May 4, 1899. 



AMERICAlN BEE JOURNAL, 



279 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C C MICLER, Marengo, 111. 



(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.] 



No Bee-Supplies for Sale. 



Could you spare me a couple of queens now ? If so. what kind 

 are they, and what is your price ? Wisconsin. 



Answer. — I don't keep anything in the line of bee-supplies 



(or sale. 



"»•».■ 



Albino Bees— Danzenbalier Hives. 



1. Will albino bees give as good results as Italians '. 



3. Is the Danzenbaker hive a good one for the beginner ? 



Connecticut. 



Answers. — 1. Some albinos are better than some Italians, and 

 some Italians are better than some albinos. Taken all in all, bee- 

 keepers who work for honey seem to prefer Italians. 



2. Depends something on the tastes of the beginner. For the 

 majority it is perhaps not the best. 



Bees Affected with Paralysis. 



I have two or three colonies affected with paralysis, and can 

 find but little advice in my books. What do you think of moving 

 affected colonies, as fast as discovered, to some place away from 

 the apiary '. How far do you think it necessary to move them ; 



Alabama. 



Answer. — I don't believe it would do any good. If the disease 

 can be conveyed by having affected bees enter sound colonies, 

 there would be no surer way to spread it than to move away the 

 diseased colonies, for that would make the field-bees of the affected 

 colonies enter the sound ones. 



Colonies Deserting their Hives. 



My bees swarm out and go into other hives, queen and all. I 

 had 3.5 colonies, and eight of them came out and went with others. 

 They did not rob, nor did they fight. I never saw this before. 

 Some were good colonies. Can you give me any insight into this 

 trouble ? Michigan. 



Answer. — The trouble you mention is not so very rare, but it 

 is not an easy thing to say why a colony with clean combs, having 

 plenty of brood and honey, deserts its hive for another. I've some 

 times thought it was because the old bees had died off rapidly, 

 leaving more brood in the hive than the bees could cover ; but as a 

 matter of fact, I don't know. 



Foul Brood Good Text-Books. 



1. I am a young bee-keeper, tho an old man. and ready to ac- 

 knowledge my ignorance about the business. One of the things I 

 don't know is, what " foul brood " is. Will you kindly describe it 

 so that a novice can detect it? 



'2. I would like some good work on bee-culture. Will you please 

 indicate some work suitable for a novice in the business >. 



Michigan. 



Answers, — 1. Turn to page 161 of this Journal, and you will 

 find an admirable reply from Hon. R. L. Taylor — "Foul Brood in 

 a Nutshell." [Also on page '27.5 of this number you will find Prof . 

 Cook tells something about it. — Editor.] 



Root's "ABC of Bee-Culture," Dadant's "Revised Lang- 

 stroth," and Cook's " Manual of the Apiary," are good text-books 

 on bee-keeping. 



*-*-*• 



Using Hives and Combs Left by Dead Colonies. 



1. During the severe cold weather last winter, four of my colo- 

 nies of bees on the summer stands died. My plan is to put their 

 hives under some of my strong colonies, then about swarming-time 

 move the top hive to a new stand and leave the bottom one on the 

 old stand, and introduce a queen in the queenless hives. Will my 

 plan work ' 



2. When will be the best time to put them under ? 



3. There is considerable honey in the hives of the colonies lost. 

 Wouldiyou advise feeding after I put them under, or just let them 



alone ? My wish is to have as many good, strong colonies as I can 

 by the time the honey-flow begins. 



I wish to thank you for the answer to my last letter. Just as 

 soon as I received the American Bee Journal and found your an- 

 swer, it being a warm day, I went out and turned the hive upon 

 the bottom-board, and began to rake out between the frames. The 

 first thing I saw was Mr. Mouse running out. Then I saw the tail 

 of a mouse on the bottom-bar of one of the frames. I pulled him 

 out; he was dead, and so large that I had a hard time getting him 

 out. I will look out for mice after this. 



4. Will it be well for me to close the entrance of my hives some 

 during cold days '. I am using S-frame dovetailed hives. III. 



Answers.— 1. It may work all right, and it may not. Depends 

 somewhat upon whether the colony is strong enough to work down 

 into the lower story. 



3. No matter how soon. It will do no harm to put them there 

 right away, and will be the better for the combs. 



3. With plenty of honey it isn't necessary to feed. 



4, It would be a good deal of trouble to change the entrance 

 daily to suit the weather, but it may be well to contract the en- 

 trance till warm weather comes. 



Colony Destroying Eggs. 



There is one of the most peculiar freaks now being indulged in 

 by one colony of my bees, and I can't unravel the cause for such 

 action. The bees destroy all the eggs transferred with combs from 

 other colonies. It is quite strong with bees, and one of my best 

 colonies of lb98,having a dipt queen, but commenceJ breeding quite 

 early this season, and all hatch drone-bees, becoming a drone- 

 layer. I have taken at different times frames from other colonies 

 and inserted in the hive; the bees immediately destroy all eggs 

 and even clean out the cells where hatcht. I confess that I am un- 

 able to solve the mystery. Ohio. 



Answer.— I dcn't know. I have noticed that it is a frequent 

 thing when a colony becomes queenless, or when a frame of eggs is 

 given to a queenless colony, for most of the eggs to be removed or 

 eaten, but X don't know why. It has also been said that when 

 breeding ceases in the fall, it is the work of the workers rather 

 than the queen, for there is a cessation of hatching some time be- 

 fore the queen stops laying. 



Division-Boards T Supers, Etc. 



1. Is a common, 8 frame dovetail hive, 13i„ inches wide, suita- 

 ble for eight frames without a division-board ; or would it space 

 them too far apart ? Do not a good many use them without 

 division-boards? 



3. Is it necessary to use any support for medium brood founda- 

 tion in frames like yours, where it is firmly fastened at both top 

 and bottom-bars ? ^ ^ ^. . -^u 



3 In using T tins in the super, do you fill out at the ends with 

 dummies ? Missouri. 



Answers— 1. Probably not many use dovetail hives without 

 division-boards, for most of them have self-spacing frames, and it's 

 rather necessary to have a division-board— more properly a 

 dummy— to get out the first frame. But eight loust-hniiyii,!/ frames 

 will work all right, the only difference being that the frames will 

 be spaced 11, inches from center to center, a distance that some 

 good authorities approve. But I would hardly advise loose-hang- 



3. Fastening at top and bottom will not do, for the foundation 

 would stretch and bulge badly ^ j ... j 



3. No, the T supers are shorter than the hives, and don t need 

 anything to fill out the ends. 



'wmv^m^mF^'"^ 



No. 1 — PoBTic Beatitude. — Scridner's Mag. Advertiser. 



