Feb. 16, X899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



101 



eOXlJUCTED EV 



DR. C. C. Mlf^J^ER, A/arenao, HI- 



[Questions may be mailed to the ]5ee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.] 



Basswood Two-and-a-Half Miles Away. 



I want to move 40 colonics of bees to within about 2', 

 miles of a rich growth or river bottom with an)- amount of 

 basswood on it. Can bees make a success at that distance ? 



Ind. Ter. 



Answer. — I think you will find that bees will work well 

 on basswood 2!< miles distant. I'd give a good deal for a 

 lot of it that near me. 



Moving Bees in Winter. 



I have just bought a large apiary 17 miles from home. 

 Would it do to take the bees from the cellar some fine day, 

 and move them to my own at this season (Jan. 27) ? 



Wisconsin. 



Answer. — Yes, if the weather is fine enough for the 

 bees to have a flight before being put into the cellar again. 

 I shouldn't want to take them from one cellar and put them 

 into another without a flight, unless pretty sure they would 

 be kept in only for a short time. Some have reported doing 

 so with no bad consequences, and if you care to take the 

 risk yours might be one of the successful ca.ses, but unfor- 

 tunately there have been other cases in which the results 

 were disastrous. 



LiKely Dying of Old Age. 



Quite a number of my bees are dying ; others on a fine 

 day will come out, fly a short distance and drop dead. They 

 have plenty of honey. What is the trouble ? Oregon. 



Answer. — If the number is not large, there may be 

 nothing wrong. In the course of the winter a great many 

 bees die in every colony from old age, and when there comes 

 a day warm enough for them to fly the healthy bees will 

 carry out some of the dead ones "and drop them on the 

 ground, and some that are " on their last legs " will fly out 

 and never return. It is quite possible that there is nothing 

 wrong with your bees, so far as can be learned from your 

 description. 



•* • *• 



Styles of Hives, Etc. 



1. I bought a colony of bees last fall, size of hive as fol- 

 lows : 14x20, by 14 inches deep, outside measure, with 11 

 frames put in crosswise. What make of hive is it ? 



2. Are frames better lengthwise or crosswise ? 



3. On top of the frames was cotton stuck fast by prop- 

 olis. I have them wintered outside packt in chaff. Should 

 I have taken off the cotton before putting them away for 

 winter ? 



4. Describe the different makes of hives, with their ad- 

 vantages and disadvantages. Being a wood-worker I could 

 make my own hives, frames, etc. I would like to know 

 about these hives : Langstroth, Dadant, Gallup, Heddon 

 and Ouinby. 



5. What are the sizes of the Langstroth 8 and 10 frame 

 hives ? I see that make spoken of more than any other. 



6. Which style of hive do vou consider best for comb 

 honey ? • Canad.4. 



Answers.— 1. I don't know. 



2. In this country mpst bee-keepers prefer to have the 

 frames running toward the entrance, so that a bee on first 

 entering a hive can go upon any frame. 



3. It is generally con.sidered better to have some open 

 cloth like burlap in place of a cloth that is covered with 

 propolis .so as to be air-tight. Still, if the propolized cloth 

 IS warmly covered over, and the entrance is open enough. 

 It will do very well. 



4. In one sense all the movable-frame hives in the 

 country are Langstroths, for he invented the movable 

 frame. The name, however, when used in a more restricted 



sense, is generally applied to hives with frames that do not 

 vary much from 18 inches in length and 9 inches in depth. 

 The Dadant and Quinby are the same, with frames of large 

 size, 18,"/< inches long and 11'+ deep. The Gallup frame is 

 11J4^ inches square. Heddon frames are 18 1-16 inches long 

 and Sys inches deep. They are not hanging frames, like 

 the others, but are held in place by the pressure of thumb- 

 screws. The hive can be inverted at will, and two or more 

 stories are used at pleasure. All dimensions here given are 

 outside measure. 



To give all that has been said as to the advantages and 

 disadvantages of these diiferent hives would fill many num- 

 bers the American Bee Journal, so of course it cannot be 

 given here. 



5. The frame generally used for the Langstroth or dove- 

 tailed hive is 17)^ long and 9>s deep. For an 8-frame hive 

 the body is 18'+ inches long, 12 's inches wide, and 9^8 deep. 

 For a 10-frame hive the width must be 2-'4 inches more. 

 These are inside measurements. 



6. All things considered, I prefer the dovetailed hive, 

 but there are good men who use successfully almost all of 

 the other kinds. It is possible that what is best in one place 

 may not be best in another, and in any case the man is 

 more than the hive. 



Some Northern Extracted Honey Doesn't Granulate. 



In regard to all extracted honey granulating in the 

 North when cold weather comes, we have some that was ex- 

 tracted in August, 1898, that is not granulated yet. It is 

 kept in o-gallon cans in our shop ; it was well ripened when 

 extracted, and is as good now as when first taken. By 

 having a good quality of honey, we are able to get better 

 prices than do most of them on our market. Missouri. 



Answer. — Here's further evidence from a well known 

 bee-keeper that not all Northern honey granulates in winter. 

 I'm very glad that my ignorance in this matter has been ex- 

 posed, and should be pleased to know of others who have 

 kept honey in the North without granulation. I have an 

 idea that the thorough ripening has somethingto do with it. 



ttueen-Excluders, Full Sheets of Foundation and Wired 

 Frames in Extracting. 



1. Should I use a queen-excluder between the brood- 

 chamber and the super in producing extracted honej' ? 



2. Should I use full sheets of medium brood foundation, 

 or a starter, in the surplus frames for extracted honey ? 



3. Should extracting-f rames be wired ? Iow.\. 



Answers — 1. Some do, some don't. Some object to the 

 hindrance of the excluder to the work of the bees, but most 

 think that of little account. Very likely the advantage of 

 having a sure thing in confining the queen to her proper 

 place more than pays for all trouble and co.st. With my 

 present light I should much prefer to use excluders. 



2. On more than one account you will find it best to 

 have full sheets so as to have .straight worker-combs. 



3. Yes, unless prevented from .sagging in some other 

 way. but if very shallow they may do without wiring. 



Dampness in Hives— Early Breeding, Etc. 



1. I find that some of my colonies have it very damp, 

 the water hanging in drops under the cover and on all sides 

 inside the hive. What is the cause and the remedy ? 



2. One colony has three frames nearly filled with brood, 

 altho other colonies (seemingly in the same condition last 

 fall) have, scarcely any. I would like to know (a) Why this 

 colony has so much brood at this time ? (b) Would the queen 

 be a good breeder ? (c) Will this colony be ahead or better 

 than others in the .spring (provided, of course, that they live 

 till spring) ? 



3. Will bees that take flight every three weeks or so 

 consume much more honey than bees that .scarcely take any 

 flight through the winter ? 



4. I have a colony of pure Italians that will sneak 

 around the entrances of other hives (even in chilly weather) 

 and disturb them, causing them to be restless. What would 

 I better do ? W.ashington. 



Answers. — 1. Very likely your hives are closed up too 

 tight. Moisture is being thrown off from the bees all the 

 time, and if there are no facilities for its escape it settles 



