598 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



September 22, 



CONDUCTED BY 



OH. O. O. JUOLLBR, MJLRENOO, ILL. 



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



Pollen in Super Honey — Ripening Honey. 



1. I have a number of colonies of bees in larger hives, 

 perhaps nearly twice as large, some of them, as the Lang- 

 stroth hive. As I am not able to transfer them, how would 

 you work them to prevent them from carrying pollen up into 

 the early super honey, which they did ? 



2. VVhat can I do with those that have pollen in them here 

 and there ? 



3. How do you ripen honey after it is removed ? and what 

 supports its weight? Michigan. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know why there should be any more 

 trouble with a larger hive about pollen going up, and if it's the 

 size that makes the diCfarence I doa't know of any remedy. 

 To tell the truth, I don't know why it is that there are some 

 cases in which bees carry up pollen. It is possible that there 

 is more likely to be trouble when hives are shallow. The 

 natural instinct of the bee seems to be to put pollen around 

 the brood-nest, and with the sections sufficiently far above 

 there Is seldom any trouble. But I don't know for sure any 

 way to prevent the trouble in all cases. If any one does, I'll 

 be glad to hear from him. 



czz 2. Use them on the table at home, or else sell them by 

 themselves at a lower price. But those that have only a cell 

 or two of pollen are not much hurt by It. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, a section may have a good many cells containing pollen, 

 but as the cells are all sealed over they don't show. If such a 

 section were sold for a perfect one, a customer might be dis- 

 gusted with it. Hold it up so the light can shine through it, 

 and the pollen will show. 



3. A room of the house was built specially for it, with 

 floor so strong there is no trouble about the weight. The sec- 

 tions are brought in, super and all, stackt up in piles, four 

 blocks being placed under the first super to raise it % inch 

 from the floor, and the same blocks are used between the 

 supers in the pile, so the air can pass freely through. The 

 piles are placed something like 8 inches apart for passage of 

 air. A screened window and door on the south side of the 

 room, with the same on the north side, gives pretty good 

 chance for ventilation, and they are left thus till about time 

 to put them in shipping-cases. 



Robbin: 



-Water-Mclons for Bees — Transferring 

 — Introducing Queens, Etc. 



1. I have some trouble with my bees robbing each other, 

 and some stray bees are robbing mine. An old bee-keeper 

 told me to close up part of the entrances on the hives, and 

 then break some of their combs, that is, some of the robbers' 

 combs. Since I have done that with my bees, they have stopt 

 robbing, but the stray bees I do not know what to do with. 



2. Would it be any harm to the bees to cut up a load of 

 dead-ripe water-melons, once a week, for 40 colonies. 



3. When is the best time to transfer bees? I have a 

 colony in a log that I found in the timber. I would like to get 

 it into a hive. 



4. When is the best time to introduce queens ? 



5. Which kind is the better— three or flve-band Italians ? 



Iowa. 

 Answers. — 1. Breaking out the combs is hardly advisa- 

 ble. It may start a bigger case of robbing than you had be- 

 fore. In the case of robbing, an ounce of prevention Is better 

 than a pound of cure. Don't expose combs of brood or honey, 

 or bits of honey, to start robbing. Don't keep queenless colo- 

 nies. If a colony has a good queen it ought to defend itself if 

 you close the entrauce so that only a single bee can pass at a 

 time. If the colony is queenless, put it in the cellar and give 

 it a queen. Next evening set it on its stand, contracting the 

 entrance, and it will have life enough to repulse the robbers. 

 But in many cases it may be just as well to break up the 

 queenless colony. But if you do, don't take the hive away, 

 for if the hive is still there the robbers will be less likely to at- 

 tack the nearest colony. A plan given in one of the foreign 

 journals seems to answer pretty well. Attach something like 



a cigar-box to the entrance, having no chance for bees to get 

 in or out except through a hole an Inch long and a quarter of 

 an inch wide at the middle of the box, on top as the box lies 

 before the hive. The robbers are wary about going down, 

 while the bees belonging to the colony don't mind it. In a bad 

 case of robbing you may come out ahead by piling loose hay 

 or straw as high as the hive, then keeping it thoroughly 

 sprinkled with water. 



