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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Octoler 6, 



ions. Only the most prolific queens can keep up a strong, 

 fresh force or workers during this season. 



The Notre Dame hive is not manufactured here for sale ; 

 nor do we keep any other bee-supplies for sale. We want this 

 well understood. 



I wish to take advantage of the present opportunity to 

 thank the author of the article headed, "That Detestable 

 Bee-Space," for the valuable hints therein given. The read- 

 ing of that article set me a-thinking. I workt accordingly, 

 and the result of my experimental labor is the Notre Dame 

 hive— a hive in which bees can be wintered without loss, and 

 with more real satisfaction than in any other way I know of. 



[Mr. Chrysostom has written quite a good deal about his 

 hive in the foregoing article, and yet hasn't given many par- 

 ticulars. If he will send a photograph of its parts and a full 

 description, we will be pleased to publish them. — Editor.] 



OONDUCTBD BY 



DR. C. O. iSILL,BR. MARETiGO. ILZ.. 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct. 1 



Nine Intereisting Questions and Answers. 



1. Do bees require the same amount of syrup to build 

 comb, as they use of honey ? 



2. When shall I fumigate my comb honey ? and how long 

 at a time shall I smoke it 7 



3. Must I melt down combs any before using again In the 

 sections if they are neither fully built out nor capt ? 



4. Do you know if the great willow-herb, that Mr. Hutch- 

 inson speaks about, will grow around here? 



5. Will worms bother sheets of foundation, or cakes of 

 wax? 



6. The bees have made some honey that was yellowish in 

 color, and while bringing it into the hive they turned the wax 

 all quite yellow. They have been working on heart's-ease and 

 sneezeweed principally. Can you tell me what It comes from ? 



7. When do you put the second 8-frame story on In the 

 spring ? and what do you do with It at super time ? 



8. I workt for comb honey this year, and cannot decide 

 which to run for In the future. Can you give me a few sug- 

 gestions ? 



9. Would you use 10-frame hives for extracting ? or two 

 8-frame hives until super-time? Illinoi.s. 



Answers. — 1. Probably In building a given amount of 

 comb they would require about the same amount of syrup as 

 they would of honey, if the syrup Is thick. 



2. Fumigate it just as soon as you see little bits of white 

 dust (the work of worms that are yet exceedingly small) on 

 any of the sections. You will find this dust around the edges 

 of the sections, particularly at the lower part, and on the 

 edges of unsealed cells that have little or no honey in them. 

 Sometimes, however, you may find the work begun right on 

 the face of the comb. If a dead bee is present, you may find 

 a worm on it. If you set the brimstone to burning, you may 

 leave it closed up for 24 hours. It isn't a matter of very great 

 exactness. It's a little difficult to know without experience 

 just how much sulphur to use. It you use too little, and find 

 little worms not killed, you can give a heavier dose, but if you 

 use too much it may make the white comb look green. 



3. If they are white and clean and the combs entirely 

 empty, use them over again. But to have the combs en- 

 tirely empty and fit to use again, they must be thoroughly 

 cleaned out dry by the bees before any granulation has taken 

 place. If they are left the least bit sticky, the small quantity 

 of honey left will granulate, and that will affect the new 

 honey that is stored in them. So if you expect to use next 

 year any sections that are now ut filled, better let the bees 

 have access to them right away. If you set them out so the 

 bees can rob them out freely, they'll tear the combs all to 

 pieces. Have the entrance to them so small that only one bee 

 can enter at a time, then you will find them very little torn. 

 If, however, you have a large quantity to be cleaned out, say 

 as many as five or ten sections for each colony in the apiary, 

 then you may expose them fully. 



4. Probably not. It seems to require a soil such as is 

 found where large forest fires have been. 



5. They are not likely to do so. 



6. I don't know. I don't know enough about heart's-ease 

 and sneezeweed to know whether they would account for It. 

 Possibly the bees may be working on goldenrod. 



