Feb. 23, 1899. 



AMERICAFn BEti JOUKNAL 



119 



near to it the comb comes. If there is a space of about '4 - 

 inch between the stra'iffht-edge and the comb, and if the 

 comb is nice, white and clean, then it doesn't need cuttinj;- 

 down at all. If the edg'e of the comb is soiled, cut away all 

 the soiled part, and no more. You say your drawn combs 

 tiever had any honey in them. In that case the cells are not 

 more than '+ or yi inch deep, and unless they have been left 

 on the hive a long- time when not needed, they will be clean 

 and not need any cutting- down at all. If they are soiled 

 enoug-h to need any part cut away, it's very likely they are 

 soiled clear to the septum and only fit to melt into wax. 



Bees Affected with the Diarrhea. 



I put my bees in the cellar and two of the colonies are 

 affected with diarrhea. I have put them all outside now. 

 What must I do for those that have the diarrhea ? 



Montana. 



Answer. — There isn't much you can do for them unless 

 you can g-ive them a gpood warming- up. Perhaps you can 

 in some way heat your cellar for a short time. But better 

 do it at nig-ht, for if thej' get stirred up thoroughly and the 

 least ray of lig-ht g-ets in you inay have trouble. If you heat 

 the cellar to 60 deg-rees or more, the bees will become greatly 

 e.xcited and will run all over the hives, but by the next 

 morning they will be all quiet. To set them out when it is 

 too cold for them to fly will only make matters worse. 

 Better keep them where they are, and hope for a warm day. 



Using Musty Hives Full Foundation Sheets. 



1. I have two old hives that I would like to use, but they 

 have a musty smell and I am afraid bees will not stay in 

 them. What can I do to the hives that will remove the 

 smell ? 



2. Do you advise using full sheets of foundation in 

 frames that will not last more than five or six years ? 



ViKGINIA. 



Answers. — 1. If the hives are without any top fast to 

 them, and if your hives with bees in them have loose bot- 

 toms, then put one of these old hives under a strong- colony 

 as soon a.s bees begin to fly in the spring-, and b)' the time 

 you want to use it the bees will have it all sweet and nice. 

 If your hives will not admit of that, take the frames of comb 

 out of the hive and let the hive stand a few weeks out in 

 the sun and rain. If you want to make a shorter job of it, 

 wet the inside of the hive pretty thoroug^hly with kerosene 

 and set fire to it. Or you may scald and scrub the hive. 

 The combs will still be musty, and you can g-et the bees to 

 clean them by putting one or more at a time in one of the 

 hives with bees. 



2. I rather think it would pay to use full sheets of foun- 

 dation even if the combs lasted only two or three j-ears. 



Now it's my turn to ask you a question. What's the 

 matter with your frames that they'll last only S or 6 years ? 



Colonies Suffering for Air. 



I am wintering- 17 colonies in one end of a hen-house 

 which is partitioned off to about the right size. I left about 

 one inch entrance, and when I scraped the dead bees out 

 from the bottom-board, I noticed an unpleasant odor, as of 

 decaying matter, in some of them. The hive-bottoms are 

 quite damp inside, also, and the bees in.side do not carry 

 the dead ones out. Can I do anything- for them ? Should 

 they have fresh air ? 



2. What do you think of putting- those colonies out early 

 and packing them ? If all rig-ht, when would you do this ? 



3. There are some rats and mice in the room with the 

 bees. Do you think they will do harm ? If so, how can I 

 g-et rid of them ? Illinois. 



Answers. — 1. You do not plainly say so, but as nearly 

 as I can make out, the bees have no chance to fly out even 

 if a warm day should come. That's a bad job. From your 

 description the bees are suffering- for air. Instead of that 

 1-inch entrance, open up the entrance the whole width of 

 the hive and clean out the dead bees, doing it quietly to dis- 

 turb the bees as little as possible. 



