1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNA).. 



567 



be rough on the sections. But you can take off the the sec- 

 tions and I think you'll find there will bs no difficulty about 

 there being room enough in the hives. If proper attention is 

 given to the bees, so that they will not be allowed to get short 

 of stores, an S-frame hive serves a very good purpose. I'm in- 

 clined to think I shall use that size of hive iu the future as I 

 have for a number of years past. If the eight frames do not 

 give the bees room enough, I can give them another story at 

 any other than harvest time, and at harvest time I can give 

 enough supers to hold all the bees. But for any one who leaves 

 his bees to themselves, merely hiving them when they swarm, 

 and taking away the surplus in the fall, a larger hive is de- 

 cidedly safer and better. 



Rcariiis Queens and Drones — Purcly-lMalecl 

 (tuccns. 



1. I examined my bees to-day (Aug. 16) and found queen- 

 cells with eggs in them. Why are there eggs iu queen-cells at 

 this season of the year"? The hives are full of brood, but there 

 is little honey coming in. The prospect for a fall flow is good. 



2. Why are my bees rearing so many drones ? There is 

 more drone-brood in the hive now than in the spring. 



3. Can I rear purely-mated queens where there are no 

 black bees within two miles of me? Virginia. 



Answers. — 1. It is possible the bees contemplate swarm- 

 ing. A colony strong in bees is as likely to swarm in a par- 

 tial honey-flow as when the flow is unusually strong. More 

 likely, however, the eggs in queen-cells mean the supersedure 

 of the queen. Remember that about one-third of your queens 

 must be superseded annually, and this supersedure generally 

 takes place after the time of swarming. 



2. The same reason that would make them have eggs in 

 queen-cells would account for the drones, as there would be no 

 use in rearing queens if there were no drones. 



3. Taking that (question as an everyday, common-sense 

 question, I should say no. For it's pretty nearly certain that 

 black drones are not very far away. If there are no black 

 bees anywhere within two or three miles— nothing but pure 

 Italians — then you may be pretty safe in expecting your 

 queens to be purely mated. 



A Too-Prolific' Queen. 



I have a queen that is too prolific for ray management. If 

 I reduce the brood-chamber she swarms out, and if given room 

 she will keep all the colony busy rearing brood. What can I 

 do to secure surplus ? I got no surplus from her colony this 

 year, and a colony by its side gave me 40 pounds of comb 

 honey in 1-pound sections. I workt her on the Heddon plan. 



Oregon. 



Answer. — It's difficult to say what may be best. The 

 first question is whether the bees are such poor gatherers that 

 they yield no surplus, no matter how strong. If that is the 

 case the evident remedy is to change their queen for a better 

 one. If the character of the bees is all right, and the only 

 trouble is that they are strong and swarm, put the swarm 

 on the old stand, and give them the supers they had on, and 

 you ought to get a good report in surplus. You say if given 

 room the queen keeps all the colony rearing brood. If that is 

 early enough, so that the colony comes to about Its fullest de- 

 velopment about the beginning of the honey-flow, unless there 

 is something radically wrong iu the character of the bees you 

 ought to have fair results. If she has all the room needed for 

 brood, and the additional room is in the super, such a strong 

 force of bees ought to be able to do something unless swarm- 

 ing takes place, in which case the result ought to be as pre- 

 viously mentioned. It is possible that it might have belpt 

 somewhat toward a decision if you had told more particularly 

 what you mean by reducing the brood-chamber, how many 

 frames you use for the colony, and the size of frames. 



Preserving Extracling-C'ombs. 



On page 46S, John Newton writes that "after the ex- 

 tracting season is over he places the combs three high with a 

 quilt between the brood-chamber and supers, .with a corner 

 turned back to allow the bees to clean them up." 



1. Which do you think is the better way to place them — 

 as above stated, or to put them under a colony ? 



Again, he says : "After combs are clean they are again 

 placed in the store-room, with a sheet of paper between each, 

 until they are wanted again the following spring." He does 



not say if they are hung up or piled close together with paper 

 between, nor what kind of paper. 



2. Could I not put the cleaned combs in a box made of 

 wire-screen to keep out moths ? 