7. The second story Is put under, not on, as soon as, or 

 before, there is any need for more room for the queen to oc- 

 cupy. At time of putting on supers, the extra combs are dis- 

 posed of In various ways. If there are any nuclei or colonies 

 too weak to do good work in supers, they are called on to take 

 care of a lot of combs. If there is no other use for them, 

 combs containing no brood may be piled up at one end of the 

 apiary, the bees tjeing allowed to rob out what little honey is 

 In them. Possibly that might not be a good plan for you if 

 you are likely to get into trouble with robbing. Of course 

 such combs must be watcht for worms, but generally a use is 

 found for them before the worms can harm them much. 



8. It's hard to give any suggestions, as each man must be 

 a law unto himself. The main question is, which will bring 

 you the most money ? No one can answer that without know- 

 ing all the circumstances, and perhaps not then without an 

 actual trial. One way is to run half for comb, half for ex- 

 tracted, keep close account of both, then decide which is the 

 more profitable. Familiarity with the whole subject, and 

 familiarity with a good text-book, will help. 



9. I'm not entirely sure whether I understand fully the 

 bearing of your question, and will be glad to have you ask 

 again if I don't get your idea correctly. It is desirable to have 

 only one kind of frame in the apiary, and while 8-frame 

 hives and 10-frame hives may be used in the same apiary, so 

 long as the frames are alike, it Is better to endure some little 

 Inconvenience rather than have the two kinds. If 8-frame 

 hives are used for comb honey, and you want to run some col- 

 onies for extracted, then for the sake of uniformity I think I 

 should ase the 8-framers also for extracting. If I cared noth- 

 ing about the matter of size and weight, and the hives were 

 not to be carried or hauled, then I might prefer the 10- 

 framers — pretty certainly if for extracted honey only. 



Pliaceiia — Gerstung's Tlicories, Etc. 



1. In one of the German bee-papers, of which I can assume 

 you are a reader, I saw a short time ago phacelia recom- 

 mended as an excellent honey-plant. Do you know whether 

 this plant has been grown in this country, and by what name ? 



2. Isu't the " Boiler " trying hard to make propaganda for 

 Gerstung's theories in this country ? 



3. I observed an occurrence in the apiary, the like I have 

 not seen before, and as I don't know whether I trace it to its 

 right cause I am going to tell It to you, so that If you please 

 you may give me your opinion about it. I was taking off su- 

 pers, as no more honey was coming in, and I came to a colony 

 which had been taken from a bee-tree about July 1 ; at the 

 time of hiving them I put an empty super on to feed them a 

 little first; but when I discovered that they commenced build- 

 ing comb on the cover, I placed a super with sections on In- 

 stead, tho the honey-flow was about at an end. Now I found 

 the super empty, but two of the sections were closed up with 

 wax; no propolis on the top. I first could not think for what 

 purpose, but after I had gotten most of the bees out and in- 

 spected more closely, 1 found a small cluster of bees Inside of 

 the two sections. I shook them out in front of the hive where 

 they acted quite strange. As soon as the cluster had parted, 

 one of them ran through the crowd and into the hive — from 

 all appearances I judge a young virgin queen. No sooner had 

 she entered when all the bees outside on the allghtlng-board 

 placed themselves facing the hive-entrance, standing still as 

 when hypnotized, the tail-end high up, and, I think, tremb- 



.ling all over, and sounding the hum of contentment. 



Now, I wish to know whether I am right In claiming that 

 the bees had a young queen in hiding up there to supersede 

 the old one as soon as they were ready for such action, and I 

 may have hastened the matter ? or do you think there was 

 another cause ? California. 



Answers. — 1. I cannot give you any positive answer, but 

 I have an impression that the phacelia in question is a plant 

 that grows in California, and from there was introduced Into 

 Europe. The only phacelia I ever saw is a plant cultivated in 

 the flower-garden in the North, and rarely as a house-plant, 

 the flower somewhat resembling the heliotrope. I should be 

 glad to know if the California phacelia is the same or any- 

 thing like it. Who will tell us? I might add that the phace- 

 lia that I know is much visited by bees, and I have seen it rec- 

 ommended as a honey-plant in price-lists of flower-seeds. 



2. Hardly. The department of " Beedom Boiled Down " 

 I believe is intended to keep the readers informed of at least 

 some of the things going on In all parts of the bee-keeping 



