Dec. 14, 1894. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



791 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C. O. XIIT^I^ER. Marenga, 111. 



(Tlie 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.] 



Trouble witti Wood Splints in Foundation. 



I tried a few frames with wood splints to prevent sag'- 

 ging- of foundation. In some of tiie frames, especially some 

 shallow extracting-frames, the foundation bulged out be- 

 tween the splints. It did this before being put on the hive. 

 It did not seem to sag, but to swell out as a piece of wood 

 would do when wet. I had the foundation cold when put- 

 ting it in the frames in order to handle it more easily, and 

 warm weather may have caused it to expand. Can you tell 

 me how to prevent this trouble ? I like the plan with this 

 exception. North Carolin.\. 



Answer. — Your questioti beats me. I hardly think that 

 foundation expands sufficiently to be noticed when it is 

 heated. It may, of course, stretch, but in that case it doesn't 

 shrink back again when it gets cold. Yoti say the expand- 

 ing was greater in the shallow frames, and one would have 

 expected the opposite. Possibly some one else can help out. 



Red Cedar for Hive-Making. 



Would you advise using Washington red cedar as a 

 material for hive-making ? Without considering the cost, 

 do yoti think it would in any way prevent moths ? Of 

 <;ourse, I know there is no excuse for a practical bee-keeper 

 having moths in his apiary. I am a youtig bee-keeper, 17 

 years of age, and this is ray second year. I have 34 colo- 

 nies. Last winter was verj' severe, but I did not lose a col- 

 ony. I got about 30U pounds of comb honey this season, 

 which was poor for the number of colonies. Wash. 



Answer. — If I am not mistaken, Wasliingtoti red cedar 

 is the same lumber as that of which shingles are made and 

 brought to this part of the countrj-, and I know of no reason 

 why it would not be all right for bee-hives. I know noth- 

 ing as to its efficacy in keeping out moths, but I should 

 have no faith in it. There is a popular notion that furs and 

 woolens put in cedar chests are safe froin clothes moths, 

 but bee-moths are not the same, and it is doubtful whether 

 cedar wood is anj' better than other wood for keeping out 

 any kind of moths. Any chest will keep out moths if it is 

 moth-tight and the stuffs are put in free from moths. 



Questions on Wintering Bees. 



1. A friend of mine says he heard j'ou say at a bee-con- 

 vention that you used a two-inch rim made of /s-inch lum- 

 ber under each hive for dead bees and rubbish to fall into 

 during the winter months. Do you still consider it a good 

 thing for either the cellar or out-door wintering ? 



2. I use the Dadant hive, and my bees are in extra-fine 

 condition at present. The tops of the brood-frames are 

 covered with old carpet nicely fitted on and glued tight with 

 propolis. I expect to winter thein on the summer stands. 

 I live in a sheltered place, btit will set a row of corn-fodder 

 on the north side. Do you advise any change ? If so, in 

 what way ? Would it be better to leave the hive-entrance 

 open, or partly closed ? The entrances to the hives are 

 8x>^ inches. Il.LlNOlS. 



Answers. ^1. Most decidedly. I think it a good thing 

 in the cellar to have a two-inch space under the bottom- 

 bars. Perhaps it would not be so good out-doors. 

 If the bees wouldn't build down into it, I'd be glad 

 to leave the two-inch space summer as well as winter. But 

 they will build into that space, so I have practiced reversing 

 the bottom-boards for summer. The latest plan, however. 



is to leave the bottom-board the year round with the deep 



side uppermost, and in summer put in a sort of false bottom 



to fill up the space. After trying some of these for two 



j'ears, I feel quite favorably inclined toward them. 



2. Perhaps you will do well to make no change in your 



plans, especially if those same plans have been successful 



in previous winters. I think I would leave the entire Sx^s 



entrance open. 



-^-^-^ 



House-Apiaries. 



1. Are house-apiaries any better than out-door apiaries? 



2. Would it do to have bees in an upper story of a build- 

 ing when the lower part is used for something else ? 



3. How do you arrange for the entrances ? Mo. 



Answers. — 1. There are a few bee-keepers who value 

 house-apiaries highly atid are successful with them. Others 

 prefer hives in the open air. 



2. Bees may be kept successfully in the upper story of 

 a building while the lower story is occupied. That is, they 

 may be successfully kept thru the summer, but in most 

 cases the wintering would not be so successful. 



3. A canal of any kind may be made that will allow the 

 bees to pass freely from the hive to the outer air, but will 

 not allow any bees to get from the hive inside the building. 



Starting in Bee-Keeping. 



As I intend to start in the bee-business some time be- 

 tween now and next spring, I would like to ask a few ques- 

 tions, as I have had no experience with bees as yet. I wish 

 to produce comb honey exclusivel}-. 



1. What kind of bees should I get ? 



2. Where are the best places to get them ? 



?. How many colonies should I get to start with ? 



4. Would I better get them now, or wait till spring ? 



5. What kind of hives would I better get ? 



I have lived here about a month ; my home is on the 

 banks of the Black River. I know of no one near here who 

 keeps bees, and I think from the surrounding orchards and 

 timber lands that it would be a good place for them. 



Michigan. 



Answers. — 1. Probably nothing will be better than to 

 get Italians. If black bees are plenty around you, you will 

 be likely in a short time to have mostly crosses or hybrids, 

 but they will render a good account of themselves. 



2. Before time to get them, you will find plenty of reli- 

 able dealers represented in the advertising columns of this 

 journal. If you already have bees and desire to get a queen 

 or queens to improve 3'our stock, then it doesn't tiiatter 

 much whether you get from near or far, the postage 

 being the same, altho the preference should be given to one 

 not too far off. But if you want to get a full colony of bees, 

 then it makes a great difference, for express charges are 

 enormous when bees are shipt a great distance, so, other 

 things being equal, the nearest place is the best. 



3. Better not start with more than two. 



4. Don't think of getting them before spring. The risk 

 of wintering will then be over. 



5. Perhaps the 8 or 10 frame dovetailed ; not because 

 necessarily better than everything else, but because good, 

 and, being among the most common in use, easil)' obtained. 



Wlien is it Best to Move Queen-Cells? 



When is the best time to move a queen-cell so as not to 

 injure the queen ? Wisconsin. 



Answer. — Your question probably refers to the age of 

 the occupant of the cell, for the time of day makes no dif- 

 ference, except that the cell should not be handled at a time 

 when there is datiger of chilling the young queen. With 

 sufficiently careful handling there is no danger at an)' stage 

 of the queeti's growth, but if the cell should be dropt at a 

 certain stage there might be a deficient leg or wing. The 

 worst time would probably be soon after sealing, and the 

 nearer maturitj- after that time the less danger. 



Queenie Jeanette is the title of a pretty 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 j'OU want a copy 

 of this song. 



