THE AMERICAJSI BEE JOURNAL. 



715 



Bees in Cljiinps.— Please inform me, 

 tlirougli the Bee Jouunal, of tlie 

 test method of staring bees in clamps. 

 When should they be put into the 

 clamps y When should tliey be taken 

 out, iu the spring V ilow would thaws 

 .affect them in clamps V 



A SUBSCUIBER. 



[Our subscriber will find his queries 

 ;answered in Mr. Jones' article on 

 Wintering Bees, found on pages 709 

 and 710 of this paper.— Ed.] 



Sweet Clover yet alive with Bees. 



— VV. S. Bair, of KoUersville. O., gives 

 such a good report in the Bee Jour- 

 nal for Oct. 4th, of the success of 

 Jiis plan of tiering up with his large 

 hive, that as 1 use a hive having the 

 same size frames, I intend to give it a 

 trial, with one hive, next spring, I 

 ■would like him to tell whether the en- 

 trance in the upper as well as the 

 lower hive is to be left open, also, if 

 he waits till the honey season is over 

 to extract from the lower story. Also, 

 whether he Knds brood in botli stories 

 or only in the uppef one ? 



Do the roots ot cleome, which has 

 flowered tliis summer, live through 

 the winter and grow up again next 

 year? I am much pleased with it as 

 a iioney plant, though it does not con- 

 tinue in bloom as long as either melilot 

 •or mignonette, still it is very good, 

 especially for Italian bees, which work 

 •on it from day light till dark all the 

 time it is in bloom, vvbich is for many 

 weeks. Melilot and mignonette are 

 still in full flower, and alive with bees 

 every line day, which is more than can 

 be said for any other honey plants that 

 I know of. II. F. BuLLEU. 



Campbellford, Ont., Oct, 19, 1SS2. 



[Cleome is a biennial, blooming the 

 second year after being planted, and 

 reseeds itself. It may be sown either 

 broadcast or in drills ; if the latter, 

 let the drills be 30 inches apart, with 

 plants about every six inches. — Ed.] 



Entrance regulating Bottom Board. 



— I send you, by to-day's mail, a rough 

 model of the bottom board 1 use. It 

 will show for itself, without explana- 

 ition. further than tliat the hives will 

 fit anywhere, top or bottom. You can 



five it to the readers of the Bee 

 OUUNAL, if you think it worthy. 



F. M. Johnson. 

 Greystone, Ct., Oct. 4, 1SS2. 



[It is a loose, bottom board, with a 

 portion cut out in front to regulate 

 the entrance. Such an entrance-reg- 

 ulating bottom board has been illus- 

 trated several times in the Bee 

 Journal. It has some advantages, 

 but there are many objections to using 

 it, and we think the latter will more 

 4ihan counterbalance the former. — Ed.] 



Planting Basswood Trees.— The Bee 



Journal makes a welcome visit to 

 ■our home each Wednesday. I com- 

 menced this spring with one colony of 

 bees, in a box hive, transferred them 



to the Mitchell hive, and have in- 

 creased to four good strong colonies, 

 besides taking 80 lbs. of comb lioney. 

 My bees are blacks, and I have used 

 no foundation. Can you inform me 

 how to raise basswood trees from the 

 seedV IIeubert Luther. 



Lemont, 111., Oct. 2B, 1882. 



[It is hardy and grows readily from 

 the seed. I had been known to bloom 

 and secrete honey in six years after 

 planting. Tlie seeds should be sown 

 in drills, and cultivated for a year, 

 and then should be transplanted, 

 leaving them from 10 to 14 feet apart 

 each way. Yearlings transplanted 

 from the bottom lands are very desira- 

 ble.— Ed.] 



Troublesome Mice.— Is it better to 

 take off the tops of the bee hives dur- 

 ing winter V I have cushions on, 

 would the tops left on, with cushions, 

 cause dampness V If the tops were 

 left off, would wire screen on top of 

 the frames, with cushion on top, do 

 any harm ? The wire seive on is to 

 exclude mice, when I leave off tlie 

 top. I winter in bee hives. 



Geo. Kemp. 



[Yes ; the tops should be taken off ; 

 wire cloth over the frames, to keep 

 out mice, will do no harm.— Ed.] 



Will it pay to use Sections.— I com- 

 menced with 24 colonies last spring; 

 increased to 48, by natural swarming. 

