54 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 27, 



that I don't want to start the season with more than 80 colo- 

 nies In each apiary In northern Illinois. Six hundred colonies 

 have been kept in one apiary in California all right, but it may 

 yet be an open question whether in a series of 10 years 300 

 colonies might not give better results than 600 in that same 

 place. 



3. After being taken out of winter quarters they can't be 

 moved any too soon to the locality they are to occupy for the 

 season. As a rule, very early pasturage is none too plenty, 

 and by moving part of your bees you are practically increas- 

 ing the pasturage both of the ones moved and of the ones left 

 at home. The later they are brought home in the fall the 

 better, provided they have a good flight after moving and be- 

 fore putting in the cellar. Perhaps the safe thing is to haul 

 them home not later than the middle of October. After that 

 time there is little chance for gathering, and if left much later 

 they may lose their chance for a flight. Still, most years 

 they're safe for a flight as much as a month later. 



4. Some report success at it. 



5. Certainly, only it would cost more. But some report 

 just as good success with hives facing some other direction. 



6. Probably there need be little trouble in that direction, 

 but r*! put more confidence in some other things than color, 

 altho I think color helps. When you decide you will make 

 something of the kind, ask further about it, and I'll be glad to 

 give what help I can toward having colonies mark the right 

 places. 



Drones from Queen and Laying Worker. 



Are drones reared from drone-eggs laid by a queen in 

 drone-cells the same size as drones from eggs laid by a laying 

 worker in worker-cells ? Iowa. 



Answer. — A drone reared in a work-cell is smaller than 

 one reared in a drone-cell, no matter whether the egg is laid 

 by a worker or a queen. The reason seems to be that there 

 is not room enough for a drone to grow to his full size in so 

 small a cradle. 



Sweet Clover — Solving; and Orowing It. 



Would it be best to sow sweet clover along with oats in 

 the spring, or wait until the oats are harvested ? How much 

 seed to the acre ? Will It grow from the root like other clover, 

 or will it kill it to cut it for hay ? Iowa. 



Answer. — Sow in spring, using rather less seed than you 

 would of red clover. Better cover the seed deep, and let the 

 soil be well packt. If you sow shallow, and the ground is 

 loose, it may heave in the winter and every plant be killed. 

 Remember it lives over only one winter, not blooming till the 

 second year, after which it dies root and branch. You are 

 not likely to hurt it by cutting first year, but some report that 

 they have killed it the second year by cutting too low and 

 then having a dry spell follow. Of course, cutting it late the 

 second year can make no difference, for it will die the second 

 winter anyhow. 



Higlier or Lover Elevation for an Apiary. 



Does an apiary located on quite an elevation have as good 

 a chance to secure a crop of honey as one that is located on 

 rather low ground, with nearly all the pasturage on higher 

 ground than the apiary ? Mine is located upon quite a high 

 hill, and nearly all the nectar has to be carried uphill, some of 

 It for two or three miles. It seems to me that I have to pay 

 more attention to keeping up the strength of my colonies to 

 get the same amount of honey that I would get on lower 

 ground, as they seem to wear out faster. Would It be a good 

 plan to remove them to lower gound? I get as much honey 

 per colony as any one in this section of the State. How much 

 difference is there per colony with the same management be- 

 tween the two localities with about the same amount of 

 forage? Maine. 



Answer. — Your question is an interesting one, and in 

 some cases an important one. Without an experimental 

 knowledge on the subject, I should suppose that the matter of 

 elevation must be a decided factor. Of course, comparing an 

 elevated site with a lower one, if the pasturage is poor for a 

 mile about the lower one, and good in the other case, it is not 

 hard to decide that the elevated site should be the better, but 

 DO doubt your desire is to know the comparative merits of the 

 two places, supposing the pasturage is the same. Unless 

 there is some factor in the problem that I don't see, it is 



simply a question as to the difference made by lifting the 

 loads of nectar to a point so many feet higher. I doubt 

 whether any definite answer can be given to your question 

 farther than to say that there will be a difference in favor of 

 the lower site. For I think it must be that the extra labor in- 

 volved in carrying a load up a greater height must allow a bee 

 to carry fewer loads in the course of Its life. 



Now there's very little satisfaction in an answer of that 

 kind, but you see there's very little in the way of data to base 

 a fuller answer. For nothing is said about the difference in 

 elevation. A difference of a foot in elevation would probably 

 make no appreciable difference in results, while a difference 

 of half a mile might make all the difference between failure 

 and success. 



Even if exact figures were given as to difference in eleva- 

 tion, I don't know enough to say what difference there would 

 be in results, and will gladly yield the floor to any one who 

 can throw light upou the subject. Until you do know more 

 about it, if it is at your option to choose between the two sites, 

 why not divide your bees between the two places, and then 

 you could have a better chance to know what was best for 

 you ? Of course it would not fully decide the question you 

 ask, for you must remember there may be local differences 

 that do not appear on the surface, making one site better or 

 worse than the other, regardless of the matter of elevation. 

 But the important question with you is to know which place 

 would give you best results, and that you would have some 

 chance of learning by keeping bees in the two places at the 

 same time. 



After you've considered all other points, don't forget that 

 as you already get as much honey as others in your section, it 

 may not be wise to be in too much of a hurry as to making a. 

 change. 



m I ^ 



Wiiy Do Absconding Stvarnis Fly 'West ? 



In my locality absconding swarms nearly always go west. 

 It is a very rare thing to see them do otherwise. I wish to 

 know why they do so. W. Va. 



Answer — I don't know why it " is, unless it results from 

 the persistent repetition of Horace Greeley's advice. Possibly 

 timber to the west of you may be nearer or more suitable. 

 And yet it seems to me that others have reported that swarms 

 almost invariably went west where there seemed no reason for 

 it in the surroundings. I give it up, and leave the question 

 open for any one who has the right answer. 



Alfalfa— How lo Orow It? 



I see much said about alfalfa clover as a bee-plant. When 

 and how should it be sown ? Should it be sown with some 

 other grain or grass ? How much seed to the acre should be 

 sown ? Tennessee. 



Answer. — In its favorite haunts in the West, alfalfa is 

 one of the finest honey-plants, but in other places, even if suc- 

 cess is obtained in getting it to grow, I don't remember seeing 

 any reports that bees paid much attention to it. So it will be 

 well for you to attempt it on only a small scale until you see 

 whether it will be worth while. Give it the same treatment 

 as to sowing that is successful with red clover in your vicinity. 

 The hardest part is to get it through the first year. 



Korean Bee-Keepers, says L. Llonville in L'Apiculteur, 

 call the queen the "king," or rather the "general," and the 

 drones "females" or else "soldiers." They don't harvest the 

 honey till the last of November, as they say it won't keep. 



Hornets and Wasps. — W. F. Reid, in the Briti>h Bee 

 Journal, says he has been making a careful study of hornets, 

 and has come to the conclusion that instead of being an enemy 

 to bee-keepers they should be considered as a friend and 

 cherlsht accordingly. Several hundred hornets were i aught 

 and their prey examined, and in only a single case was a bee 

 found to be the victim. Toward the close of the season at 



