198 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 31, 



duced more milk than any other dairy In the country. I askt 

 him the cause, and he said that he ascribed it to his having 

 Alsike clover for pasture. I askt him if his cows were not a 

 better milking strain than his neighbors' were. He said no, 

 that the same cows were now doing much better than before 

 they had Alsike pasture. I then askt if he kept bees, to see 

 if there was a motive behind it, and he said he did not. He 

 said his neighbors' bees just swarmed on it. On a. 10-acre 

 strip of Alsike I cut a crop of hay, the second crop came up, 

 and it was all headed out, and so was the red clover along the 

 other part of the meadow ; and every day when I would come 

 to the field for my milk cows in the evening, they would 

 always be on that Alsike clover, and they ate it down so 

 closely, the cows and the sheep together, I was afraid they 

 would kill it; and the red clover, to look across it, didn't 

 appear to have been toucht. 



(Concluded next week.) 



CONBUCTBD BT 



r»K. O. O. MILLER. MJLRBVIGO, ILL, 



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



Tarred Paper iu Honey-House Walls. 



Will tarred paper used on the walls of a honey-bouse impart 

 its tarry odor to the honey kept therein ; I have just purchast 

 some for that purpose. N. Mex. 



Answer. — I think there has been some complaint in that direc- 

 tion, but if the paper is put on early this spring, it will probably 

 not be troublesome by tbe time honey is stored in it. It any one 

 has actual experience in the matter, will he please rise ? 



Pulling Bees Out— Early Feeding. 



My bees are alive yet. How soon had I better move them to 

 the summer stands ? Will it hurt to examine them now, and take 

 out the straw above the brood and put in sections of honey in the 

 super to feed them ? Iowa. 



Answer.— Unless you are very much afraid tbe bees will suffer 

 for lack of stores, better not open "up a hive till weather is warmer, 

 say in fruit-bloom. Of course it is better to disturb them than to 

 let them starve. But putting on a super to feed them makes a 

 good bit of empty room for them to keep warm. On account of 

 changing place and losing their bearings, the sooner the bees are 

 put on their summer stands the better. 



Transferrins lo New Combs and Hives. 



I have five colonies of bees in box hives. I wish to transfer in 

 spring to movable-frame hives. Can 1 do away with all contents 

 of the old hives after the bees are transferred in the new ? My 

 reasons are, I want to start my apiary with good, clean material, 

 and 1 think the old combs may be so old as to be unfit for use. All 

 five hives are as full of bees as they can hold, and have plenty 

 stores left. So far they are doing nicely, and are gathering pollen 

 every day that the sun shines, and it is not too cold. La. 



Answer.— Yes. Perhaps the most economical way will be to 

 wait till the bees swarm, then hive on full sheets of foundation, 

 and three weeks later, when all worker-brood has emerged, drive 

 out all bees and unite with the swarm, unless you want to increase. 



Wagon-Raeli for Hauling Bees. 



Please describe the wagon-rack you use in hauling your bees to 

 and from the out-apiary. • Mich. 



Answer.— My wagon-rack is quite a simple affair. A common 

 farm-wagon box rests on heavy springs that are detachable, and I 

 can't tell what the springs are called. It's a pair I borrowed from 

 a fruit-dealer who hauls on it heavy loads of melons, etc., and all 

 that's necessary is to raise up the wagon-bos and set the spring on 

 the bolster. The wagon-box itself is filled with hives, so the rack 

 must be high enough to accommodate that. The width of the 

 boards used for tbe sides and ends of the rack of course determines 

 its height. For side pieces use boards long enough to project back 

 farther than the end of the wagon-box. for you may as well have 

 two or four hives on the rack back of the box. These side pieces 

 sit edgewise on the sides of the wagon-box, a board of the same 

 width being nailed on the front end, also at the back end, and for 

 greater security one at the middle. Short boards 13x6 inches are 

 nailed on the sides projecting down on the wagon-box, so there's 



no possibility of this frame-work slipping off. Strap or band-iroo 

 is nailed on at the joints where the end pieces are nailed to th& 

 sides, for fear the nails might work loose. Now boards six inches 

 wide are nailed across the top to support the hives. These are long 

 enough to take two hives, the hives standing back to back, but not 

 near enough to touch, the entrances of the hives facing toward 

 each side of the wagon. Nail the first board on the front end. and 

 nail on the front edge of the board a strip ?b or an inch square to 

 prevent the hive slipping forward. Now lay on loosely the second 

 board about where yon think it ought to be. Before putting on 

 the second board, nail upon the middle of it, that is about 21.^ 

 inches from each edge, two strips about \-inch square, these strip-i 

 not meeting at tbe middle by perhaps six inches. Lay this second 

 board loosely about where you think it ought to go, and then put 

 on two empty hives. Push the board up to place, and that will 

 show you just where you ought to nail it, only it would be too 

 tight a fit, so have a little strip of '4-inch to lay beside tbe hive so 

 as to allow i^-inch play. Now fasten the second board and go or» 

