Mar. 30, 1899. 



AMERICAFn BtE JOURNAL 



199 



side ? or does he take a new hive ? The reason I think Mr. 

 Doolittle makes his nucleus in an old colony of bees is be- 

 cause he says, " The greatest advantag-e in full, reg-ular- 

 size hives comes in not having- our nuclei robbed out 

 occasionally." 



3. How long- before swarming- shall I make these nuclei ? 



4. I intend to use light brood-comb foundation this year. 

 Do you think it will hold the bees without sagging- if I 

 stretch four wires across the frame ? 



5. In Mr. Golden's articles I see he makes the entrance 

 in the bottom-board of the hive. Would it not also do just 

 as well to make it about five to six inches rig^ht above the 

 lower entrance of the hive ? Our hives are 14 inches wide, 

 with an entrance cut from the front board at the bottom, 

 the whole length of it. Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. No, I'm sorry to say your plan wouldn't 

 be all right, for in one respect it would be exceeding-ly bad. 

 If Tou put in a hive a frame of brood, another of hone.v, and 

 a pint of bees, they mav protect themselves ag-ainst robbers, 

 and they will be pretty sure to rear a queen, but the chances 

 are that the queen will be a very poor affair. Don't think 

 J of having a queen reared anywhere but in a strong colony. 

 at least until after the queen-cell is sealed. Such a nucleus 

 as you speak of may do providing"- you give it a sealed 

 queen-cell (you mustn't g'ive the queen-cell till a day or two 

 after the nucleus is formed, unless it is formed from a queen- 

 less colony), but it is better to have brood in two frames, a 

 good share of it sealed brood, and enough bees to thoroly 

 protect the brood after the old or field bees have deserted 

 the nucleus and gone back to their old home. 



2. I don't think Mr. Doolittle had in mind anything dif- 

 ferent from a nucleus such as I've been talking- about. No, 

 he certainly does not mean to have the nucleus in a hive 

 with a full colony, but means the nucleus alone to be in the 

 hive. I've read over carefully what he says, and I don't see 

 how he could have made it plainer. That not having nuclei 

 robbed has nothing to do with having other bees in the hive: 

 in fact, it wouldn't work if other bees were in the hive. 

 Look on page 2, at the parag-raph beginning-, " To help the 

 reader to understand," and you'll see that when the nucleus 

 is at the fas/ side of the hive the entrance of the hive is en- 

 tirely clcsed the whole width of the hive except an inch at 

 the uies/ side of the hive. A robber doesn't like to enter at 

 that west side and then run the gauntlet clear across to the 

 east side before reaching anything to rob. I think this idea 

 is original with Mr. Doolittle, and it's valuable. 



3. Nothing- is gained by beg-inning too early. Wait till 

 about the time bees want to swarm, at least till they are 

 very strong-, and have your queen-cells sealed before form- 

 ing any nuclei. 



4. You will not be likely to have any trouble. 



5. I don't know ; but in following .-my one's instructions 

 it's well to follow them to the letter. I have never practiced 

 Mr. Golden's plan, so I cannot speak from experience. 



Super Covers Wax-Scales on Hive-Bottom Queen 

 Clipping Stimulative Feeding, Etc. 



1. Is it necessary to cover the sections in a super ? If 

 so, what kind of covering would you prefer ? 



2. In using a board cover over the sections, how would 

 it do to have '+-in<:h strips nailed or tackt on the underside 

 at each end of the board, allowing a '4 -inch space over the 

 tops of the sections ? With such an arrang-ement would as 

 much propolis be deposited ? 



3. Are the wax-scales that fall to the bottom of the hive 

 ever used by the bees ? 



4. Do you use clamps to hold the supers to the hive- 

 body ? Do you think it would be advisable to do so ? 



5. Where could I buy some Langstroth frames with tin- 

 isht combs in them ? and what would such combs be worth ? 



6. Do you clip the wings of your queens ? 



7. Do you practice stimulative feeding in the spring ? 



8. Where so much increase is not desired, would it be 

 safe to unite a swarm with a colony which had cast a swarm 

 some time previously ? In such a case would the bees have 

 to be scented? Subscribek. 



Answers. — 1. Principally on account of convenience, I 

 prefer to have no cover except the flat board cover of 

 the hive. 



