THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



427 



frame would be full, and the bees 

 were starting; in the 2-incli cap. I use 

 the LauLCstioth hive, but not the 

 standardframi'. I run for extracted 

 hone\ . 1 ihauiied the frame to run 

 crosswise. I am pleased with the 

 change. I had but few sections, one 

 and two-pound. They have been 

 Idled, and so even, without separators, 

 that, out of AKi. there is not more 

 tlianlOtliat could not be crated. I 

 liave. up to date, extracted some 

 1,310 pounds, and took 400 pounds of 

 comb honev. I expect another run on 

 the IJra/.iror red wood. I feel en- 

 couraged, and know that I will be 

 instructed U)v ISSo. 



Jno. a. Ejiison. 

 Mission ^'aIley, Tex.. June 17, \S>H. 



Carbolic Acid for Quieting Bees. 



I notice in the Weekly Bee .Jour- 

 nal an article on handling orquieting 

 bees, where carbolic acid is used, by 

 an Euglislnnau. and claimed to be 

 superior to smoke. 1 would ask him 

 if he has had any experience in the 

 use of the acid V Does he use it of 

 absolute strength, or does be dilute 

 it y If so, what per cent, of water 

 does be use y Bees are on a regular 

 •' boom "' here. ]SIv hives are all full 

 of surplus. E. II. W. McCrary. 



Lindale, Texas, June 23, 18S4. 



[Will our English correspondent 

 please reply to tliese queries. — Ed.] 



I 



Poor Prospect in Southern California 



The season of 1884 opened with a 

 fair prospect for a good yield of honey, 

 but for the last month we have not 

 had o clear days, and it is very dis- 

 couraging to the I'ee-keeper in this 

 part of ( 'alifornia. Bees have swarmed 

 very well ; and swarming is about 

 over. I started in the spring with 67 

 colonies ; increased to 130 by natural 

 swarming. I expect about 30 more. 

 Mr. Enas complains of bad weather 

 in Napa, and says it looks discourag- 

 ing. JOHX L. Secok. 



Monterey, Cal., June 14, 1884 



White Clover Yielding Finely. 



"White clover is yielding finely. I 

 have never known the bees to be 

 busier than at the present. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Kogersville, Mich.. June 14, 1884. 



J 



Married.— At New Boston, 111., 

 May lo, 1884, at 7:30 p. m., by the 

 Eev. II. K. Metcalf, Miss Mary Scud- 

 der. adopted daughter of L. H. Scud- 

 der. to Mr. Will M. Kellogg, of Oneida, 

 111. 



We congratulate our young friend 

 for his wisdom in entering this kind of 

 partnership. Being a beeman ought 

 to insure a sweet disposition, and this 

 in turn will cause the honeymoon to 

 shine on through life. We hope the 

 festal board of our friend may, in 

 time, be swarmed with beautiful 

 workers, and not a drone among 

 them. — Magazine. 



What and Baxv. 



ANSWERS BY 



lames Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



Cleansing Wax. 



1. Which is the best way to cleanse 

 old, dark-colored combs V 



2. Is it of anv use to cut holes 

 through the co'uibs, when putting 

 bees into winter quarters V 



E. AV. Merrill. 

 Barker Creek, June 16, 1884. 



Answers.— 1. Old dark combs, if 

 otherwise good, need not to be dis- 

 carded or melted, and they need no 

 cleansing. 



2. The "use'" of this practice has 

 never struck me with force enough to 

 make me think that it pays for the 

 trouble to bees and bee-keeper. 



Removing Starch from Foundation. 



Please tell, through the Bee Jour- 

 nal, how to remove the starch or 

 alkali used upon the rolls from foun- 

 dation sheets. I find some ditficulty 

 in drying the sheets when packed. 

 Bees are booming, and hard to prevent 

 from swarming. L. Hubbard. 



Waldrou, Mich. 



Ansaver. — I know of no better way 

 than rinsing in water. Pile the sheets 

 up edgewise on sloping shelves, and 

 they will soon drain and dry. Ttie 

 white precipitate removing from the 

 use of lye, is perfectly innocent and 

 harmless. I presume the same is true 

 of starch. We know whereof we 

 speak by careful experiment among 

 the bees. 



