458 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ISIIxat and Mow, 



ANSWERS By 



James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



Bees not Storing in Sections. 



My bees will not work in the sec- 

 tions. I have glass on one side and 

 tin on the other ; the bees come up 

 between the tin and the bottom, and 

 cluster thick in the boxes, but will 

 not work. Will you please tell me 

 what is the trouble V I use the Lang- 

 stroth hive. I have a division-board 

 that separates the honey-boxes from 

 the brood. The division-board comes 

 down within % of an inch of the bot- 

 tom of the hive where the bees run 

 under and up in the boxes, on each 

 end of the hive. 



Clifton, 111. Geo. W. Compton. 



Answer.— Although you do not 

 plainly say so, I guess that you are 

 working on the side-storing plan. I 

 think this is not nearly as good as the 

 top-storing system. I also object to 

 glass in connection with cases of sec- 

 tions. The practical apiarist does not 

 care for it. Even the farmers about 

 here would laugh at you if you in- 

 sinuated that they needed any glass 

 to look through to know the condition 

 of their surplus cases. I think you 

 do not give your bees sufficient com- 

 munication with the sections. The 

 bottoms and ends are not enough, 

 though I must confess I cannot see 

 why they refuse all work, after they 

 once enter that unnatural out-of-the- 

 way place. 



Preventing After-Swarms. 



On page 412, 1 asked the (luestion 

 about taking queen-cells from the 

 comb to prevent swarming. I was 

 referred to page 126 of 1883. I did not 

 take the Bee Journal in 1883. I 

 have 6 new swarms. I have taken 

 the queen-cells out of each hive ; it is 

 but little trouble with straight combs, 

 but if there is a better way I would 

 be pleased to know what it is. 



PlainHeld, 111. G. C. Bill. 



Answer.— The method of clipping 

 all of the queen-cells, or all but one, 

 to prevent after-swarms, always has 

 been, and always will be, an imprac- 

 tical one. The reasons are simple ; 

 but it would require an article to give 

 them all as I would wish to. 



I will proceed to give you a plain, 

 simple method that I have used suc- 

 cessfully for the prevention of after- 

 swarms. Let us suppose that colony 

 No. 14 swarms .June 14. "With a non- 

 erasive crayon we mark upon the hive 

 O, June 14, and on the hive in which 

 we put the swarm, S, June 14. Thus, 

 we distinguish the old colony from the 

 swarm, at a glance, as we make these 

 marks in large ligures. When we 

 hive the swarm (always on full sheets 

 of wired foundation), we place it close 

 on the north side (our hives front the 

 east) of the old colony, with the en- 

 trance turned iforthward. awav from 



the old colony, about 4.5°. As soon as 

 the swarm is well at work, having 

 their location well matked (say two 

 days), we turn the hive around parallel 

 with the old colony. Xow both hives 

 face east, setting side by side, and 

 close together. Sometimes, however, 

 being governed according to the size 

 of the swarm, as compared to the 

 number of bees left in the parent col- 

 ony, we place the newly-hived swarm 

 on' the old stand, putting the old colony 

 through the process above described. 

 In fact, we do this most of the time. 

 Now, you will remember, that while 

 each colony recognizes its individual 

 house, they are, at the same time, as 

 regards all other colonies in the yard, 

 practically in one location, or on one 

 stand. 



Now, the dates on the back ends of 

 the hives plainly indicate that seccnid 

 swarming will take place in about 8 

 days. In about O or 7 days (according 

 to season or weather) after this date 

 on the hives, we remove the old colony 

 to a new location. 



As we do this at such a time in the 

 day as most bees are in the field, this 

 depopulates the old colony, giving the 

 force to the new, leaving too few bees 

 for the young misses to divide, and as 

 they at once" recognize this fact, they 

 light it out on the line of the "' survival 

 ot the fittest." It may be proper, just 

 here, to say a few words regarding 

 how we manipulate the surplus de- 

 partments of these two hives, as it 

 may have sometliing to do with the 

 object in view. Let us suppose that, 

 at the time of swarming, the old 

 colony was working in three 28 one- 

 pound section (;ases. Suppose the up- 

 per one to be -'I completed, the middle 

 one about J-j, the lower one just 

 started. We will put two (which two 

 only the minor circumstances in the 

 case can decide) on the hive when first 

 swarmed, leaving one, and, sometimes, 

 we get another to put with it, on the 

 old nive. Perhaps this surplus room 

 on the old colony also has a tendency 

 to prevent swarming. 



cally, or that brood-rearing is very 

 wearing; quite likely both. 