2. If they have no other stores for winter, I don't know 

 just what would be the result of filling them up with melon- 

 juice. I think some one at one time reported something of the 

 kind, but I don't remember the outcome. Possibly some one 

 with experience will help us out. 



3. They will probably winter better where they are than 

 to be transferred so late In the season. During fruit-bloom is 

 the usual time for transferring. 



4. Queens may be Introduced almost any time during the 

 flying season. During the honey harvest and fall Is as good 

 as any, because the loss of a queen doesn't mean so much then, 

 and the interruption of laying doesn't make so much dif- 

 ference. 



5. You can't lay down a hard and fast rule and say that 

 all flve-banders are better or worse than any three-banders. 

 There are some excellent ones in both classes, as well as some 

 poor ones. The colony that does the best work is the one to 

 breed from, no matter how many bands, providing you have a 

 fixt strain. 



M ^ 



Keeping Bees on Shares — Double- Walled Hives. 



1. I have had quite a considerable experience in bee-keep- 

 ing for the last 30 years, but not to make an exclusive busi- 

 ness of it. I started here with three light colonies in boxes, 

 transferred them to movable frames, increast to nine, buying 

 extra Italian queens, and took 75 pounds of comb honey. 

 Several others within a radius of five miles seeing my success 

 are anxious to put some money into bees, and have me manage 

 and care for them on shares, from 5 to 20 hives In a place. 

 They can buy box hives with bees for about $2.00 each. If I 

 furnish the hives, transfer, Italianize, furnish surplus boxes 

 or extract, what share should I receive for one or for two 

 years ? Or, what would be an equitable division of expense 

 and profit, I doing all of the handling of the bees? 



2. I can get cypress boards M-inch by 4 inches wide, and 

 20 inches long, for about $2.50 per 1,000. From timber ^- 

 inch or 1 inch by IH or 1}4 at about the same, ray idea is to 

 make a double-walled hive, upper and lower stories, the same 

 filled with sawdust. Would it be cooler In summer and warmer 

 in winter, enough to justify the extra expense of making up? 



Florida. 



Answers. — 1. As a rule, anything in the line of partner- 

 ship operations in bee-keeping is not very satisfactory. As 

 you put it, you furnish all the care and labor, and all the sup- 

 plies, the other party merely furnishing a hive of bees valued 

 at $2.00 aud a place to keep them. One way to look at it is 

 to say how much he should have for interest ou his investment 

 aud rent for the land occupied. If money Is worth from b to 

 10 percent interest, 25 cents apiece ought to pay him annu- 

 ally for the number of colonies started with, he to have that 

 same number back at the close of the arrangement. If he 

 gets his share In honey or bees. Instead of money, then put a 

 fair price accordingly. A more satisfactory way, probably, 

 would be for you to own the whole outfit, and if you can buy 

 for $2.00 a colony it will not need a very big capital. 



2. From general reports in that line, I doubt if you will 

 be very well pleased with such hives, but you might try it on 

 a small scale along side of other hives. 



Preventins After-Swarms. 



Suppose I act on the Heddon principle, that is, move the 

 old stand and set the new swarm in its place, setting the old 

 one beside the new for about six days. Then how would it do 

 to put a beeguard on the old hive and keep it on through the 

 daytime, removing it at night, to prevent the after-swarm- 

 ing ? Could the young queen get through the guard ? I am 

 very anxious to prevent so much swarming. Idaho. 



Answer. — If your experience is like mine, you'll not like 

 the plan at all. Taking off the guard at night will hardly 

 make any difference. The queen and drones will stay In at 

 night anyhow, so it will not help to takeoff the guard. When 

 I tried it, the bees would swarm out day after day, even if the 

 queen couldn't get out, and sometime.<< she would get out. The 

 bees from three or more colonies would cluster together on a 

 tree, and then perhaps all go back to one hive, leaving the 



