1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



533 



many generations of brood ; so that the cocoons that are to be 

 transferred from will be thick and heavy, and then shaven 

 down with a thin, sharp knife, slightly heated, so that the 

 cells are barely % of an inch deep. It should be cut very 

 smoothly so that there will be no ragged edges ; and when 

 bent back and forth the cocoons will loosen up, and can easily 

 be removed. Some allow them to fall out on a piece of flan- 

 nel, and then take them up, but with a properly-made trans- 

 fer-stick, such as shown at the small end of the forming stick, 

 made a little tapering, so as to stretch the cocoon a little just 

 above the hollowed-out point, I have no trouble in taking the 

 cocoons right out of the comb. By having cups warm (at a 

 temperature of 90-^) they stretch when the cocoon is prest in, 

 and then a little twist of the stick makes all smooth and nice. 



This plan is objected to by some because the combs have 

 to be cut, but practice will prove that the advantages In being 



Dipping -Stick. 



Chister of Queen-Cells. 



able to use larva; too small to transfer otherwise, surrounded 

 by food supplied by the bees to suit its age, will more than 

 counterbalance the damage to combs. Besides, old ones that 

 have been in use until they need removing can be used re- 

 peatedly during a season. 



In selecting the larvae, that used in the different sets of 

 cups should all be of the same age, if it is expected that all 

 will be accepted, fed alike and hatch the same day. For the 

 best results it should not be larger than can be just seen easily 

 with the natural eye ; and many times I use it when only a 

 tiny wet spot can be seen in the bottom of the cell. It is best 

 after a comb is filled with eggs to give it to queenless bees, as 

 the larvas is fed more abundantly ; especially is this the case 

 during a honey-dearth. My experience is that there is not as 

 much difference in the hatching of the queens as there Is in 

 the age of the larvK used ; and unless surrounded with an 

 abundance of food, one larger than the head of an ordinary 

 pin produces a black-tipt, runty queen. 



If it be desirable to form nuclei, a hive can be filled with 

 combs of brood (sealed and hatching preferred) and placed 

 under the cell-builders when the cells are sealed. In any of 

 the cases mentioned, when the cells mature slip them in the 

 nursery described on page 535, or any nursery you have con- 

 venient, and as soon as enough young queens hatch, form 

 nuclei by using a comb'bf honey and one of brood, giving each 

 a queen. Place them in a dark room one day for them to be- 

 come accustomed to their changed condition, when most of the 

 bees will remain, when the nuclei are set out ; especially so if 



the weather or conditions have been such that they have not 

 flown freely for several days. 



If only one batch of cells la to be built, and the first ar- 

 rangement be used, when the nuclei are formed as described 

 above, the hive over which the first brood was placed can be 

 set in Its former position, and it will be seen that a batch of 

 cells has been built, and a number of nuclei formed without 

 stopping a queen from laying or removing her from her hive. 

 — Bee-Keepers' Review. Warren Co., N.C., June 22. 



CONDUCTED BT 



DR. O. C aHLLER. aULEtENGO, ILL, 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.! 



Wliy the Brood Was Present. 



We had a small colony of bees in a soap-box and wanted 

 to transfer them. July 11 and July 14 they swarmed ; 21 

 days after the first swarm issued we transferred them, but on 

 opening the soap-box we found about a dozen small queen- 

 cells, and also brood from the eggs to be sealed. What is the 

 reason of all the brood being in the hive at the time ? 



" Pked." 



Ansvper. — Twenty-one days after a prime swarm issues, 

 there will be found no worker-brood present, as a rule. But 

 it is quite possible that the swarm which issued July 11 was 

 not a prime swarm. One thing that looks like it is that a 

 swarm issued only three days later, and generally a second 

 swarm is at least a week after the prime swarm. It is quite 

 possible that a prime swarm issued about July 3, and the two 

 swarms you report both had young queens. In any case, there 

 was probably left in the hive a young queen of about the same 

 age as the one that left July 14, and if she began laying any 

 time before July 24, there would be eggs to sealed brood 

 present Aug. 1, or 21 days after the first swarm you report. 

 The small " queen-cells " present were probably the remains 

 of cells in which the young queens had been reared, which 

 cells are not entirely removed at once, if indeed over. 



Pickled Brood— Ventilating a Bce-Cellar- 

 Wintering, Etc. 



1. Will you please give me some information on a disease 

 called pickled brood ? I have several colonies that have the 

 disease. I treated one colony as follows: 



I shook the bees oflf of their frames into a hive containing 

 frames with starters, and melted up their former combs into 

 wax. I have several colonies that have only a very few cells 

 affected with the disease. Is there any way to cure the dis- 

 ease without destroying their combs? A colony that has the 

 disease seems to do nothing— only just live — that is, if it is af- 

 fected very badly. In strong colonies it seems to disappear by 

 spells, and then reappear again. 



I noticed the disease first In the spring. I thought per- 

 haps it was neglected brood, or chilled brood, as we had a cold, 

 backward, rainy spring. But clover bloom was good and bees 

 did well. Basswood bloom was good, and buckwheat now is 

 first-class. 



Perhaps, Doctor, you have not had any experience with 

 the disease called " pickled brood." I will explain how it 

 works in my apiary: The larvK dlo in the cell usually after 

 they are full grown. Then they gradually shrivel up and dry 

 down in the cell, and the bees clean them out. 



2. I am thinking of putting in some ventilaiing-tubes to 

 my bee-cellar. Would you ventilate from the top or bottom of 

 the cellar ? My reason'is this : The combs mold some on the 

 lower side. I thought perhaps I could ventilate so as to take 

 out the dampness. 



8. Do you think that, as a rule, a queen ought to lay the 

 eggs for a colony over two seasons? Or is it best to let the 

 bees attend to their own business about queens and replacing 

 them ? 



4. How would it do to clean the bees all out of honey as 

 soon as the buckwheat flow Is over, and feed them up for 



