140 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



cial means is the remedy, for which 

 witness the success of bees in cellars 

 and chaff hives, under proper manage- 

 ment, a few main points of which 

 are: abundance of fresh air of a uni- 

 form temperature; having the hives 

 well ventilated by leaving them open 

 at the top and bottom, or, if protected 

 at the top, they must be covered warm, 

 or moisture vVill collect and disease 

 them; a poor quality of stores, with 

 little or no pollen, for when they are 

 set out in the spring it should be only 

 when they can be supplied with pollen, 

 either naturally or artificially, as they 

 will not usually breed in a bee-cellar. 

 As to ventilation in chaff hives, it 

 must be at the bottom and at the top 

 through chaff coverings; but as to 

 wintering without any top covering, 

 and especially in thin hives, I should 

 expect to take the usual chances, 

 which will depend on the above- 

 named conditions, which, in my opin- 

 ion, and as proven by experience, it is 

 impossible to prevent, looking at tlie 

 nature of the bee. I have had a num- 

 ber of colonies freeze, with quarts of 

 bees and plenty of honey right under 

 them, and no disease. 

 Milan, O. G. H. Mackey. 



Dead Brood.— I send you by mail, 

 to-day, a sample of some combs in our 

 apiary, which we fear are infected 

 with foul brood. If you can settle 

 that question you will confer a great 

 favor. AVe bought bees last year from 

 different parties, in box hives, and 

 transferred them, and now we lind 

 something like I send you in most of 

 the hives of one lot, and none of it in 

 any others. S. N. Wyckoff. 



Salinas, Cal. 



[We find, on close inspection, no 

 dead brood except in cells sealed over; 

 none of these are perforated. On re- 

 moving the cappings, we find only a 

 thin, black, dried-up skin, which is 

 easily removed with the point of a 

 pin. If there was unsealed dead 

 brood at the time of taking from the 

 hive, it has dried to an impalpable 

 powder. The dead larvre from these 

 cells has undoubtedly been removed 

 by the bees. We do not think it is 

 foul brood, but it may prove to be a 

 disease quite obnoxious, and would 

 advise close observation as to its 

 cause, extent and effect.— Ed.] 



Winter Feeding.— I purchased sev- 

 eral colonies last fall in Langstroth 

 and Thomas hives; it was too late to 

 feed and prepare the weak colonies 

 for winter, so I placed them in a 

 clamp. I find, on examining, the 

 weak ones are still alive. We have 

 still two months before bees will fly, 

 and I am afraid the weak ones have 

 not sufficient stores to keep them alive 

 till spring— 1. Would it do to take 

 them out of the clamp and into a 

 warm room, cover the entrance with 

 wire-cloth, and feed them ? 2. Would 

 they commence breeding, or should 

 they have a fly after being disturbed V 

 3. Should a flue day occur before 



placing them out for spring, and they 

 are taken out for a fly, would they 

 return to the hives, if" placed in the 

 yard y Am much pleased with the 

 Bee Journal, and wish you every 

 prosperity in the change; 1 think ft 

 invaluable for the bee-keeper. 



J. M. Knowles. 

 Lynden, Ont. 



[1. You might put them in a room 

 just above the freezing temperature, 

 and feed them. Do not cover the 

 entrances, for if two or three should 

 make an unsuccessful attempt to get 

 out, they would alarm all the balance, 

 then a flight would be necessary. 



2. They will not commence breed- 

 ing, but might contract dysentery. 

 The better way would be to feed them 

 hard candy, placed on top the frames, 

 which can be done almost any moder- 

 ately mild day, without disturbing 

 them. For the candy, use good sugar, 

 putting about 1 pint of water to 3 

 pounds of sugar; boil till it will 

 harden when cooled, then make in flat 

 sheets; after it has hardened, place it 

 on top the frames with as little dis- 

 turbance as possible. 



