THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



749 



tmhat and Botu. 



ANSWERS BV 



James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



Rules for tliis Department. 



1. Give your name and post-office address. 



2. Be liricf, and to the point. 



3. Send no simple questions, such as are 

 answered in the bee-books. 



4. AslJ only such questions as are of 

 greneral interest. 



5. This department is not intended tor 

 advertising- any one's wares — therefore 

 questions concerning- the manufacture of 

 goods for sale are not appropriate. 



(1. Direct all questions to the editor— 

 THOS. G. NEWM.VIV, 

 925 West Madison St.. CHICAGO, ILL. 



"Winter Weight. 



I read in the Bee Journal of Oct. 

 29, that if bees are weighed and fed 

 sugar syrup till the hive reaches the 

 standard weight, there is no need of 

 anxiety. I would like to know what 

 the standard weight is, as I have some 

 colonies which are very heavy, and 

 some which are light. Can I even 

 them up until each becomes the re- 

 quired weight? R. M. Cartney. 



Rose Hall, Ont. 



Answer.— The different materials 

 of which hives are made and the dif- 

 ferent styles of hives vary so much in 

 weight that I do not know of any 

 standard weight that is a safe guide 

 to go by, to warrant a suiBcient 

 amount of stores for wintering. 



Peeding Bees, etc. 



Will Mr. Heddon please answer the 

 following questions : 



1. How many pounds of honey or 

 sugar syrup does it take to winter a 

 strong colony of bees ? and how many 

 pounds to winter a weak colony V 



2. How many i^-fuU Langstroth 

 frames does it take for a colony of 

 "bees to winter on 'i 



3. Is it best to boil sugar syrup be- 

 fore feeding it to bees V 



4. Is there any harm in putting 

 more water with the sugar than is 

 generally used ? 



5. Which is the best way to feed 

 bees ? 



6. Do bees work on warm days in 

 winter when they fly out, or do they 

 only take a cleansing flight ? 



7. What kind of bees are the best 

 for increase V A. V. Len:nox. 9 



Plaquemine, La. 



Answers.— 1. That all depends 

 upon the healthfulness and quietude 

 ot the bees during their confinement 

 and what you mean by wintering. It 

 requires more food to carry the colony 

 from the cessation of the honey-flow 

 of 1884 to the beginning of the honey- 

 flow of 188-5 than just to carry them 

 through from flight to flight. How 

 much more, will depend upon the pro- 

 lificness of the queen, and many other 

 conditions. In most winters, not as 

 much food will be consumed by colo- 

 nies in frost proof repositories, as 



those left on the summer stands, 

 packed or unpacked. I usually wish 

 my colonies out-of-doors to have about 

 20 lbs. of stores, and those in the cel- 

 lar, not less than 10 lbs. and tliese 

 stores all available. These will reach 

 until such time in the spring as I can 

 feed any colonies that may have eaten 

 an unusual amount. 



2. Sometimes one or two, and some- 

 times seven or eight. 



3. Yes, I think so ; especially if fed 

 later in the season. 



4. No, not if you feed early enough, 

 so that the colony has a chance to 

 evaporate the extra water out of the 

 syrup. 



5. My preference is radically in 

 favor of a large feeder on top. 



6. Generally, only a cleansing flight ; 

 though sometimes later in the winter, 

 they begin house-cleaning. 



7. Italians for increase, and Ger- 

 mans for nice comb honey. 



Bees Dying Fast. 



I have two colonies of bees which 

 are affected in a manner that is unac- 

 countable to me, and I desire informa- 

 tion in regard to what is the trouble 

 with them, and also for a remedy. 

 The appearance of the outside of the 

 capped honey is gray — about the color 

 of mold— though the honey appears to 

 taste all right. The comb and the 

 hive are dry and emit no bad smell, 

 but the bees are dying faster than 

 they can carry them out. The colo- 

 nies were strong in bees and heavy 

 with honey. Robt. Henderson 5 



Ogdensburg, N. Y. 



