246 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



April 20, 1899. 



mate trade and commerce, namely, that a contract is the 

 agreement of two minds as touching- one thing ; and that 

 every man who has come into the lawful possession of any 

 article has a right to fix the price at which he will part with 

 it. If he makes the price so many pounds of honey, and 

 you give him half the amount in glucose, you defraud him 

 just that much, and everj' man who does it is a criminal, 

 and, as such, should be punisht severely. If this raises the 

 price of honey, all right ; if it lowers it, all right ; but let 

 us be honest, " tho the heavens fall." No, Mr. Doolittle, 

 your " pet hobby " is not of more importance than this. 

 Nothing can be. Buchanan Co., Mo. 



CONDUCTED BY 



r>R. C. O. MILLER. Marengo, III. 



[The Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal office, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers by mail.— Editor.] 



Farm-Stock Damage an Apiary. 



I have 156colonies of bees. We have a man here that is against 

 bee-keeping; he believes in spraying when in blossom. There was 

 a law past last winter that stops bim on that, but he pastures 50 

 bead of stock on the byways, which have been in my apiary and 

 damaged the bees to a great extent, turning two hives over, push- 

 ing several from the stands. The disturbance Is bad, the bees fill 

 up with honey in cold weather, and can't fly. New York. 



Answer.— I don't suppose there's anything different about the 

 case from a case of damage in which there were no bees in the case. 

 The probability is that your laws are such that one is not allowed 

 to let his stock run in the road, and is responsible for damage done 

 by them if they are allowed to run at large. In that case you 

 would sue before the proper officer, probably a justice of the peace, 

 the same as in any damage suit. It there is any special difficulty 

 in the case, you can count on help from the United States Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, providing you were a member before getting 

 into trouble. If you are at present a member you are one of the 

 wise ones, for some put off securing membership until they get into 

 trouble, and then it's too late. Besides that, every beekeeper 

 should be willing to pay his dollar a year to help put down adul- 

 teration. A dollar spent in that way may put several dollars in 

 his pocket in increast price of honey. 



Grapevines for Shading Hives 

 Granulated Honey. 



Frames of 



1. Are grapes good for bees > 



3. I am thinking of putting a grapevine at every other hive for 

 a.shade. and also for the fruit. What is your opinion of it ? 



3. Would the grapes make a good shade ? 

 CT" 4. I have about 150 or 'M) brood-frames with granulated honey 

 in them. Is there any way to gel them out, besides tearing up the 

 combs ? They were taken off last fall. Kentucky. 



Answers. — 1. At different times my bees have workton grapes 

 after birds have pickt holes in the grapes, and I don't know that 

 any harm came from it. 



CI 2 and 3.— So far as fruit is concerned, grapes will do very well 

 planted in an apiary. For shade a grapevine is not so very satis- 

 factory, unless you have a trellis overhead, which is expensive. 

 L 4. Don't think of destroying the combs. Spray them with 

 water and put in the hives for the bees to clean up, spraying again 

 as often as needed. 



. * ■ » 



Bees Ttiat Have Foul Brood. 



In preparing my bees for winter last season I found, to my 

 great surprise, that 2 colonies of the 12 were entirely destroyed by 

 foul brood, and that every other one showed traces of the same 

 disease. I would have found it out before, but the only time I 

 have to work with them is on Saturday afternoon of every month, 

 as all the remainder of my time is taken up with work and study. 



Is it possible to cure the remainder, and how ? is what I would 

 like to know. I should like to know what books or pamphlets con- 

 taiu'the most information on that subject, as I would like to make 

 a thoro study of it, and might bring some of my knowledge to as- 

 sist in getting an easy cure for it. 



As assistant engineer of a large ice-machine manufacturing 

 establishment, I thought that maybe a little chilly air supplied to 

 them might affect a cure, as we have an abundance of it at our 

 disposal from to 40 degrees, Fahr., below. 



For the past few years I have derived much pleasure in hand- 

 ling my bees, and only regret that I haven't more time to give 

 them, but I should feel very sorry to be obliged to destroy them 



all. as I have purchast all the queens from different apiaries, and 

 find pleasure in trying to keep some from swarming, making some 

 work, and supplying upper stories to others that seem to turn mud 

 to honey, they gather it so fast. Of all the queens I ever had 1 got 

 one from the South that beats anything I ever saw swarming, and 

 the swarms manage to get in the highest branches of the trees, and 

 afford the entire neighborhood amusement watching us get them 

 down and hiving them. 



