10 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 6, 



CONDUCTED BY 



r»R. O. O. SULLBIt. AUUtBlSlGO, ILL. 



[Questions may be mailed to tbe Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct. 1 



Ooldcn Italian§ and Adel Bees. 



1. Last season I purchast a "golden" queen from a 

 Southern breeder, thinking I would get something fine in 

 color, but her workers are but a trifle more yellow than my 

 hybrids. Would you consider her a pure-bred 5-bander ? 



2. Is there sucA a thing as a real yellow worker ? If so, 

 where can I get them ? 



3. Are the golden workers as good honey-gatherers as the 

 common Italians ? 



4. What do you know about the Adel bees? Are they a 

 superior race or strain ? Au. 



Answers. — 1. Hardly. Of course it makes a diflFerence 

 whether it was a tested queen or a dollar queen. In the latter 

 case you have to take the risk as to her mating, and if she 

 met an inferior drone you might expect workers accordingly, 

 altho some of them ought to be yellow. Possibly it may be 

 well to mention that often there is a possibility of there being 

 another queen in the hive, your yellow queen having been 

 killed. If you had dipt her, it would be easier to detect any 

 such occurence. 



2. Yes, there are workers that are as yellow to the tip of 

 tail as the pure imported Italians are for the first three bands. 

 I think G. M. Doolittle originated such a strain, and they can 

 be had from him and others. 



3. I think that's a good deal like asking whether a red 

 cow is as good a milker as a black one. There are good and 

 poor cows of each color. There ars good and poor bees among 

 the regular Italians, and so there are among the 5-banders. 



4. Practically, I know nothing about them. 



Using Old Combs or Fouiidalion in Transferrin; 



Would you fasten old combs Into frames in transferring, 

 or would you transfer onto full sheets of foundation ? 



Ohio. 



AlsswEB. — It will make a nicer job, and perhaps more sat- 

 isfactory In the long run, if you use the foundation. If, how- 

 ever, you transfer at a time when there is much brood in the 

 hive, it will be advisable to save all comb containing worker- 

 brood. There's bo objection to your filling frames with 

 worker-brood as far as it goes, and then having the rest of the 

 frames filled with foundation. 



A Beginners' Questions — Some Oood Advice. 



1. Please name plants which are especially adapted for 

 honey, and of whom could I get the seed ? 



2. Describe a queen-cell, what part of the comb it is on, 

 and about what size it is. 



3. How can I tell brood which Is fit for queen-rearing? 

 Will uncapt brood do ? 



4. Will brown or black bees make any difference with the 

 blood of a queen if eggs from a tested Italian queen are given 

 them to rear a queen from ? or must I have Italian bees ? 



5. I have a weak colony of Italian bees, and I do not 

 wish to double them up. They seem to be on top of the frames 

 some. Could I not give them some meal on a thin board over 

 the cluster, and also feed them honey or syrup to cause the 

 queen to lay ? They are in the cellar: I think it is about the 

 right temperature for increasing. New York. 



Answers. — 1. It would take more room than can be 

 given in this department to name all the honey-plants, and it 

 would be well for you to get a text-book on bee-keeping, 

 which would give you much information on this topic and 

 many others. Get a bee-book, by all means. Among the best 

 honey-plants are white clover, white sage, linden, sweet clo- 

 ver, Alslke clover, buckwheat, raspberry, Spanish-needle, 

 heart's-ease, etc. The seed of those which are raised from 

 seed may be obtained of seed-dealers almost anywhere. 



2. A queen-cell may be found anywhere almost in a hive. 



oftener at the lower part of the combs, and looks very much 

 like a peanut, and pretty much that size, altho some cells are 

 very inconspicuous, especially if by accident or otherwise the 

 bees have lost their queen. You're not likely to make a mis- 

 take in recognizing a queen-cell the first time yoji see it. 