3. Please give what you think is the best way to preserve 

 extracting-combs from now until next spring. 



Minnesota. 

 Answers — 1. Probably there isn't a great deal of differ- 

 ence. Until lately I have put extra combs (much the same as 

 extracting-combs) under the brood-chamber, but on some ac- 

 counts it is better to put them above. In either case, if the 

 brood-chamber is crammed full of honey, except what is occu- 

 pied with brood, the bees will be slow to empty out the ex- 

 tracting-combs. They will clean them up nicely, but the honey 

 got in the cleaning up will be put in the extracting-combs. 

 But late enough in the season there will usually be enough 

 room in the brood-chamber for all purposes. One objection to 

 putting combs under, in case they are to be cleaned up to be 

 put away, is that if they are put there early enough and the 

 bees still do some gathering, they are likely to put pollen iu 

 them iustead of in the brood-chamber. Another reason for 

 putting them over instead of under, is that it is easier to put 

 them there, and also easier to take ihem away. 



2. That will work very well, providing you are sure the 

 combs are entirely clear of eggs and worms when stored, or 

 providing they are brimstoned, if needed. 



3. On the .whole, it is perhaps as easy and safe a plan as 

 any to let the bees take care of the combs till too late for the 

 moths to do any harm. If they are taken from the bees 

 toward the end of November in Northern States, there will be 

 no further trouble about worms till next spring, and none then 

 if the combs are well frozen in the winter. If fastened in the 

 hives away from the bees — I mean fastened so no mice can get 

 in through the winter — they can be left out-doors with safety. 



The Queen in Maliing Increase- 

 Frames, 



-Extracting 



1. In forming a new colony by taking a frame of brood 

 with adhering bees and queen from hive No. 1, and placing It 

 in empty hive No. 2, and placing No. 2 on the stand of a 

 strong colony. No. 3, just moved to a new location, would it 

 be best to cage the queen until the field-bees of No. 3 became 

 acquainted with her, she being a valuable queen ? 



2. I use Hoffman frames in the brood-chamber. Would 

 you use them In extrac ting-supers, or shallow ones, half depth? 



3. If shallow frames, would thin surplus foundation do? 



4. If full size, would you advise them to be wired? 



Georgia. 

 Answers. — 1. If honey is coming in well it is hardly nec- 

 essary, still it might be well as an extra precaution with a 

 valuable queen. I once removed a strong colony from its 

 stand, set in its place a hive filled with empty combs, putting 

 in a queen without a single worker attendant, and it was an 

 entire success. At another time the queen was killed. 



2. That's a hard question to answer. The regular brood- 

 frames have the advantage that they maybe used either place 

 interchangeably. The shallow frames have the advantage 

 that they are a little better for extracting purposes on account 

 of size, being easier to uncap, and the honey being more 

 uniformly ripened, for it often happens that the upper part of 

 a large frame will be sealed some time before the lower part. 

 It is also urged that a comb that has been used for brood 

 should not be used for extracting purposes, as a slight dark- 

 ening of the honey will occur from using dark combs. If you . 

 have shallow extracting-frames, there is not much danger 

 they will be used for any other purpose. On the whole. It 

 might be a good plan to use full-sized frames for extracting 

 until you have all the frames of that kind you want as brood- 

 combs, then confine yourself to shallow combs for extracting. 

 The fact that such able men as the Dadants use shallow 

 frames for extracting Is a strong argument in their favor. 

 F'or one thing, they say a queen is less likely to lay in the 

 shallow combs. 



3. It might. Certainly thinner foundation will do in shal- 

 low than in deep frames, and it would not be quite so bad to 

 have foundation stretch in extracting as in brood-combs. 



4. Yes. 



Langrstrotb on the Honey-Bee, revised by 

 The Dadants, is a standard, reliable and thoroughly complete 

 work on bee-culture. It contains 520 pages, and Is bound 

 elegantly. Every reader of the American Bee .lournal should 

 have a copy of this book, as it answers hundreds of questions 

 that arise about bees. We mail it for $1.25, or club it with 

 the Bee Journal for a year— both together for only $2.00. 