Increase. 



I have purchased a superior colony, 

 and I wish to increase the stock as 

 fast as I can. I do not care for honey 

 this year, what is my best method of 

 procedure? 1 cannot see any queen- 

 cells yet. They are storing fast from 

 oceans oi white clover. 



Gaylord, Mich. J. H. Scott. 



Answer. — There is no method of 

 increase a description of which would 

 be suitable for this department, or 

 which I would advise a beginner to 

 practice. If your colony would rather 

 gather honey than swarm, give them 

 plenty of surplus room. Sell the 

 honey and buy increase, is my advice. 



The Use of Salt in the Apiary. 



Will it do anv injury to throw salt 

 in front of the hives, to kill the 

 weeds V I was told it would kill the 

 young l)rood. What is the best way 

 to keep the weeds out of the apiary V 

 A. Subscriber. 



Answer.— No. the salt will not 

 effect the young brood if thrown down 

 in front of the hives. I would cut the 

 weeds 3 or 4 times during the season, 

 or lay a board down in front of the 

 hive, or both, and use the salt for 

 some more useful purpose. 



Plan for an Apiary. 



For the last two years I have been 

 very successful in the culture of bees 

 and" grapes. I want to enclose a piece 

 of ground with a tight board fence 6 

 feet high all around, except the por- 

 tion near iiiv house, as Mr. Heddon 

 directed on i')age .'iiMi ; and on the same 

 page is his plan for locating the hives. 

 The plan, 1 think, is a good one. 



1. Can two hives Vie set together one 

 facing the east, the other the south; 

 with the end of one to tlie side of the 

 other in the sliape of a T, a few 

 inches apart so that one shade or 

 cover will protect them both, two and 

 two, 10 feet apart each way V Will 

 that be too thick— my ground is 

 limited V 



2. After placing the hives as above 

 mentioned, then plant a grape vine, 3 

 or 4 feet south of each hive, setting a 

 good locust or mullberry post, 3 feet 

 deep and 7 feet high, with two cross- 

 bars in the shape of a letter X of good 

 wood, and wire interwoven for vines 

 to run upon, making a shade for each 

 set of hives. 6 or 7 feet square over- 

 liead V 



One of these to 10 feet square will 

 leave 3 or 4 feet all around, by keep- 

 ing them trimmed while growing. 

 Would such be in the way of the bees, 

 while at work ? J. M. Pratt. 



Todd's Point, Ky. 



Answers.— 1. I do not see how you 

 can make one shade board do justice 

 to 2 hives. Again, when manipulat- 

 ing one, the ottier is in the way. 



2. Regarding the grape vines, I pre- 

 fer a "readily movable " shade, such 

 as the wide board before described ; 

 and that I can take out of the way en- 

 tirely, just when I desire. There are 

 times of the year when we want 

 everything tending to shade, out of 

 the apiary ; and when " room is lim- 

 ited," I should certainly prefer the 

 shade-board to a vineyard. The vines 

 would not, if properly trimmed and 

 trained, interfere with the egress and 

 ingress of the workers. 



Errata. 



On page 405, in the second para- 

 graph of " My Winter Report," read : 



" and excess of jioUen not at all. Read, 

 11 barrels of granulated sugar. Let 

 me here add, that the 45 poUenless 

 colonies that c(Uild not breed till later 

 in the season, are very preceptibly 

 ahead of those that did ; after " un- 

 tested," remove " to breed from," I 

 suppose it was my mistake. I do not 

 consider any tit to breed from except 

 those tested for qualities, and most 

 thoroughly too. 



1^ The Lucas County Agricultural 

 Society offers the following premiums 

 at its i7th annual exhibition, Sept. 10, 

 11 and 12, 1884 : Best colony of Ital- 

 ians, SIO, S8 ; 1-iest colony of Cyprians, 

 §10, S8 ; best colony of hybrids, S8, $6; 

 best honey, comb, $5, §3 ; best honey, 

 extracted, $3, §2; best bee-hive, $3. 

 The Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 meet on the second Saturday in July, 

 at the Court House at 1 p. m. sharp. 

 All are requested to attend. 



Chariton, Iowa. A. Reusch. Sec. 