 My bees are black bees. I took off 

 2,.500 lbs. of comb honey in S^i lb. 

 boxes. I had not the means to obtain 

 sections. I sold at home for 1.5 cents 

 per pound. I am satisfied that I should 

 do better if it had been in sections. 

 Preparing the hives for sections will 

 cost quite a little. I lost a good deal 

 by tramps, say 70 lbs. Last year it 

 amounted to -50 lbs. I thought of 

 makiug a high board fence, eigiit feet 

 high; would it hinder the bees from 

 coming home with their loads of 

 honey V I want to move my bees 20 

 rods. Had I better do it this fall or 

 next sprinf V Joseph Lee. 



Farmers', Mich. 



[Certainly, it will pay tp get honey 

 in sections instead of tlie old-fashioned 

 boxes, no matter what it may cost to 

 alter over the liives. A board fence 

 will be no particular detriment to the 

 bees, if the apiary is not too contracted. 

 You can move the bees now without 

 materially injuring them, just as well 

 as you could in the spring.— Ed.] 



Honey Crop for 1882.— Jack Frost 

 closed the honey season with me on 

 Sept. 21. My honey crop amounts to 

 3,077 lbs. from 20 colonies in the 

 spring. I increased them, by natural 

 swarming and dividing, to 40 colonies. 

 They all have sutlicient to winter on, 

 of good capped lioney. I have packed 

 them on the summer stands. I sell 

 all my honey in my home market- 

 comb at 20 cents, and extracted at 15 



cents. Young white clover never 

 looked better at this time of the year. 



R. M. OSBOBN. 



Kane, 111., Oct. 27, 1882. 



My first Experience.— I commenced 

 this spring with eight black and two 

 hybrid colonies of bees. In May I 

 procured three dollar queens of Dr. 

 Brown, o^ Georgia, which proved to be 

 as good as any I want ; one was a 

 Cyprian and the other two Italians. 

 They are in good condition for winter. 

 I use the Langslrolh hive. 



Casey, 111. D. E. Rosebrough. 



Sundry <inestions.— My queen ceased 

 laying Sept. 2^, I presume on account 

 of the cool weather. Upon examining 

 the colony since placing it in winter 

 quarters (wliich is a large box filled 

 with sawdust) the queen has com- 

 menced laying anew and some of the 

 brood is capped over. 1. Is it the 

 increased warmth occasioned by the 

 packing that causes that? 2. Is this 

 late breeding desirable? The bees are 

 bringing in a very little pollen, but 

 scarcely any honey. I fed them honey 

 comb Sept. 15 from another colony; 

 3. Will they consume this in breed- 

 ing? 4. I have one comb of unsealed 

 honey. Will this keep until spring or 

 must I feed it now? 5. Will a full 

 comb of pollen keep until spring ? 6. 

 Are bees attracted by cheese ? 



Holland McDonald. 



Montreal, Canada, Oct. 18, 1882. 



1. It is. 



2. No ; it is too late. 



3. They will, if they need it. 



4. You can extract it, if the bees do 

 not require it. 



5. Yes. 



6. Not that we are aware of .—Ed.] 



Candied Honey.— How shall I get 

 candied honey out of a barrel, to put 

 it into cans ? What tools are necessary 

 to do it ? F. MiNNiCH. 



North Freedom, Wis., Nov. 2, 1882. 



[The best way is to fill the pails 

 while it is liquid and let it candy after 

 being put into the pails. It can, how- 

 ever, be dug out with a strong hand 

 scoop, or a wide knife, but it is a very 

 slow and tedious job.— Ed.] 



t^ The Western Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will meet at 

 Supervisors' Ilall. in the city of Grand 

 Rapids, on Wednesday and Thursday, 

 Nov. 29th and 30th, 1882. The co-op- 

 eration of all bee-keepers of this 

 section is desired. 



Wm. M. S. Dodge, Sec. 



1^ The New York Weekly Tnbune 

 says in regard to the Noyes Dictionary 

 IIolder,manufactured by L. W. Noyes, 

 99 West Monroe St., Chicago: "We 

 know of but one satisfactory Holder ; 

 that, however, is so good that a second 

 is not needed." Mr. Noyes sends to 

 all applicants a handsome illustrated 

 circular. Prices reduced. 



