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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Mar. 9, 1899. 



Methodist experience-meeting, except that our experiences 

 should be about bees and things kindred. This was really 

 one of the most enjoyable features of the convention — one 

 in which all took part. Had any of the uninitiated been in 

 the corner listening, they might have thought, "What great 

 fishermen those fellows would have made '." It would be 

 superfluous to attempt to give each one"s experience here in 

 detail, nevertheless these experiences were thoroughly en- 

 joyed by all present. But I cannot refrain from giving a 

 part of what Mr. Bair said. 



Mr. Bair is a veteran — a veteran soldier and a veteran 

 bee-keeper. After giving some of his more common-place 

 experiences, he told us some of the curious superstitious 

 ideas in vogue when he commenced bee-keeping. " In those 

 days," he said, "when a swarm of bees came out. and you 

 had not the necessary things at hand to make sufficient 

 noise, if you ran into the kitchen and took a loaf of bread, 

 turned it upside down on the table, and plunged a knife 

 down through the loaf into the table, the swarm could not 

 possibly go away, but was sure to settle. If you had every- 

 thing ready, and the family all at home, a loud noise was 

 all that was necessary to cause them to settle. If, per- 

 chance, they had started to leave before you discovered 

 them, if you could run ahead of them and turn your hat up- 

 side down on the ground the swarm could not possibly pass 

 over it. If )-ou succeeded in getting them hived, if you 

 would go to the pig-sty and get some dirt and put it on top 

 of the "skap,' it would be impossible for the bees to leave. 

 If a member of your family died it was necessary to go and 

 tell the sad news to the bees, or else you would never have 

 any more luck with them." 



A number of other experiences were fully as ludicrous 

 and enjoyable. 



The convention adjourned to meet at Andover. Ohio, 

 Jan. 12 and 13. 1900. Ed Jollev. .SVc. 



CONDUCTED BY 



liR. C. C. MILLER. Marengo, 111. 



[Questions may be mailed lo the Hee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.] 



Moving Bees the Middle of February. 



I have my bees in the cellar (Feb. 14). but as I have 

 moved about eight miles from them I would like to move 

 them, as the man that lives in my house doesn't know any- 

 thing about bees. If I move them now I can use a sleigh. 

 Will it be all right if I move them and give them a flight 

 before putting them into the cellar here ? I would like to 

 have them here, but I don "t want to do anj'thing that will 

 harm them. I have only 11 colonies ; they are hybrids and 

 golden Italians. Wisconsin. 



Answer. — So ne_ar spring as this there would be little 

 risk in hauling them and putting them directly into the cel- 

 lar, as they will not likely be confined there very long 

 at farthest. But it may be still better to wait a little later, 

 and set them directlv on the summer stands. 



What to Do with a Queenless Colony. 



One of my colonies, a swarm of last summer, did not do 

 well, while the other colonies stored from one to three su- 

 pers each full of honey. This one colony filled the lower 

 box all right, but did not do anything in the super, and 

 showed a forlorn appearance during fall. I believe the col- 

 ony is queenless, but niy perception came too late — I had 

 my bees in the cellar before I knew the probable cause of 

 inactivity. I dare not examine the colony while in the cel- 

 lar, but as soon as I can put them out, I shall examine it 

 and find whether it is queenless. My question is : Would 

 it be advisable to introduce a new queen if queenless ? and 

 when would be the proper time to do it ? Io\v.\. 



Answer. — If you have only lately commenced keeping 

 bees, the advice to g'ive you is to give the bees a queen as 

 soon as you can get one for them in the .spring'. Not that 

 such advice is at all good ; but it's the only advice you'll 

 follow. If, however, you've kept bees long enough to be a 

 little toughened, then my advice is not to think of g-iving 



them a queen. It's a little doubtful if you'll have a chance 

 anyhow, for a queenless colony put in the cellar doesn't 

 generally come out alive, and if it does the bees are likely 

 to be so old that it will only be an aggravation to give them 

 a queen, for they will be rapidly dying oft' and will make 

 very slow work building up to a colony that's worth any- 

 thing. The wise thing will be to unite them with a weak 

 colony, or divide them among several. Do this as early as 

 the weather is warm enough for bees to fly freely. 



What About Catalpa for Bees ? 



Do you know anything about the catalpa tree for honey ? 

 I have about 60 of them, and they were loaded with blos- 

 soms and bees last spring. Mendot.4.. 



Answer. — I don't know. My impression has been that 

 they are not of much value, and j'et the fact that bees are 

 plenty on them is pretty strong evidence that they are of 

 value. Even if the bees get only a little nectar from them, 

 or if they get only pollen, it's just that much more than 

 they'd otherwise get, for the bees wouldn't work on them if 

 thev could do better elsewhere. 



Closed-End vs. Open-End Frames Foundation Fasteners 

 for Sections. 



I am situated so that my bees have abundant pasturage 

 on willow early in the spring, followed by dandelion, April 

 flowers and other wild flowers. Large fields of wild mus- 

 tard are in full bloom by June 1, but bees do not gather any 

 surplus honey from it. By the last of June wild clover is in 

 full bloom which yields our main flow of honey. 



1. Under these circumstances, do you think that the 

 closed-end frame hive would induce bees to breed up faster 

 in the spring thati in the ordinary Hoffman frame, so as to 

 be in full force to work on clover to the be.st advantage, and 

 probably gather some mustard honey ? 



2. Which foundation fastener for sections do you rec- 

 ommend ? 



3. What is your opinion of the A. C. Miller fastener ? 



Os.^Kis. 



Answers. — 1. With the ends entirely closed, the bees 

 are warmer for winter and warmer for breeding up in 

 spring, but the advantage is more than counterbalanced by 

 the inconvenience in handling, unless I am mistaken, and I 

 don't believe there would be enough difterence made to 

 allow a harvest from flowers earlier than open-end frames 

 would allow. But where propolis is scarce there is not the 

 same objection to closed-end frames, and with propolis as 

 plenty as it is with me, Hoffman frames are by no means 

 desirable. 



2. I've never tried anything that does better than the 

 Daisy fastener. 



3. It doesn't work as well for me as the Daisy. 



A Bunch of Ten Questions. 



1. What kind of bees are the yellow-banded Adel bees? 

 Are they good honey-gatherers? 



2. Will bees finish queen-cell cups when they have a 

 fertile queen ? 



3. I have some partly-filled sections where honey is 

 partly candied. Is there any use I can make of them, or 

 will the bees clean out the candied honey if I put them in 

 supers on the hives next spring ? 



4. Are tin supers better than others ? and do sections 

 come out of tin supers cleaner than wooden ones ? 



5. Is it well to divide when bees swarm and return to 

 their hive when they have a dipt queen ? 



6. Will capt queen-cells hatch out in an incubator ? 



7. I have .some moldy frames of honey which I kept over 

 winter. Will it do any harm to give them to the bees next 

 spring ? 



8. About how many eggs does a young queen lay ? 



9. To-day it was warm, and my bees wanted to fly, but 

 the ground was covered with snow, .so I put on the entrance 

 of the hive some wire-netting. Was that all right ? 



10. How close, or how much, do you cut the queen's 

 wings ? New Jersey. 



Answers. — 1. I never saw any of them. If I am not 

 mistaken, it is a strain of Italian bees to which that name 