3. You can tell fertile worker-brood 

 by the elongated cells, or elevated 

 cappings; by the less quantity of 

 brood, its irregularity in distribution. 

 and there being more than one egg in 

 a cell, while other cells are empty. 



Getting Bees to Work in Sections. 



Will Mr. Heddon please answer the 

 following questions : 



1. My bees will not work in the 

 sections. What can I do to induce 

 them to work in the sections ? 



2. How long will a colony of bees 

 live without a queen i* 



3. Will j'ou please describe fertile 

 worker-brood V Sar.\h W. Veech. 



Terre Haute, 111., July 4. 1884. 



Answers.— 1 . Before I could tell 

 what to do to get your bees to work 

 in the sections, I should have to know 

 the reason why they are not already 

 so at work. The conditions necessary 

 are these : The colony must be of 

 normal strength, or stronger ; plenty 

 of nectar in the flowers ; free com- 

 munication to the surplus receptacles, 

 and the brood-chamber not too large. 

 Foundation in the sections is also an 

 inducement. 



2. Bees will live several months 

 without a queen ; their vitality being 

 much greater when queenless, either 

 because they do not work as energeti- 



SeparatingBees from Surplus Honey. 



For the benefit of several inexperi- 

 enced bee-culturists, will Mr. Heddon 

 please answer through " What and 

 How '' in the Weekly Bee Journal 

 the following questions : What is the 

 most approved method of separating 

 bees from surplus honey, and remov- 

 ing the combs from the hive V Is 

 smoke available y Must the bees be 

 l)rushed off ? What is the best plan V 

 Does any book explain this modus 

 operandi? (". H. Cogswell. 



Virden, III., July 2. 1884. 



Answer.— The old favorite method 

 of getting the bees out ot the old style 

 of surplus receptacles was to put them 

 in a dark room with one small open- 

 ing to the light, and then the bees 

 would desert the boxes and return to 

 the hives. We used to practice this 

 when we used the ■•honey-box" with 

 openings at the bottoms only. The 

 objections to the plan are. that some- 

 times a box will contain a queen, and 

 then the bees will not leave, but as 

 many from the other boxes as can get 

 in and about the box will do so. If a 

 little brood should happen to be in 

 one of the surplus combs, the same 

 result was sometimes experienced. 

 With the cases which we now use. 

 containing sections with open tops and 

 bottoms, we smoke over 9-10 of the 

 bees down, and then remove the case 

 and shake out nearly all the remain- 

 ing ones, and then "put the case in a 

 wire-screen house. We never get a 

 queen off,and have no brood in the small 

 sections. The few remaining bees at 

 once desert the cases and go to the 

 wire, when the whole of two sides of 

 the screen house is opened, and the 

 Viees put out at once, and the doors 

 immediately closed. In old times we 

 used to number our boxes and hives, 

 so that when a queen was found we 

 would know where she belonged. I 

 think all the books on apiculture 

 speak of this subject. 



Weak Colonies. 



Which is the best time to double up 

 weak colonies, i. c, break them up 

 and put the bees in with other colo- 

 nies that are weak V 



Freeport, 111. J. Gochenour. 



An.swek. — This is a practice that I 

 very seldom use. If I did unite colo- 

 nies, 1 should do it either for winter- 

 ing (when they were very weak) or for 

 the surplus harvest, when they were 

 too small to build comb to advantage ; 

 were I running for extracted honey, 

 I should not unite colonies at all. 

 Weak colonies give me as much ex- 

 tracted honey in proportion to the 

 number of workers as strong ones; 

 often more. They often come through 

 the winter in the best condition. 