2. Very likely it might be a good plan to do so the first 

 day the thermometer goes up to 50 degrees with the sun 

 shining. Even at 45 degrees it might do if it is still. You 

 can take one colony out and see if they fly well before 

 taking out the others. But if it's up to SO degrees and not 

 too windy, ':he .sooner all are out the better. After they 



have a flight you can pack them, and it might be a good 

 plan to take part in the cellar and see which do best. 



3. Yes, rats and mice will destroy the combs badly and 

 eat both honey and bees. You should have closed the en- 

 trances with wire-cloth having about three meshes to the 

 inch. That would have kept the mice out. It will do some 

 good to screen them now, for the mice will do more harm to 

 be allowed free run than to be confined in the hives. 



Swarming and Double Brood-Chambers. 



1. Can you prevent swarming bj' the use of two 8-frame 

 hives for a brood-chamber, taking^ one away at the approach 

 of the honey harvest ? If not, what percent cast swarms ? 



2. By what method, if any, do you control swarming 

 other than the double brood-chamber system ? 



3. What numbers of frames does a colony fill with brood 

 up to the honey harvest with the double brood-chamber 

 system ? Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. No, indeed. About the same number 

 will swarm as if you had used only one story from the be- 

 ginning, say about 100 percent in a good season. 



2. Like a good many others, I'm feeling around in the 

 dark after some satisfactory system, but not sure of any- 

 thing. Somc/iincs you can prevent swarming by cutting 

 out queen-cells, but you can't depend on it, and it's too 

 much trouble. If 3'ou can re-queen your colony with a 

 young queen reared in the same hive, it is possible you will 

 have no swarming ; but how to do that satisfactorily is the 

 question. 



3. From 6 to 12, counting the frame with the usual 

 border about the brood. 



Foundation in Brood-Frames. 



1. Does your split bottom-bar work all right ? 



2. Do you let the foundation come down between the 

 bars ? and will the bees not stick it fast and bulge the foun- 

 dation when it stretches ? 



3. If you prevent stretching with your sticks, why is 

 not a solid bottom-bar just as good, and let the foundation 

 come down to the bar ? South Dakota. 



Answers. — 1. Yes, indeed. 



2. The foundation comes down between the two parts 

 of the bottom-bar. The bees don't stick it fast too soon, 

 for it's held fast before the bees get it. The foundation 

 doesn't bulge because it doesn't stretch. The little sticks 

 prevent stretching. 



3. A .solid bottom-bar is just as good, if you cement the 

 foundation fast to the bottom-bar. But if the foundation is 

 at all loose from the bottom-bar, the bees will be sure to 

 gnaw away more or less of it and have passages between 

 the comb and bottom-bar. Even if fastened solid they'll 

 sometimes do that. Putting the foundation between two 

 parts of the bottom-bar is rather easier and surer than ce- 

 menting with melted wax. Besides, you're sure of having 

 the foundation exactly in the middle. 



Temper, Hardiness and Beauty of Bees 

 Comb from Black Bees. 



Re-ttueening- 



1. Which is the gentler in disposition, leather-colored 

 or five-banded Italians? 



2. Are the golden Italian bees as hardy as the banded ? 



3. Which is the handsomer, the three or five banded? 



4. What will be the price of queens in April ? I want 

 to re-queen. 



5. Will the comb from a black colony do for Italian 

 bees ? I mean will the cells be large enough ? Kans.\S. 



Ans-wkrs. — 1. According to reports there is a good deal 

 of variation among the five-banders, some of them being 

 cross, while others are as gentle as the leather-colored, if 

 not more so. The leather-cohjred are almost uniformly 

 gentle. 



2. Probably Italians having more than three bands are 

 not alike with respect to hardiness, some of them being re- 

 ported as not so hardy as the three-banders. Others may be 

 just as hardy. 



3. That's a matter of taste. To me the five-banders are 

 much handsomer, and likely most vfould agree in that view. 



4. Probably about the same as other years, from % to yi 

 higher than in June or later. Don't you think it will be 

 pretty early to re-queen in April ? 



5. Yes, they are used indiscriminately. 



