1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAl.. 



503 



much good could be accoinplisht in this matter if a strong 

 combination In the Interest of bee-ljeepers could be formed, 

 no definite conclusions were reacht. 



J. B. Fagg, Reporter. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. O. O. aHLLER, 4tAK£NGO. ILL, 



(Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller dlreot.l 



Octlins Bees Into the Section§. 



My bees are doing very poorly this season. I have taken 

 but 10 pounds of honey from 4 of them so far. I also have 

 one colony that does not go Into the super — only sit around 

 and will not worli in it. What can I do about it? Would It 

 be a good plan to take *out brood-frames to extract, and give 

 them empty ones in such a case ? Illinois. 



Answer. — Thousands of bee-keepers are in the same pre- 

 dicament. The season is a poor one, and altho there may be 

 plenty of flowers, the flowers do not yield honey. There's 

 nothing in the world for you to do but to bear it patiently and 

 hope for a better season next year — unless, indeed, the situa- 

 tion is so desperate that you must feed to get them through 

 the winter. Of course, in some localities, the season is excel- 

 lent, but according to reports in general, this is probably as 

 poor a season all over the country as was ever known. 



Rearing Drones in the Fail. 



How can I rear drones in the fall to mate with late 

 queens ? Subscriber. 



Answer.— After the close of the harvest, the workers 

 usually set earnestly to work to kill off all useless consumers, 

 and it's a difficult thing to get them to start a fresh lot. You 

 may do something toward it by feeding a colony regularly for 

 some time, thus inducing them to believe a harvest is on again. 

 An old queen In a strong colony promises more of success than 

 a young queen, or an old queen in a weak colony. An unusual 

 amount of drone-comb in the center of the brood-nest will be 

 an additional Inducement. 



Better not depend on rearing late drones, but rather de- 

 pend on saving the lives of those now on hand. Thai's a com- 

 paratively easy matter. Give any drone-brood you may now 

 find in any hive to a queenless colony, and the drones will be 

 respected till they have a fertilized queen. Postpone that 

 time by taking away from them their queen-cells, giving them 

 a fresh frame of unsealed brood once a week. 



Wintering in a Building — Wax In a Brood- 

 Cliambcr — Value of Foundation, Etc. 



1. Would you advise putting 19 colonies of bees (for 

 •winter) in a frame building 8x10x7 feet high, built of stock 

 boards and battened, with a tight floor six inches from the 

 ground? Chaft' cushions to be put over the bees and straw 

 packt between the hives; ventilation to be provided at 

 the roof. 



2. Or, would it be better to fill up with earth to the floor? 



3. Is it a good plan to bore a small hole in the end of the 

 telescope-cover to provide ventilation ? 



4. In melting up the combs of the brood-chamber, how 

 much wax ought there to be? 



5. How much do you consider foundation in full sheets 

 worth in the brood-chamber? That is, in time and honey. 



6. The bees have stored something in with the clover 

 honey this year, that is as dark as buckwheat. Is it honey- 

 dew ? Illinois. 



Answers. — 1. Buildings above ground for wintering bees 

 have not generally been very successful. For your locality, if 

 a good cellar can be had, you may do well to try that. 



2. Probably it would make little difference. 



S. Yps, altho generally the fit Is uot so close as to make it 

 necessary. 



4. That depends something on the manner of melting. If 

 the combs are very old, the cocoons in the cells are like so 

 many little sponges, and will soak up a large part of the wax. 



If the combs are broken up fine and thoroughly soakt with 

 water, you will get out most of the wax. At a guess, I should 

 say that an average brood-chamber might yield a pound or a 

 pound and a half of wax. But I really know nothing posi- 

 tive about it, and will be glad if any one who has positive 

 knowledge from experience would correct my figures. 



5. I don't know. Probably the chief value is in getting 

 straight combs with no drone-cells. Good authorities tell us 

 that there is very much more gain In having foundation for 

 the last half of the combs built by a swarm than for the first 

 half. That is, that they will build the first half of their combs 

 very nearly as soon without foundation as with it, and yet it is 

 so important to have combs that are to last a life-time just 

 right, that it may be better to use foundation for all. 



6. Most likely. It seems to be a somewhat general 

 complaint. 



Feeding to Finish Sections. 



I would like to know how to feed bees to finish the sec- 

 tions? Iowa. 



Answer — Use a strong colony with a young queen, pref- 

 erably of black blood, dilute the honey to be fed — I think those 

 are the principal points to be lookt after — using a feeder that 

 contains a goodly amount. W. Z. Hutchinson is one of the 

 few who say they can practice it profitably. I confess I can't, 

 and I very much doubt if you will find it advisable. 



Candy for Queen-Cages. 



How is the candy made that is used In queen-cages ? 



Texas. 



Answer. — The Schultz or Good candy, such as is used in 

 queen-cages, is not difficult to make. The materials used are 

 powdered sugar and the best quality of liquid honey. Better 

 have the honey heated— perhaps it is better to say warmed — 

 for if you scorch it the candy will be bad. It can be more 

 quickly made if well warmed. Start with very little honey 

 mixt In with the sugar, for if you're not careful you'll have it 

 so soft that you'll have to mix in so much more sugar to get it 

 stiff enough that you'll have a larger batch of candy than you 

 desire. Add a little sugar at a time, stirring it and kneading 

 it, till you get it into a stiff dough. After it stands a day or 

 so, you may find it thinner than you supposed, and you can 

 knead in more sugar. When you get it stiff enough so it will 

 lie for a day in a dough-like lump without running, it's all 

 right for use. 



W^hy Did the Colony Leave? 



How can I manage a colony of bees when they will not 

 stay in the hive with plenty of honey and young brood ? I had 

 a colony that would leave the hive and go off. It first went to 

 a neighbor's bees, in with a colony, then came out and settled 

 on an apple tree. Then I brought them back and dipt the 

 queen's wings. They then would come out every day and go 

 back and leave the queen crawling around on the ground. 

 They kept on for several weeks, going out and staying 

 about % of an hour every day, then I would get the queen, 

 and when they were returning I would let her out and she 

 would go in. What was the trouble ? North Carolina. 



Answers. — Altho you don't say so, the fair supposition is 

 that this was a swarm that refused to stay in the comfortable 

 quarters provided for it. You say there was plenty of honey 

 and brood. That was probably what made the whole trouble. 

 When a colony swarms. If you return it to its own hive it will 

 swarm out again. The bees want a place to commence house- 

 keeping afresh. You gave them "plenty of honey and young 

 brood," and they thought it was just about the same as they 

 had left, so they would have none of it. If the supposition is 

 correct, the remedy is plain. Don't, give them a " hive full of 

 honey." Give them a clean empty hive. Bees are freaky 

 creatures. Sometimes they might not object to quite an 

 amount of honey and brood, and again they may object seri- 

 ously, and the more times you put them back the more deter- 

 mined they are not to stay. If the hive Is In a hot place, that 

 makes it all the worse. 



The McEvoy Foul Brood Treatment is 



given in Dr. Howard's pamphlet on " i^ul Brood ; Its Natural 

 History and Rational Treatment." 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 $1.10. 



