 that the bees could change their posi- 

 tion, take food, etc. This might be 

 done by introducing warm air into the 

 hive by means of a very simple ap- 

 paratus.— G. W. Demaree. 



Alsilie Cloier. 



Query, No. 311.— 1. Is Alsike clover a 

 hybrid clover? 2. How tall does it grow ?— 

 Cincinnati. 



2. About a foot high here.— G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



2. Nearly as high as red clover.— C. 

 C. Miller. 



1. Yes. 2. From a few inches to 

 2 or 3 feet, depending upon the soil 

 and season.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



It is said to be a hybrid between the 

 common red and the white clover, 

 hence the name IrifoHum hybridum. 

 Surely its appearance favors the state- 

 ment. Its growth depends upon the 

 quality of the soil. We have it 18 

 inches long on our light, sandy beds. 

 —A. J. Cook. 



Alsike is supposed to be a cross be- 

 tween red and white clover, and 

 grows very tall, or rather long, some- 

 times, for when it reaches 6 or 7 feet 

 in length, it ceases to stand up. 

 Usually, however, it grows to about 

 the length of red clover.- Jaivies 

 Heddon. 



1. It is supposed to be. 2. It will 

 depend upon the soil and cultivation. 

 It has been known to grow from 5 to 

 7 feet high under favorable conditions 

 in this locality ; this, however, is only 

 a few stalks in a field. Two to 3 feet 

 is an average.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



1. Alsike clover is said to be a 

 hybrid plant. Whatever may be the 

 facts, no close observer can examine 

 the plant carefully without being im- 

 pressed with the idea that it is a cross 

 between two or more varieties of 

 clover. 2. My experience is limited 

 in the cultivation of Alsike clover. 

 As far as I have tried it, it grows 

 nearly as tall as common red clover. 

 So far as my neighbor bee keepers 

 and myself liave tried it, it blooms 

 profusely the second season after 

 sowing, produces seed, and perishes 

 like all biennial plants do.— G. W. 

 Demaree. 



Floating Pollen in Honey. 



Query, No. 312 — It is admitted that all 

 honey contains more or less " floating pol- 

 len" (so-called) ; can you give an analysis 

 that will fully determine the proportion of 

 pollen contained in both spring-gathered 

 and fall-gathered honey? If so, please do 

 so ?-G. 



1. Some think so. My opinion is, 

 that it is "straining" at a "far- 

 fetched " idea to protect the " pollen 

 theory." 2. No.— G. M. Doolittle. 



I think no one can do this. It 

 varies not only with different kinds of 

 honey, and I believe at different 



times with honey from the same kind 

 of bloom.— A. J. Cook. 



I cannot; I have never seen any 

 practical necessity for so doing, as I 

 do not deem floating pollen a dis- 

 advantage but an actual neccessity, 

 if early brood-rearing is desired or 

 desirable.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



I cannot and do not know who can, 

 but should think almost any chemist 

 could. If all of the honey in our 

 apiary was alike, I think such analy- 

 sis would give us a grand cue as to 

 the safe wintering of our bees. — 

 James Heddon. 



That is hardly a question for a man 

 that makes his living producing 

 honey, but for the ch«mistor amateur 

 who keeps 2 or 3 colonies, and whose 

 experiments are of more value to the 

 fraternity than some are willing to 

 admit.— C. C. Miller. 



It is not admitted that " all honey " 

 contains pollen in quantity sufficient 

 to have a practical bearing in an ordi- 

 nary analysis of the article. Some 

 honey contains more pollen than other 

 honey does, for the reason that more 

 of the farina of the flowers is floating 

 in the air at one time than at another. 

 Microscopically speaking, there is 

 pollen in every thing, and everywhere 

 during the summer months.— G. W. 

 Demakbe. 



Guibourt, Calloux, Wurtz and other 

 popular chemists give the analysis 

 of honey. Probably the most reliable 

 analysis is the one made by Dr. J. 

 Campbell Brown, an English chemist. 

 His average percentage numbers are 

 as follows : Laevulose,36.45 ; dextrose, 

 36 57 ; mineral matter, .15; water ex- 

 pelled at 100° C, 18.5, and at a much 

 higher temperature, with loss, 7.81 ; 

 the wax, pollen, and insoluble matter 

 vary from a trace to 2.1 per cent. The 

 amount of " floating pollen " in a 

 given quantity of honey can be ascer- 

 tained as a sediment by mixing the 

 honey with water so as to make it 

 very thin.— J. P. H. Brown. 



Honey contains pollen that may be 

 seen by a microscope, but it Is so 

 little that practically it amounts to 

 nothing. The theory that "floating 

 pollen " in honey is ever a cause of 

 disease in bees, rests upon the feeblest 

 kind of evidence. No two samples of 

 honey would be apt to contain the 

 same proportion of pollen, whether 

 fall or spring gathered, and I cannot 

 think that if the average was known 

 it would be of benefit, aside from 

 curiosity, to bee-keepers. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



Taste and Odor of Honey. 



Query, No. 313.— My neighbor has been 

 in the bee-business for a number of years, 

 and says that his bees store honey from 

 peppermint, and that the honey tastes and 

 sraellsof the same. Will bees store honey 

 that will taste and smell of the flowers from 

 which It is gathered ?— H. B. 



Yes.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 

 Yes, of course.— Dadant & Son. 