All my hives are of Root's latest and in summer are entirely 

 covered by caladians and cannas. which makes it difficult to handle 

 them, but they set off the apiary beautifully, which is nothing 

 more than a large flower-garden. Ohio. 



Answer —Send 25 cents to the publishers of this paper and get 

 Dr. Howard's pamphlet on foul brood, and you will have the best 

 thing in the language. 



I've never yet heard of foul brood spores being injured by cold. 

 It's the extreme of temperature at the other end that's hard on 

 them. But I'm not sure whether a continued application of 40 de- 

 grees below zero has ever been faithfully tried. 



Letting Bees Fly After Stiipping. 



When a colony of bees has been shipt a distance, and confined 

 for several days, is it best to open the hive and allow them a flight 

 upon arrival ? Or, let them get quieted down first, and open the 

 hive say in the evening ? Iowa. 



Answer — I don't know of any reason why it is not better to 

 let them out as soon as possible. 



Wood Foundation-Splints Instead of Wiring. 



1. Why will not wiring brood-frames do just as well as to muss 

 with the sticks you use ? 



2. Would not the Van Deusen wired foundation be just the 

 thing if it is put in the new grooved top-bar, and let the wires rnn 

 up and down in the frame ? 



3. Had you tried wire in any form before you finally decided 

 on the sticks ? 



4. Are there any other advantages over the wires, by using 

 sticks, than the prevention of sagging or stretching ? 



5. It seems to me your sticks don't prevent the comb from 

 breaking loose from the top-bar in moving bees. S. Dakota. 



Answers. — 1. It is no more trouble to muss with the sticks 

 than to muss with the wire, and I have never been able to get as 

 good combs with wire as with sticks. 



2. Good combs might be secured thereby. 



3. I have had wired frames in use by the thousand for many 

 years — began using them from the first that wiring was made 

 known ; have perhaps 2..'J00 such frames now ; have tried wiring 

 horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and mixt, in fact in perhaps 

 all ways recommended and some not recommended. Yes, I've 

 tried wiring. 



4. I have never been able with wires to have perfect combs 

 built completely to the bottom-bar, and I have such combs with 

 the sticks. 



5. When a comb fills a frame completely from top to bottom, 

 did you ever hear of its breaking away from the top-bar in mov- 

 ing ? Probably the most popular form of wiring now is the hori- 

 zontal. Do you think a horizontal wire that is half an inch or 

 more below the top-bar will do more to prevent breaking from the 

 top-bar than five sticks that are 'h-inch or less from the top-bar ? 



Please remember that I don't insist that any one else shall use 

 foundation splints. I only say that so far as I have tried them I 

 like them very much, and have just ordered 4,000 more. 



Brood-Frames and Their Spacing. 



There has appeared in the American Bee Journal a description 

 of the brood-frames used in your hives. I have had several years' 

 experience with different styles of frames, and have decided that 

 your idea of a brood-frame is about right. Kindly give the dimen- 

 sions of your frames, and who manufactures them. 



What size nails do you use in spacing (brad or flat head), and 

 how far from the end of the top-bar, and how far down on the side 

 piece, are they driven ? City. 



Answer. — Top bar, lS;"'f,'xlij, xTiJ, At each end is cut out '^xO-lO, 

 leaving the end 516 thick. A saw-kerf to receive foundation runs 

 lengthwise along the underside of top-bar. 5 32 wide and '4 inch 

 deep. End-bar, S H-IOxl'^x;'?,), The bottom-bar is in two parts, 

 each lT,"j^xi,jX'4. Only one of these pieces is nailed on when the 

 frame is made, the other being nailed on after foundation is in 

 place. The sheet of foundation is IGJa'xSJi. No wiriug is used, the 

 foundation beiug supported by five vertical basswood splints, 7J.^x- 

 1-16x1-10. These splints are boiled in beeswax and prest into the 

 foundation while warm. 



For spacers to hold the frames at the proper distance from 

 each other, common wire nails are used 1^4 inches long with flat 

 heads 3-16 inches across. A gauge is used in driving in these nails 

 so that the head shall project '4 -inch above the surface. Two nails 

 are on one side at one end, and two nails on the other side at the 

 other end. The nail in the top-bar is about U4 inches from the ex- 

 treme end, and 7-10 from the top. The other nail is driven in the 



