1^98. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



139 



weakening the old colony so much that it will give up the notion 

 of swarming. In most cases it would be sufficient to move the old 

 hive to a new location at time of hiving the swarm, but it will 

 weaken it a good deal more to- wait a week, for lots of bees are 

 hatching out everyday. 



3. That depends. With you in Iowa, probably you will get 

 more surplus to throw all the strength possible into the swarm, 

 (unless, indeed, the bees are satisfied not to swarm.) If, however, 

 the bees should swarm very early, (in some places tbey swarm in 

 April), and the main honey-flow comes late enough so the swarms 

 could not take advantage of it. then it might be that more surplus 

 could be got from the old hive, prime-swarm and after-swarm than 

 if the after-swarm was prevented. But in Iowa, it's pretty safe to 

 say. that every after-swarm you hive cuts down your honey crop. 



3. The supers are piled 10 or 1.5 high, altho 8 is much better 

 than 15 ; a Lareese escape is put under the pile with free chance 

 for the bees to get out under the escape, and a Lareese escape is 

 put on top, unless, better still, a large cone escape is put on top. If 

 piled early in the day on a bright day when bees fly well, an hour 

 or two may empty thsm, otherwise a few may stay in all day. Of 

 course a high pile will not be cleared so rapidly as a small one. 



4. As a rule, 38 to 42 degrees is too cold for a cellar. But there 

 is no little difference in thermometers, and it is just possible that 

 an exact thermometer would show that your cellar never gets 

 below 411 degrees. At any rate, no matter what the thermometer 

 says, if the bees say its all right it is all right. That is, if tbey 

 keep as quiet as yours are. But isn't it a good deal of care to go 

 down twice a week to clean out the dead bees ? Possibly its only 

 fun for you, but its not so certain that the bees like it. Better 

 raise the hives half an inch or an inch higher from the bottom 

 boards at front, so as to give more room, and then you needn't 

 trouble cleaning them out so often. My bees have now been in the 

 cellar more than nine weeks and the hives don't seem to need 

 cleaning out yet, and probably will not be cleaned out till they are 

 taken out in the spring. 



Clealed or Fence Separator. 



Please describe a cleated separator. Is a cleated and a fenced 

 separator one and the same ? 1 have been using a frame (of ray 

 own make) with a no-bee-entrance section for 14 years, but if there 

 is anything better I want to know it. Wisconsin. 



Answer. — Fence, fence separator and cleated separator are all 

 one and the same thing. Instead of the separator being all in one 

 piece, it is in several pieces, perhaps four, the pieces being '4 inch 

 or less apart, and fastened together by cross-cleats on each side, 

 these cleats being }:^ inch or less wide" and about i„' thick, altho 

 these figures might vary. Perhaps yours may be the same thing, 

 and at any rate it might be useful if you would report about yours. 



Wintering Oiil-Door!*— CliaR* Utiles -T Siiper<i. 



I. I want to keep quite a number of bees, and want to winter 

 them on the summer stand. What is the best and the cheapest 

 way ? '\ZZi CIO <-_rZj 



CZ 3. Please give me your opinion as to which are the best two 

 and simplest chaff hives that are manufactured, or the best in 

 every respect for comb honey. 



3. Is the T super better, or as gi od, as others ? 



New Jersey. 



Answers.— 1. That's a very difficult thing to answer. Loca- 

 tions vary, and even in the same location one man will winter bees 

 better in one. and another in another way. Perhaps as cheap a 

 way as any good way is to have the hives close together, well pro- 

 tected beneath and on all sides except perhaps the front with 

 leaves, planer shavings or something of the sort. But to give full 

 minutias would take more room than can be given here, and you 

 will do well to study up the whole subject in a good bee-book. 



Z. . 2. There is nothing impossible about there being a dozen dif- 

 ferent kinds of chaff hives, and yet as I don't remember ever to 

 have heard of more than one, I'm not able to give an intelligent 

 reply to your question. 



L 3. Opinions differ very much as to what is the best surplus 

 arrangement. After trying wide frames and T supers on a large 

 scale, and a number of other surplus arrangements on a smaller 

 scale, I have never been able to find anything that suits me so well 

 as the T super. Of course, something depends on knowing just 

 how to use a surplus arrangement in the best way. 



Wintering Bce^ in Tennessee. 



I began keeping bees last April (1897). I have been a constant 

 reader of the American Bee Journal since that time, and owe what 

 success I have had in the bee-business to it, and the failures I 

 charge to myself. I am in trouble now, and look to you, through 

 the American Bee Journal, to help me out. Our winter here has 

 been very warm, and bees have been able to fly almost every day 

 up to 10 days ago. In the fall I contracted the entrance to abjut 

 4 inches, and left all the supers on the hives. I thought this would 

 be a good plan here to winter on the summer stands. Yesterday 

 (Feb. 4) I opened the hives (it being warm enough for the bees to 

 fly), and found water on the top of frames and in the super, and 

 the bees seemed to be buzzing as if hot (in fact they were). One 

 colony had died. The combs and sections in the supers were damp 



and moldy. I opened the entrance the full length. Was this 

 right ? Should I take off the supers ? I have told you the condi- 

 tion they are in, now please tell me the remedy, and to save the 

 other colonies. I have IS. all Italian, and two imported queens, 

 which I purchast direct from Italy. 'Tennessee. 



