THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



207 



at imtX IJotir. 



ANSWERS BY 



James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



stimulating Early Breeding. 



I would like to have Mr. Heddon 

 answer the following questions : 



1. On page 156, Bee Journal, in 

 regard to stimulating early breeding, 

 please explain tlie proper arrangement 

 of hives necessary to early breeding V 



2. What kind of honey board or 

 cover over the frames is best V and of 

 what goods or material made V 



3. I use a board made of % inch 

 poplar, leaving % space between it 

 and the top of the frames. Could I 

 successfully use the feeders you de- 

 scribe, on the top of my hives V My 

 covers are made large enough to come 

 % inch down all round the outside of 

 hive, and deep enough to cover 6 incli 

 surplus box. 



4. My experience with sweet clover 

 seed has been no more satisfactory 

 than that of Mr. John H.Martin, page 

 146, Bee Journal. I sowed some 

 early in spring and some late, about 

 April 10 ; the Brst on rye, and the last 

 on freshly plowed ground ; the latter 

 came up finely and grew till about 

 Aug. 1, after which time I could see 

 no more of it. Give your advice in 

 regard to growing it. 



J. A. P. Fancher. 

 Fancher's Mills, Teun. 



Answers.— 1. Have none but good, 

 normally prolific queens. Such are, in 

 my apiary, the rule. You must not 

 harbor the exceptions. If you use a 

 frame not deeper than the Langs- 

 troth, and not more than 8 of them, 

 and keep off all cloths, placing on 

 a board cover with an air space be- 

 tween the cover and the top bars of 

 the brood-frames— with this condi- 

 tion of things no stimulative manipu- 

 lations are advisable. 



2. Do not confound the words 

 " honey-board " and " cover." A 

 honey-board is a perforated board or 

 rack, which supports the surplus 

 honey receptacles, while being filled. 

 A cover is a solid piece, and, as above 

 stated, I prefer a solid board. We 

 use a % inch board, and cleated at 

 each end as shown in Fig. 2, letter H, 

 on page 659, of the Bee Journal for 

 1882. Cover E., as shown in Fig. 1., 

 is about the size, but we have adopted 

 the style of cleating, as shown on 

 shade-board H, Fig. 2. The board is 

 painted all over, and is reversible. 



3. Certainly, you can ; any of the 

 three feeders I use. 



4. I do not feel that my experience 

 with sweet clover, or any other plants, 

 make ine the fit person to answer this 

 question. All I can say is, that I 

 should sow melilot clover in early 



spring ; early enough so that the frost 

 will crack the hard shell, and thus in- 

 sure more perfect germination. I 

 sow on all sorts of land, and the bees 

 act as though I had done well, when 

 the blossoms appear. 



Tiering up Sections. 



1. Will the bees bridge from the 

 honey rack to the bottoms of the sec- 

 tions in the case 'i 



2. Will the tops of the sections be 

 soiled, when tiered up V 



3. VVill the covers blow off V 



4. Will not the heat melt the honey 

 in so thin a case ':* 



5. Do you wedge the sections to one 

 side of the case V J. J. Hurlbert. 



Lyndon, 111., April 5, 1883. 



Answers.— 1. There will be scarcely 

 any bridging between the sections 

 and the honey-board, and the sections 

 and each other. 



2. There will be no noticable soiling. 



3. We have no trouble with covers 

 blowing off. We use a 15-pound stone 

 on each shade-board. 



4. The shade-board above referred 

 to, breaks the sun's rays from the 

 cases. All hives should be shaded. 



5. I do not ; wedge all you please, 

 and yet all sections need scraping be- 

 fore crating. 



When and How to Use Sections. 



Will Mr. Heddon please answer the 

 following questions : 



1. When should sections be put on, 

 with reference to beginning of honey 

 season, and strength of colonies V 



2. Do you put on a full case of sec- 

 tions at first V 



3. Should a case of sections be put 

 on as soon as a swarm is hived V If 

 not, when V 



4. Do you use, and deem essential, 

 any other hive cover than the solid 

 honey-board you use ? 



W. H. Francis. 

 Frankfort, Mich. 



Answers.— 1. A good guide for all 

 locations, is when you see new pieces 

 of comb being built between the top- 

 bars and the cover of the hive. This 

 occurs here, generally, when the white 

 clover begins to yield, but sometimes 

 during the flow from cherry, apple 

 and locust trees. 



2. Certainly ; we put on a full case 

 of 56 pound sections the first thing ; 

 the idea that giving the bees a little 

 more room than they will use at first 

 or a little too early will do harm, is 

 not borne out by experiment. 



3. When I have a large prime swarm 

 hived on full sheets of foundation, I 

 usually put on one case at once. 

 There is no danger of brood in the 

 sections if the hive and whole arrange- 

 ment is properly arranged, and often 

 great advantages accrue from so do- 



ing. If the swarm is small, the sec- 

 tions will not be needed for 48 hours, 

 and if the frames are empty, or have 

 only foundation starters, usually not 

 before the sixth to eighth day after 

 hiving. Be careful about adjusting 

 the surplus arrangement when you 

 hive the swarm, unless foundation is 

 used iu the frames below. 



4. I do not use a solid honey- board. 

 There is, and can be no such thing. 

 It is a contradiction in terms. A 

 honey-board is something that the 

 surplus honey rests on while develop- 

 ing, and is always perforated. I use 

 the same cover over the cases that 

 covers the hive,— a " solid board." 

 Over this I use a 2x3 feet shade-board 

 (see cut, Fig. 2, letter H, on page 659, 

 Bee Journal for 1882), and on this a 

 15 pound atone. 



Correction.—" How and What " 

 department for April 11. , In my first 

 answer, on page 195, 1 wish to be un- 

 derstood as saying " no more than 

 one tier high " in the same super or 

 case, but not on the same hive. I be- 

 lieve in and practice the tiering up 

 method, but only one tier of sections 

 in any one case. 



Examine the Date following your 

 name on the wrapper label of this 

 paper ; it indicates the end of the 

 month to which you have paid your 

 subscription on the Bee Journal. 



For safety, when sending money to 

 this office get either a post office or ex- 

 press money order, a bank draft on 

 New York or Chicago, or register the 

 letter. Postage stamps of any kind 

 may be sent for amounts less than one 

 dollar. Local checks are subject to a 

 discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. 

 American Express money orders for 

 f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. 



"We wish to impress upon every one 

 the necessity of being very specific, 

 and carefully to state what they desire 

 for the money sent. Also, if they live 

 near one post oflice, and get their mail 

 at another, be sure to give us the ad- 

 ress we already have on our books. 



i^"Mr. James Heddon announces on 

 another page that he cannot supply 

 any more Hives, etc., in the flat. All 

 interested should notice the adver- 

 tisement. — Adv. 



Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on 

 which are printed a large bee in gold, 

 we send for 10 cts each, or $8 per 100. 