2. Such an arrangement would hardly suit you so well 

 as the one in common use. In that the super is made deep 

 enough so that the tops of the sections come within '4-inch 

 of the top of the super. Less propolis is deposited in a '4- 

 inch space than in otie through which a bee cannot pa»s. 



3. They are probably used in propolizing, for cappings, 

 and for aug-ht I know for building combs. 



4. I never heard of any one using them or thinking 

 them necessary. 



5. I don't know. I think I have seen them advertised 

 for sale, but not for a long time. 



6. One of the first things I do each year after it becomes 

 warm enough to handle bees safely, is to look through each 

 hive to see if its queen is dipt, clipping all found with 

 whole wings, and throughout the rest of the season each 

 young- queen that commences laying is dipt the first time 

 it is convenient. 



7. Not to any extent. 



8. Some have used and advocated the plan, and I think 

 without scenting. 



^-•-» 



An Electrical Swarm-Notifier. 



The enclosed dipping is from the New York Herald of 

 Sunday, Oct. 16, 1898. It refers, as you will see, to an elec- 

 trical device which announces the advent of a swarm. As 

 I have never seen anything in the Bee Journal about this 

 interesting invention, can you give me any light on the 

 subject ? WooDLAWN. 



[The clipping reads as follows : — C. C. M.] 



What has been called the " pleasant occupation of hiving bees " has 

 been made even more pleasant by an electric invention which obviates 

 the necessitj- of keeping- a watch on the hives at swarming-lime. 



The basis of the apparatus is the conversion of the winfj-motion of 

 the swarm into power. As the bees swarm out they cause two small, 

 easj-swing-ing- doors to open outward. A little hammer, which rests upon 

 these doors when closed and is connected witli a battery, drops, as the 

 doors swing open, upon a small metal leaf, and the electrical connection 

 thus effected ringfs a bell in the bee-prower's house. 



Answer. — Another correspondent has sent the same 

 thing. I don't know whether anything of the kind has 

 really been tried, or whether it is a creation of some re- 

 porter's imagination. It might be difficult to arrange it so 

 the alarm would be g-iven when a swarm issued and only 

 then. For if a mass of bees rushing out should make the 

 bell ring, the same thing might occur if a sufficiently large 

 number of bees were leaving and entering at their regular 

 work. Still, it might be so arranged as to be a success, but 

 I'm afraid the expense would be such as to make it unprofit- 

 able. A rather expensive apparatus would have to be at- 

 tacht to rai/i hive. An arrangement somewhat akin has 

 been used to some extent, which has the advantage that one 

 simple arrangement does for a whole apiary. It is one or 

 more wires stretcht, connected with a telephone at the 

 house. When a swarm issues, the number of bees striking 

 the wire gives notice at the house. 



York's Honey Almanac is a neat little 32-page pamph- 

 let especially gotten up with a view to create a demand for 

 honey among should-be consmners. Aside from the Alma- 

 nac pages, the forepart of the pamphlet was written by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, and is devoted to general information concern- 

 ing honey. The latter part consists of recipes for use in 

 cooking and as a medicine. It will be found to be a very 

 effective helper in working up a home market for honey. 

 We furnish them, postpaid, at these prices : A sample for 

 a stamp ; 25 copies for 40 cents ; SO for 60 cents ; 100 for 

 $1.00; 250 for $2.25; 500 for $4.00. For 25 cents extra we' 

 will print your name and address on the front page, when 

 ordering 100 or more copies at these prices. 



The Omaha Convention Report ran through 14 num- 

 bers of the Bee Journal, beginning with the first number in 

 October, 1898. Now we have on hand quite a number of 

 complete sets of that report, which we will mail for just 10 

 cents each. That is, 14 copies of the American Bee Journal 

 for only a dime. There are doubtless a good many of our 

 new readers who will be glad to g-et that fine report. 



Langstroth on the Honey = Bee, revised by the Dadants, 

 is a standard, reliable and thoroughly complete work on 

 bee-culture. It contains 520 pages, and is bound elegantly. 

 Every reader of the American Bee Journal should have a 

 copy of this book, as it answers hundreds of questions that 

 arise about bees. We mail it for SI. 25, or club it with the 

 Bee Journal for a year — both for onlv $2.00. 



