508 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Wllxat miiX gloiu. 



ANSWERS BY 



James Ueddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



What ails the Bees? 



One of my colonies of bees seems to 

 be in a critical state, and I do not un- 

 derstand the cause. Two of the 

 combs containinK brood are being 

 torn to pieces and the brood thrown 

 out. The larva; appears lifeless. It 

 may be foul brood. Please state in 

 the next issue of the Weekly Bee 

 .Journal, the cause and the remedy. 



Goshen, Ind. V. Keipp. 



Answer.— As usual, the descrip- 

 tion of the condition of your colony 

 is not minute enough to warrant me 

 in saying just what might be the 

 trouble. So far as you describe the 

 conditions, I should not call the 

 trouble foul brood at all, but it seems 

 more like the work of the moth-worm. 

 Can you not see any of these worms, 

 their paths or cocoons V 



ftueer Little Bees. 



I have a f nil colony of bees like the 

 sample sent you. What do you think 

 of them V 1 caught them wild last 

 season. I now have them in the 

 "hive of all hives," the Langstroth. 

 These bees have not attempted to 

 swarm, but have worked with a will 

 all summer. The queen is very pro- 

 lific, so that the hive is overflowing 

 with bees ; and that too with a capac- 

 ity for 72 pounds of box-honey. I 

 have up to this date taken 80-5 pounds 

 of honey in one-pound boxes, and 

 every day they are storing large 

 quantities of very white honey, while 

 other bees in this neighborhood are 

 storing dark honey. At the end of 

 the season (which is not yet) I will re- 

 port the largest yield of comb honey 

 ever obtained from one colony of bees 

 in one season. I might say the drones 

 from this colony are nearly black, and 

 of good size. The queen is large and 

 the workers small. 



Charles White. 



Tarry Town, N. Y. 



Answer. — The sample of your bees 

 was received, but the feed l^eing too 

 soft, the bees and it were all rolled 

 together in one mass. I have washed 

 and examined them as closely as pos- 

 sible, and will say that thev are the 

 queerest looking little things I ever 

 saw. If I had seen one at work on 

 the flowers here, I should have called 

 them " sweat bees," or sometliing 

 closely related to them. Considering 

 your statement, and the looks of the 

 samples sent, I am quite surprised. 



you advise me to drive stakes and 

 nail planks to them, say a foot or 

 more away from the hives, and then 

 fill up the space with shavings or 

 coarse sawdust ? Of course I would 

 give the hives ventilation at the en- 

 trance, as recommended for boxing 

 up a single hive. I would rather take 

 care of "my bees this way. if it will 

 answer the purpose as well, because 

 I cannot spare tliem room in the cel- 

 lar, and this is ttie easiest way I can 

 do, provided it would be as well. 



3. Would sawdtist cushions answer 

 as well as chaff cushions or forest 

 leaves, to put above the frames ? 



M. 



Ansaveks.— 1. Bees can be kept 

 breeding at any time of the year, 

 when not too cold, by slowly feeding 

 them. I have, on various occasions, 

 experimented with feeding them in 

 autumn, to produce young bees and 

 strong colonies for wintering; and in 

 the spring to stimulate hreeding up 

 strong colonies for the surplus harvest; 

 but I iiave abandoned both practices. 

 It is very unfrequent that spring 

 stimulating produces good results in 

 this locality. As for wintering. I 

 consider young bees not as good as 

 old ones. ' 



2. "W'hile I prefer the cellar to out- 

 door packing, the plan you speak of 

 will be a great help in out-door win- 

 tering. 



3. No; I should much prefer the 

 chaflf, or forest leaves for cushions. 

 Sawdust for upper packing has not 

 given good results. 



they may be. I have little doubt but 

 that old combs produce smaller work- 

 ers than new combs, and the same is 

 true of queens. Many report that 

 queens pass through .Jones' metal ; so 

 Mr. Boot made a smaller passage 

 through his new metal honey-boards. 

 We have used quite a number of both, 

 and in our apiary the Jones" metal 

 excludes all oueens under the most 

 radical tests ; while the new Root 

 metal has such contracted passages 

 that our workers get through them 

 with great difficulty. . 



Late Breeding. 