Answer. — I do not think that any- 

 thing ails your two colonies of bees 

 referred to. The bluish gray tinge on 

 the caps of the honey is aU right. I 

 presume, from all you say, that the 

 mortality of these two colonies is nat- 

 ural, and a circumstance often seen 

 in other apiaries. 



Bee-Feeders, Honey-Boards, etc. 



Will Mr. Heddon please answer the 

 following questions : 



1. In uniting black bees in the fall 

 where one has not the time to find and 

 destroy one of the queens, and they 

 have to "fight to the death," I would 

 like to know whether the survivor is 

 injured in any way. Are both ever 

 killed V 



2. Please describe your top bee- 

 feeder. 



3. What is the thickness of your 

 honey-board, the distance between 

 the slats, and how much bee-space is 

 there above and below ? 



4. In cellar-wintering, what should 

 the outside temperature be, when the 

 bees might safely be set out for a 

 flight ; of course to be returned to the 

 cellar when all have gathered home V 



.5. Is it possible to cure bee-diar- 

 rhoea, when not too far advanced, by 

 setting a single hive in a warm, dark 

 room for a short time V 



6. How is the common basswood 

 propagated V Wm. .Inc. Hinchey. 



Tam worth, Ont., Nov. 1, 1884. 



Answers. — I have never known any 

 injury to the surviving queen, from 



such struggles for life. I think the 

 fatal position is such that fatality 

 cannot happen to both queens at the 

 same time. 



2. To describe such fixtures so that 

 the description would be of any value, 

 would occupy too much time and 

 space. 



3. The same is also true of this 

 question. I prefer a scant Jl inch for 

 a bee-space where there is no liability 

 of a change coming about by way of 

 swelling or shrinkage. 



4. Much depends upon the stillness 

 of the air, whether the ground is bare 

 or covered with snow, whether the 

 sun shines or not, and what is the 

 humidity of the atmosphere. Usually 

 4.5"^ to -50'^ Fahr.; but my rule is, never 

 to take bees from a repository expect- 

 ing to return them unless they show 

 signs of diarrhffia. 



5. Some claim that they have now 

 and then cured one or a few colonies 

 by so doing, and changing their food. 

 I do not consider that there is any 

 real, practical cure, but I think that 

 we shall soon learn how to prevent 

 the disease, 



6. By seeds and slips, but usually 

 by seeds. 



The Bee Journal for 1885. 



Premiums, $23.00 in Casli. 



To increase the number of readers 

 of the Bee Journal, we believe, will 

 aid progressive bee-culture and help 

 to elevate the pursuit. We, therefore, 

 offer the following 



CASH PREjnuMS for clubs. 



$10.00 for the largest club received 

 at this oflice before Feb. 1, 188.5 (either 

 of the Weekly, Monthly, or both); one 

 Weekly counts same as 4 Monthlies. 



$.5.00 for the second largest ; $4.00 

 for the third ; $3.00 for the fourth ; 

 $2.00 for the fifth ; and $1.00 for the 

 sixth largest club. 



All former offers of Premiums are 

 now withdrawn. 



The price of the Weekly Bee Jour- 

 nal for 1885 is $2.00 for one copy ; 

 $3.80 for two copies (to the same or 

 different post-oftices) ; $5.50 for three 

 copies ; $7.20 for four copies ; and for 

 five or more copies, $1.75 each. 



We have decided to publish the 

 Monthly Bee Journal for next year 

 of the same size and shape as the 

 Weekly, (which contains about the 

 same amount of reading matter as 

 the present Monthly,) at .50 cents a 

 year ; two copies (to the same or dif- 

 ferent post-offlces) for 90 cents ; three 

 copies forSl.30 ; four copies for $1.70 ; 

 five copies for $2.00 ; more than five 

 copies for 40 cents each. The time has 

 been extended on all portions of next 

 year, which have been paid for at the 

 rate of $1.00. 



Subscriptions for two or more years 

 for one person, will count the same 

 as each year for a different person. 



New Subscribers for the Monthly for 

 1885 will have all the numbers for 1884 

 free that are published after the sub- 

 scriptions are received at this office. 



