710 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Nov. 9, 1899. 



gone over, equalizing and feeding, if it is required, until 

 all have the requisite 25 pounds. 



But I hear some one say, " It would be a fearful job to 

 shake the bees off from everj- comb in a colony- and weigh 

 each comb separately." Well, so it would be if done with 

 each colony, yet I think it would pay in the long run, even 

 then ; but you will have to do this with only two or three till 

 you get the right conception of just how much honey there 

 is in each frame, by simply lifting it from the hive and 

 looking at it. when you can count off the number of pounds 

 almost to a certainty, and do it as rapidly as you can handle 

 the frames. However, you will have to weigh a few if 3'ou 

 have never practiced this plan, to give you the necessary 

 training required, after which you can count off" combs of 

 honey so as to rarely vary more than a pound or two, and 

 when the apiary is thus gone over there is a certainty about 

 it which always gives success, besides we can say we posi- 

 tively know in this matter, which is a great satisfaction, to 

 say the least. 



But another letter before me asks for my plan of mak- 

 ing winter food where there are not stores enough for win- 

 tering in the whole yard, after equalizing. I have given 

 my formula several times of late, but as I have had several 

 calls for it during the past two weeks, I will briefly give it 

 again : 



In a vessel of sufficient size put in 15 pounds of water. 

 Set over the fire till it boils, then stir in 30 pounds of gran- 

 ulated sugar. Allow the whole to boil again, sot from the 

 fire and stir in 5 pounds of extracted honev. When cool 

 enough it is ready for feeding, and gives about 50 pounds 

 of feed, which is fully equal if not superior to the best 

 honey. 



Another writes, " Is not tartaric acid or vinegar as 

 good for keeping the syrup from crystallizing as the 

 honey ?" My answer to this is no. There is nothing 1 

 ever tried which will equal honey, and I would have the 

 honey, even if I had to send into another State for it, and 

 pay more than it was worth in the market, at that. 



But still another writes me, " I am fraid of getting foul 

 brood with the honey." To my mind, there need be no 

 fears on this score, for, were you to be unfortunate enough 

 to get foul-broody honey it would not carrj' the disease to 

 j'our bees if none of it was secured by them in any other 

 way than in the food, for, according to all of my experience 

 of the past, the boiling syrup will scald the honey suffi- 

 ciently so as to kill all germs of foul brood, if the food is 

 made as I have given. 



I regret to know that there must be such a general 

 wholesale feeding in many portions of our country this fall, 

 on account of the poorness of the season of 1899. 



Onondaga, Co., N. Y. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C. C miLLUR. Alarenga, III. 



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



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



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editor.] 



Moldy Combs in the Spring. 



I have kept bees for three years and each spring my 

 combs are very moldy and my bees weak. Two years ago, 

 out of 7 colonies only one gave either swarms or surplus. 

 Lrast winter I wintered 12 colonies with but one lost, leav- 

 ing me 11, and from them I got about 25 pounds per colony, 

 not allowing them to swarm. 



In the American Bee Journal for Oct. 5, it speaks of 

 preparing a winter-case for bees, which started me to think- 

 ing. I have several old hives and I find by knocking out 

 the front end my hives will sit inside of these big hives 

 with ><-inch space around three sides. The hives have por- 

 ticos with a second storj' that telescopes over the main hive. 



Our winters are very wet with but little stmshine. Bees 

 winter much better in trees than in hives. How will it do 

 if I iJut my hives inside and put a cushion of planer- shav- 



ings over the hive in a super, and close the half-inch space 

 with a wedge at the front to keep the wind and mice out ? 



We have no 30 degrees below zero to contend with, 

 nothing but dampness, and bees generally have a good 

 flight every three or four weeks all winter. I have now 38 

 colonies in good condition as far as stores are concerned. 



Snohomish Co., Wash. 



Answer. — Probably the packing you speak of will be 

 all right, but from what you say I have just a little sus- 

 picion that your bees do not have a sufficiently large en- 

 trance. With too small an entrance in a damp climate, you 

 will be sure of moldy combs and more than the proper 

 amount of dead bees. The trouble becomes aggravated in 

 the course of the winter bj- the clogging of the entrance 

 with dead bees. Let the full entrance be given as in sum- 

 mer, and see that the dead bees are cleaned from it every 

 few weeks. 



Hive-Ventilation in the Cellar. 



My hive-bottoms are nailed on solid, and cellar is damp, 

 and in winter stands only a few degrees above freezing. 

 Do you think it would be best to raise the hive-covers? I 

 did so last winter, and now I read that if the bees are cold 

 they will use more honey, and my bees have gathered but 

 little this season and will need all they have to tide them 

 over until honey comes nest year. Minnesota. 



Answer. — Whether the hive-covers should be sealed 

 down tight or not in the cellar depends upon how much ven- 

 tilation there is below. The bees must have air somewhere. 

 Thej' may be sealed up tight at the bottom if there is enough 

 ventilation at the top. and vice versa. If the hive is open 

 below to the extent of having an entrance of 12 square 

 inches, or anywhere from that to being entirely open on all 

 four sides below, there need be tio ventilation at the top. If 

 the entrance be only equivalent to six square inches or less, 

 and especially if part of this entrance be clogged with dead 

 bees, then it is better there be some ventilation above. But 

 much less ventilation is needed where it is given both above 

 and below. An eighth-inch crack at the top will be enough. 



Management of Swarms. 



1. I want to get about 25 colonies of bees next year, and 

 can get them only by catching the swarms. One bee-keeper 

 here keeps about 45 colonies, and I will get all the swarms 

 he will have. But I want to get all the surplus I can the 

 same year, so I will put two or three swarms together, that 

 is, put an after-swarm with the first or prime swarm, but 

 I don't know what to do with the queens, which one to leave 

 in the hive, the one in the prime swarm, or the one in the 

 after-swarm. If it is best to leave the one in the prime 

 swarm, how can I get the one in the after-swarm the easi- 

 est way ? 



2. Will not the bees swarm out if the laying queen stays 

 in the hive, when the hive is so filled with bees ? 



3. Can I unite the after-swarm with the first swarm 

 right after issuing, or will it be better to wait a few hours ? 



4. How much room at a time should I give to each of 

 the colonies consisting of two or three swarms ? Will a 2- 

 story 8-frame dovetail hive do ? That is, one story and 

 two supers. 



5. About what might be the average number of swarms 

 per day from 45 colonies ? Rice Co., Minn. 



Answers. — 1. Your intention being to unite two or 

 more swarms in one hive so as to have a very strong colony, 

 probably your best plan will be to unite two prime swarms 

 that come out within a few days of each other, and unite 

 two or more second swarms issuing near together. Let the 

 bees settle which queen they will retain. 



2. There will be a chance that a swarm may be thrown 

 off, but not much more of a chance than with a single 

 strong swarm. 



3. As alread)' mentioned, it will be better not to unite 

 the second swarm with its prime swarm, for the two will be 

 a week to 10 days apart, but unite two prime swarms that 

 come nearer together, and two or more after-swarms that 

 come near together. 



4. An 8-frame hive with two supers will be enough for 

 a large colony, but if these are crowded with bees and they 

 seem to need more room, by all means give it. 



5. The number of swarms issuing from 45 colonies will 

 vary greatly, according to season, size of hives, and char- 

 acter of bees. In a very poor season, not a single swarm 