3. Should you have a day warm 

 enough for the bees to fly with safety, 

 you had better set them all out, 

 slightly obstruct the entrances with a 

 slanting board, and overhaul and feed 

 all that require it. You can then give 

 them honey or candy, as is most con- 

 venient. The flying bees will all 

 return to their respective hives, except 

 the weak or debilitated ones, which 

 would most likely die in the hives be- 

 fore spring.— Ed.] 



Lots of Pollen, but No Brood.— Bees 



flew splendidly yesterday, which makes 

 the third flight they have had since 

 October. They all seemed to be in 

 fine order. 'Those I examined had 

 lots of pollen, but no brood— noteven 

 an egg. My experience goes to prove 

 that pollen is only used as food for 

 larval bees, and not as a diet for 

 mature bees, as very many writers 

 would have us believe. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Borodino, N. Y., Feb. 16, 1882. 



Wintering Bees.— My bees are win- 

 tering finely. There are no dead bees 

 about the hives nor in them; they are 

 clean and lively. My bees are in 

 Langstroth hives, covered with honey- 

 board. 1 learn from the Bee Jour- 

 nal that cloth is better; if so, what 

 kind shall I use. The boards are }i 

 inch above tlie tops of frames. Should 

 the cloth lay closely on the frames. 



PeOF. S. J. ROBBINS. 



Penfleld, N. Y. 



[Cloth is better. We use woolen, 

 but many use cotton; others ducking, 

 while most anything will answer. If 

 you have passage holes through the 



combs, then the cloths or blankets can 

 lie on the frames; if there are no- 

 passage-ways through, then place half- 

 inch square sticks crosswise of the 

 frames, to give the bees a passage- 

 over.— Ed.] 



The Patent on One-Piece Sections. 



— 1 have 65 colonies of bees in good 

 shape, on their summer stands, and 

 they seem to be doing well. The past 

 season was a very poor one with me 

 for honey. I obtained but little sur- 

 plus but a large increase. 1. What 

 does Mr. Forncrook's patent cover on 

 the "all-in-one-piece section box." I 

 see that Mr. Lewis advertises a one- 

 piece section, on which he says there 

 is no patent — is it an infringement ? 

 2. How is Lewis' section used, with 

 no opening in the bottom for the 

 passage of bees. The Bee Journal, 

 in its present form, is about as near 

 perfect as it can be. 



A. D. Stocking. 

 Ligonier, Ind. 



[1. Mr. Forncrook claims his patent 

 covers all one-piece sections; also the- 

 machine for their manufacture. We- 

 cannot answer whether Mr. Lewis' 

 one-piece section is an infringement, 



2. You will find this question an- 

 swered on page 123 of last week's Bee 

 Journal.— Ed.] 



Superseding Queens.- Our bees are 

 healthy and have an abundence of 

 stores. The winter has been pre- 

 eminently an open one. To use a com- 

 mon expression in use about here, " it 

 has rained all winter," and is still 

 pouring down. Our bees have been 

 able to fly every few days. Every- 

 thing being drenched with water, I 

 fear that there will be considerable 

 dwindling. But bountiful stores, and 

 a favorable spring, will soon supply 

 the loss. Do you not put it too broadly 

 in your answer to R. P. Williams, 

 page 108, No. 3 ? If the queens are 

 young, and the weakness of the colo- 

 ny not their fault (facts for the apiarist 

 to decide), why not give them a comb 

 of brood and save them for future 

 use y G. W. Demaree. 



Christiansburg, Ky. 



[Perhaps the easiest way to answer 

 the question is by asking another : If 

 you were buying good queens (and we 

 know you do not buy any but those 

 you think are the best), would you feel 

 that you were fairly dealt with, if you 

 was sent a lot which had been taken 

 from colonies that had been doubled 

 up on account of weakness V Of 

 course, there might be exceptional 

 cases, but, as a rule, where a number 

 of colonies in the apiary are too weak 

 in population to attain satisfactory re- 

 sults, while other colonies are quite the 

 reverse, the difference most likely is 

 attributable to the queens. If queens 

 are not worth buying as first class, 

 they are not worth keeping. — Ed.] 