3. Bees can rear a queen from eggs or from very young 

 brood. Some say the brood or larvae should not be more than 

 24 hours from the egg, and that's perfectly safe, altho the 

 same food is fed to both worker and queen for the first three 

 days, so if the bees start with a grub or larva not more than 

 three days old it Is hard to see how It can be any better to 

 take a younger one. 



4. Scientists are not entirely agreed whether it makes 

 any difference what kind of nurse-bees rear a queen, but in 

 actual practice it is not generally supposed to make a differ- 

 ence. Get your eggs or larv» from the right queen, then use 

 any nurse-bees that are handy. 



5. Now, look here, don't you try to rear young .bees in 

 winter. Let those bees die a peaceful death if they must die, 

 and very likely they must if they're very weak, but don't stuff 

 them with meal and syrup and things, to hasten their depart- 

 ure by giving them the diarrhea. Better change your mind 

 and quietly lift the frames with the bees and put them in a 

 hive with another colony, if you think they're too weak to 

 come through as they are. But be sure you'll not make them 

 stronger by trying to get the queen to lay in the winter. In- 

 stead of taking time to fuss getting the queen to lay, take the 

 time to study a bee-book. 



Giving Ventilation in Summer. 



I have 150 colonies of bees. Nearly all of them were 

 badly damaged last summer by the combs melting down. I 

 had shade-boards on top and the hives raised off the bottom- 

 board iu front one inch. 



Next spring I will bore a large hole in each end of the 

 hives, and cover the same with wire cloth ; also face each 

 hive to the northwest, and put up an extra board to shade the 

 southwest side. Can you give me a better plan, or suggest an 

 additional remedy ? Westley. 



Answer. — Have you no trees ? Under the shade of a tree 

 with free access from all sides for the air, there ought not to 

 be much trouble if the hives are not shut up too close. Pos- 

 sibly your hives are close to buildings, high fences or some- 

 thing of the kind that doesn't allow the air free play. Raise 

 the hive not only in front but all around. It will help matters 

 a good deal to have the hive raised an inch on all four sides. 

 Don't put wirecloth on the holes you make, for the bees will 

 shut them up with bee-glue. If the holes are not opened till 

 after bees have been flying well for some time they will not be 

 used as entrances, and perhaps it would be no harm if they 

 should be so used. Instead of making holes, perhaps you'd 

 like this better : Move the second story forward so there will 

 be an opening of U or ^ an inch between the two stories at 

 the back end. You may also move the cover so there will be 

 an opening at the top.« But this wouldn't do for comb honey. 



HIve-Ventilation in the Cellar. 



Speaking of cellar hibernating of bees, C. P. Dadant says : 

 " Bees should be given a certain amount of upward ventila- 

 tion," meaning, I take it, au opening of some sort at the top 

 of the hive. 1 believe some say no top ventilation to the hive 

 is desirable, as it takes off too much heat. I have 19 hives in 

 the cellar, raised J-l inch off the bottom-board all around, but 

 with the tops tight, as propolized by the bees. I aim to main- 

 tain the temperature at 40^, keeping the air pure. I would 

 like some further opinion on top ventilation to hives. 



Minnesota. 



Answers. — It's right to have a certain amount of ventila- 

 tion. It's right to have the tops of the hives sealed up tight 

 as a drum. It's right to have the tops entirely open. It's 

 right to have the bottoms entirely open. It's right, to have 

 the bottoms entirely closed. This is a free country, and you 

 can do almost any way you like. But you can't have the 

 hives entirely closed both top and bottom. Not unless you 

 want to kill the bees. Before I had any movable-frame hives, 

 I wintered bees in box-hives in the cellar, and they were 

 turned upside down. That left them entirely open at the top, 

 and entirely closed at the bottom. Later I wintered bees in 

 frame hives in the cellar, with rather small entrances, and 

 with an opening at tne top at the back end nearly as much as 

 the bottom entrance. Later still, being less trouble, I left the 