Answer. — What made you leave sections on your hives over 

 winter? Please don't do that again. Just as soon as the bees 

 stop storing, take off all sections so they will be fresh and nice to 

 use another season. There may be no objection to leaving a super 

 on without sections, but you can fill it up with leaves, planer 

 shavings, or something of the sort, and not spoil the sections. The 

 trouble is that your hives were too close, the moisture from the 

 bees not having a chance to escape. You did the wise thing to 

 opon the entrance full width. That will give the hives a chance to 

 dry out. If the winter continues as warm as it has been, it may 

 be well to open up a very little on top, so as to allow the moisture 

 to escape in that direction. 



Question on Paolvins Bees for Winter. 



I have packt the super with dry sawdust and chaff, with two 

 passage-ways in each frame about ';^ way from the top of the 

 frames, and about 3 inches space over the brood-frames. The bee- 

 entrance to each hive is one inch deep and .5 inches long, with wire- 

 screen covering, with a bee-passage at the bottom to keep mice 

 out, which gives good ventilation. I have a shade-board in front 

 of the hive, and have the hive cracks, etc., all filled with clay, also 

 top and back of the hive covered with boards, with good, tight 

 covers on the hives. The hives are about 8 inches from the ground, 

 with plenty of ripe honey, and at this time the hives are covered 

 with about 3 feet of snow. Now, what changes would you make 

 to winter bees out-doors ? Maine. 



Answer. — Possibly you might make an improvement on the 

 sawdust (which some consider a little heavy) . Dry leaves are well 

 liked, and whether because better or more convenient, planer 

 shavings are popular. If you mean there are 3 inches of empty 

 space directly over the brood-frames. I should say that it might be 

 an improvement to have barely enough space for bees to cross over 

 from one frame to another. If I understand correctly the en- 

 trance is covered with wire-cloth, all but enough at the bottom to 

 allow a bee to pass through, the wire-cloth having meshes too fine 

 for a bee to pass. Possibly that could not be improved, and pos- 

 sibly it would be better to have the whole entrance covered with 

 wire-cloth having about three meshes to the Inch. That would 

 allow a bee to pass through at any point while effectually exclud- 

 ing mice. But if your bees winter perfectly it will be pretty good 

 evidence that even such slight changes are not needed. 



The remainder of your questions, relating to the culture of 

 fruit-trees, belong to a horticultural rather than an apicultural 

 journal. 



The T Super v». Paltcrn-Slals. 



What advantages do you find in T supers over pattern-slats ? 



I am much troubled with the slats, and if the T supers are no 

 better, somebody should get up one that is. Some of the slats sag 

 a little, other supers sag a good deal. When they are tiered up 

 two may be so far apart the bees put comb between them, while 

 others come so close they stick them together with bee-glue. Hold 

 forth regarding this. Illinois. 



Answer. — I'm not sure what you mean by pattern-slats, but 

 suppose you mean what are called •• section-holders," consisting of 

 a wide frame without any top-bar, the bottom-bar being scored 

 out to fit the sections. My experience with this sort of surplus 

 arrangement is very limited compared with the T super, having 

 used the latter in large numbers for years. The editor of Glean- 

 ings cannot understand how I can prefer the T super. Possibly if 

 he were as familiar as I am with it, he could understand it better. 

 There's a good deal in being used to a thing, and learning to take 

 advantage of ail the little points. Possibly it I should use section- 

 holders as many years as I have T supers, I should find more good 

 in them. But to answer your question. 



First, I may mention one thing in which the T super has not 

 an advantage over the section-holder. When the central sections 

 are about finisht the outside row of sections can be jumpt iuto the 

 middle of the section-holders, and this cannot easily be done with 

 the T super. This is the great point claimed for the section-holder, 

 but as I do not consider it the best practice so to shift the sections, 

 the advantage does not count with me. The T super is more 

 easily filled than the section-holder, for the sections can be put in 

 the T super as rapidly as they can be set in a row on a table It is 

 much easier to empty a T super than a section-holder. The T 

 super has T tins which are so firm that there is not the least ten- 

 dency to sag. whereas the sagging of the section holder may make 

 trouble. But go slow about changing to the T super until you find 

 they are better in ij-mr hands. There are some little kinks in using 

 them that must be'learued to get the most benefit from them. 



The McEvoy Foul Brood Treatment Is 



given in Dr. Howard's painphlct on " Foul Brood ; Its Natural 

 History and Rational Treatuicnl." It Is the latest publication 

 on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 

 Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 

 —both for SI. 10. 



