July 20, 1899. 



americafn bee journal 



455 



As citizens of Illinois, we rejoice that a pure-food law 

 was enacted at the recent session of our legislature. This 

 mav be considered a step in advance, whatever may be the 

 practical working's of the law. Tho much effort was made 

 by a number of prominent bee-keepers of Illinois to procure 

 the enactment of a foul brood law, it was unsuccessful. 



It occurs to the writer that if the bee-keepers should 

 ask to have as a clause, in a general law for their benefit, 

 " funds for the enforcement and carrying- out the purposes 

 * of this act shall be raised by a tax of five cents on each 

 colony of bees within the State," such a law might 

 easily pass. Herman F. Moore. 



if there's too much brood to go into one story and you have 

 no other use for the brood, then put in the upper story the 

 brood that is most sealed. Be sure that the queen is in the 

 lower story, and if you don't find her, after you have the ex- 

 cluder on the lower story, brush ofif in front of the entrance 

 all the bees from the combs in the upper story. 



If you are working for comb Honey, it will hardly do to 

 leave the two stories. Take away one story, filling into the 

 story that is left all the brood you can. If there is a sur- 

 plus of brood, you can use it for strengthening weaker col- 

 onies or any other purpose. 



The plan you propose will work if you don't lose the 

 new queen, but being inexperienced there is some danger 

 you may not succeed in introducing her. You will probably 

 have less trouble introducing if you leave the queen on the 

 old stand, setting one story on a new stand, and giving it 

 the new queen next day after making the change. 



CONDCCTKU BV 



L>H. C. C. lillLLER. A/areng-o, 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.] 



Keeping Down Increase. 



Replying to Rufus Williams (page 429), he is probably 

 right in his suspicion that the outer hives get some of the 

 bees that belong to the central ones. At different times 

 I've seen such a thing reported, and especiall5- in Germany 

 where they move their colonies to the buckwheat fields. 

 Placed in long rows, the end colonies become strong at the 

 expense of the central ones. I think this is more likely to 

 occur where the bees are placed in an open space with little 

 to mark their location except the hives themselves. That 

 makes an additional argument in favor of having hives 

 under trees. Aside from the comfort of the shade for the 

 bees, and especially for the operator, the trees give a chance 

 to mark the locality of each hive so that bees are not likely 

 to enter the wrong hives. 



I would like to ask Mr. Williams if he doesn't find pol- 

 len in some sections by the pl:in he mentions on page 420. 

 Also what proportion of his colonies swarm again. 



C. C. MlI.I.ER. 

 •^-•-^ 



Dividing a Colony. 



I lost a swarm of bees last winter and I took your ad- 

 vice and put the hive under a strong colony, and it did not 

 work just as I thought it would. So I come to you for ad- 

 vice again. When I examined the hive the queen had taken 

 possession and it was full of brood, so fearing making a 

 mistake I put it back again. The question is. How am I 

 going to handle these hives ? Will it be necessary to buy a 

 queen ? If so, when would be the best time to part the hive 

 bodies ? I took the frames out of the bottom hive but could 

 not find the queen, but as I have not had much experience 

 with bees I was afraid I would miss her. What do you 

 think of this plan ? Take out the bottom hive and put the 

 top hive on the stand ; take out the frames of the hive that 

 was under, and brush the bees off from the frames in front 

 of hive, and let them go into the one on the stand ; then 

 move the hive with all of the bees to another stand, and put 

 the hive that was on the bottom on the old stand, then give 

 them a new queen. If this plan will work, when would be 

 the best time to do it ? Iowa. 



Answer. — You could hardly have had anything better 

 than for the queen to go down and occupy the lovver story 

 with brood, for she wouldn't do that till it was full above, 

 and without the lower story she would have been cranipt for 

 room. If you are working for extracted honey, there's no 

 need to take away either storj'. Just put on the extracting- 

 super as a third story, with an excluder under it, and you 

 are all right. If you have only one size of frames, take one 

 of the frames of honey from below and put in the third 

 story to give the bees a start. If you think the queen will 

 have enough room with one story, put an excluder between 

 the two stories, putting all the brood in the lower story, and 



Laying Workers and Drone-Brood. 



This is my first season with bees. I have nine colonies, 

 most of them bought and moved the first week in May. 

 Two swarms issued and got away a few days after being 

 moved. Not being informed on what procedure to follow, 

 without then knowing from which hives the absconding 

 swarms issued, I went thru several hives and cut out all 

 queen-cells. Two cells taken from one hive hatcht queens 

 the same evening while I had them on the table examining 

 them. A few days later I discovered the colony from which 

 these cells were taken was queenless. It was very strong 

 in numbers, the bees 3-banded Italians. Cells were cut out 

 perhaps IS days ago. Now I find some thousands of cells 

 containing larva; in all stages, some capt, and all new comb 

 built drone-comb containing one to four eggs in each cell. 

 I hookt over 400 larvae out of cells, but the work being too 

 slow I gave it up as a bad job. The bees have stored pollen 

 liberally and some honey in the combs. 



I have just secured a fine, young, supposed-to-be laying 

 queen from a queen-breeder, and placed her under a cage 

 about S'ixS'i inches on one of the combs containing hatch- 

 iug brood. Brood is hatching in her cage, and I placed some 

 30 just-hatcht bees with her under the cage. This is prest 

 down tight on the comb so that no bees can get out or in, 

 and I expect the old bees to accept the queen in two or three 

 days. 



Please advise what is the best course to pursue regard- 

 ing the combs so filled with the larvae of laying workers, for 

 previous to the laying workers coitimencing laying I found 

 there was not a larva or capt cell in the hive— this about 

 the time I cut out queen-cells. 



I have taken out the four combs containing the greatest 

 amount of larvae, and placed, with adhering bees, in an 

 empty hive adjoining^ the bees' own hive, expecting the 

 workers will leave the comb and go home, and that the lay- 

 ing workers will stay, and I can kill them. But there will 

 be thousands of dead larva- in the combs, and I dislike to 

 waste the combs. Would the dead larvae produce any dis- 

 ease if the combs were returned to the bees ? or what is best 

 to do ? Nebraska. 



Answer. — Take the combs of drone-brood and slice off 

 the heads of the sealed brood with a sharp knife, dust 

 fine salt on the unsealed brood, and distribute the combs to 

 colonies having laying .queens. They'll clean them out at 

 a cheaper rate than you can. Don't be too much discour- 

 aged if you find your queen has not been kindly received, 

 for bees with laying workers are inclined to be stubborn 

 about accepting a queen. It is now believed that where lay- 

 ing workers are present they are present in large numbers, 

 and perhaps they don't like the idea of giving up their job 

 to some newcomer. As a general rule it doesn't pay to try 

 to continue a colony that has laying workers. The workers 

 are all pretty well advanced in age, and the best thing is to 

 break up the colony and distribute combs and bees among 

 other colonies. 



Queenie Jeanette is the title of a prettj' song in sheet 

 music size, written by J. C. Wallenmeyer, a musical bee- 

 keeper. The regular price is 40 cents, but to close out the 

 copies we have left, we will mail them at 20 cents each, as 

 long as they last. Better order at once, if you want a copy 

 of this song. • ' J 

 ♦-•-» ■•■:■■ I./. 



The Premiums offered on page 442 are well worth work- 

 ing for. Look at them. 