1. I have read somewhere that we 

 should have our bees breed late in 

 order to have them winter well, and 

 also to prevent "spring dwindling." 

 How shall I accomplish this V Is it 

 done by feeding V 



2. I have my hives in a straight 

 row about 18 inches apart. AV'ould 



Bee-Stings, Cross Bees, etc. 



1. My bees are a great deal crosser 

 than ever before. I fed them rye flour, 

 salt water, and sugar in the spring, to 

 stimulate them. Is that the cause V 

 or does having more of them together 

 in one yard cause them to be crosser '? 



2. Will much stinging affect the 

 wrists and muscles of the arms V 

 Mine are affected with something 

 more than common. 



3. Are the bees in the East smaller 

 than those in the West V The reason 

 I ask this is. I have one of Alley's 

 drone and queen traps, and not one 

 bee in ten can pass through the per- 

 forated zinc, although Mr. A. says 

 there are thousands of them in use. 



The honey flow here is over, and the 

 crop is ^.. less than that of last year. 

 D. S. Kal'lkt. 

 Ferndale, Ind.. July 22. 1884. 



Answers.— 1. Feeding rye flour,salt 

 and sugar would not make your bees 

 cross, unless the sugar was carelessly 

 given, and got them to robbing. Rob- 

 bing bees are always cross ; and rob- 

 bed bees likewise. " Where hives are 

 set close together, I have fancied it 

 had a tendency to make the bees 

 cross. 



2. I think it will. I think bee- 

 poison constantly discharged in the 

 blood for years, will produce symp- 

 toms of neuralgia or rheumatism. 



3. I do not think there is any differ- 

 ence in the size of bees in the East or 

 West. I do think there is consider- 

 able difference in the size of bees of 

 different colonies located wherever 



Waxing Honey-Barrels. 



Will Mr. Heddou please answer the 

 following questions through the 

 Weekly Bee Journal : 



1. How do you wax barrels on the 

 inside, so that they will hold honey V 



2. What is the cause of honey-dew ? 



J. T. Graves. 

 Centre Point. Ky.. July 22. 1884. 



Answers.— 1. Melt about a gallon 

 of wax, and when quite hot, pour it 

 into the bung-hole of the barrel. 

 Have the barrel warm also, for the 

 cooler the wax or barrel, or both, the 

 thicker coat of wax will be left, and a 

 very thin coat is the best, considering 

 the cost. When you pour in the hot 

 wax, see that the barrel has a vent,or 

 you may get burned. Shake the wax 

 all about the inner surface, by turning 

 the barrel over, and changing ends 

 with it rapidly. After you think the 

 wax had touclied all parts, pour out 

 most of the wax which you poured 

 in. The waxing costs as much as 

 the barrel, and there is no need of 

 waxing good, worthy cooperage. 



2. All the honey-dew I have ever 

 seen was caused by the aphidae. which 

 are fully described in the Bee Jour- 

 nal. 



Convention Notices. 



^g" The second annual picnic of 

 the Eastern Iowa and AVestern Illi- 

 nois Bee- Keepers" Association will be 

 held at Black Hawk's Watch Tower, 

 four miles south of Rock Island, 111., 

 on Thursday, Aug. 14, 1884. Trains 

 will run from Bock Island, near post- 

 office, every 30 minutes. Fare from 

 Rock Island and return. 17 cents. 

 Ample supply of tables and seats, on 

 the grounds. First-class restaurant 

 in the pavilion. Ice water free. Head- 

 quarters of the bee keepers will be in 

 the pavilion. Meeting of the mem- 

 bers at 11 o'clock, to review the past 

 and block out the future. Dinner at 

 12 m. After dinner, five minute ad- 

 dresses by members and visiting 

 friends. The C., R. I. & P. railroad 

 will return those attending the picnic 

 who have paid full fare one way, at 

 one-third rates. ^Vpply to Secretary, 

 on the grounds, for return certificates. 

 W.M. Goos, Sec. 



I. V. McCagg, Pres. 



^ff" The meeting of the Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association of Northeastern Ken- 

 tucky, will be held in the city of 

 Covington, Walker's Hall, on Aug. 

 13. 1884. . G, "W. Chee. Sec. 