 with the third, and the rest in the same way. only the last board 

 will have its strip at one side instead of the middle. 



From end to end is now put on each side a strip perhaps an 

 inch or more wide, and in the middle a board wide enough to keep 

 the backs of the hives from touching. If you are to drive over a 

 very rough road, it might be necessary to have the strips that hold 

 the hives from sliding off, more than an inch thick. 



The wagon-box I use holds nine eight-frame hives, and the 

 rack 32. making 31 hives at a load. This is much less than some 

 others haul at a load. It would be an easy matter to have mad& 

 my load 43 instead of 31 by making the cross boards longer, so as 

 to take three hives abreast instead of two. 



Getting Increase — Allernating Shallow 

 Brood-Chambers. 



1. Which is the best way to increase, from one to about four 

 colonies ? 



2. Will the bees rear brood extensively, alternating two six- 

 inch deep brood-chambers once in ten days ? Wis. 



Answers, — 1, Sometimes there is no "best," only a worst way, 

 unless you want to do a lot of feeding. Even with feeding, it's a 

 pretty hard matter to do much if honey doesn't yield. With a good 

 season there ought not to be much trouble about it. As you can't 

 tell for certain what the season will be. it's a good plan to keep on 

 the safe side and work on the nucleus plan as described in the text 

 books and in late numbers in this department. 



3. It's a little doubtful whether you can gain anything by- 

 alternating. With a good strain of bees and a good queen, you're 

 likely to have all the brood reared the bees can care for, if you 

 give them combs enough. Breaking up their arrangements by 

 alternating the two stories might in some cases induce more brood, 

 but it might, as well, make less. 



Oul-A|tiary (tueslions — Full Sheets or Starters in 

 Seciion» — Number of Colonies in an Apiary. 



1. What can I run an apiary of 35 colonies, spring count, for ? 



2. The bees are y^ mile from my apiary. Do you think I can 

 run that yard and my own myself ? 



3. Are full sheets of foundation in the sections better than one- 

 inch starters ? 



4. How many colonies do you think can be kept in one apiary 

 in Virginia ? « Va. 



Answers —1. You can run them for extracted or comb, or for 

 part of each, or you can run them entirely or partly for increase. 

 The size of the apiary really makes very little difTerence about it. 



2. If you have sufficient experience there ought to be no trouble 

 about your running both apiaries yourself. If the out-apiary is 

 only '., mile away, however, it would be almost as well to have the 

 bees all in the home apiary, and it would be a good deal more 

 convenient. 



3. I very much prefer full sheets. 



4. If the location is an average one, probably from 75 to 100. 



Figworl — inanaging Sunday Swarming. 



1. I would like to know something about Simpson honey-plant 

 or figwort — how to grow it, what time to plant it, and what the 

 seed costs. Does it kill out in winter ! Do early frosts hurt it ? 

 Will it grow well on light, sandy soil ? 



3. What would be the best way to manage bees in swarming- 

 time, so that the bee-keeper would not have to do anything with 

 them on Snnday, and not lose any swarms ! Mich. 



Answers. — 1. When the interest in figwort was at its height. I 

 sent to another State and bought plants enough to set out about au 

 acre, and had probably as nice a plantation of it as was ever seen. 

 My advice to you, as a friend, is to let it entirely alone and not 

 plant a seed of it. I don't believe it will pay you to fuss with it. 

 If there is any one who had a plantation of it 10 years ago and has 

 not given it up. I should be glad to hear of it. Not long ago the 

 editor of Gleanings said he thought a plant of it might give as 

 much honey as (I think it was) 10 of sweet clover. And yet he 

 does not deny that they have given up growing it — a pretty strong 

 proof that it isn't considered of profit enough to grow. Answering 



