THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



517 



What aitd Sjloiu. 



ANSWERS BY 



James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



Can Pollen be Utilize(f ? 



Can the pollen or " bee bread " so 

 called, which is found in such quanti- 

 ties in combs, at this season of the 

 year, be utilized V I could get a good 

 deal from neighbors who adhere to 

 the old style of " taking up " bees, and 

 thought if it could be used in the early 

 spring, when wanted, it would be 

 worth something. Beginneu. 



Answer. — I consider this pollen 

 you mention, of no use to you. If 

 your bees need early stimulating 

 (which we used to think was the case 

 here, but on which we have changed 

 our opinion), [believe it is generally 

 conceded by liee masters, and plainly 

 shown by the .n'tions of the bees, that 

 rye or graham ilour, is of much more 

 value than old. iii\tural pollen. 



Uniting Colonies in tlie Fall. 



Will Mr. Ileddon please answer the 

 following question : 



I Wish to dispose of a part of my 

 bees, as I think this place is over- 

 stocked. The demand is so small, 

 and the prices so low, that I think the 

 honey and the empty combs will be 

 worth more to me than I can get per 

 colony. I want to know if it will be 

 safe to unite the colonies, and thus 

 save the bees, and at the same time 

 reduce my numbers. If so, wlien is 

 the best time to do it V My colonies 

 are strong, and the hives are well- 

 lilled with honey. 



J. B. Stanclift. 



BrookQeld, Mo., Sept. 29, 1883. 



Answer. — My own opinion is, that 

 such uniting will damage you ; that 

 the single colony is worth more to go 

 into winter quarters with, than the 

 proposed "doubled-up" ones. Often 

 the results of such doubling, prove 

 less merciful to the bees, than a 

 sponge of chloroform. Where bees 

 are to be destroyed, I advise the fol- 

 lowing : 



" Take up "' the colony at that time 

 when they cease to gatlier more than 

 they consume. About 21 days before 

 tbat time arrives (as near as you can 

 guess), remove the queen. This stops 

 the breeding and the gathering of 

 pollen to a great extent, thus giving 

 you less bees and bee-bread, and more 

 honey at the time of reducing your 

 numbers. 



Some object to the killing of bees, 

 but some of these persons encourage 

 the killing of cows and calves by daily 



consuming large proportions of beef 

 and veal. 



Laying aside the question of "cruelty 

 to animals," there are many advanta- 

 ges in this " taking- up " plan : 



1. By so doing, you raise the stand- 

 ard of your colony rapidly, by destroy- 

 ing the inferior queens. 



2. It saves the purchase of many 

 supplies. 



3. It tends to prevent opposition in 

 your tield and market. 



If you reduce your number of colo- 

 nies to just what you need the follow- 

 ing spring, yo.u should be pretty sure 

 of safely carrying that number through 

 the winter. 



Did tlie Bees Have the Dysentery J 



I began the season with about 25 

 colonies; bought a few more and in- 

 creased to 60. My crop is about 2,-500 

 pounds, mostly comb. From % to ^i 

 is smartweed honey ; the balance is 

 from the Spanish needle ; all is of 

 good quality, and thick ; benig all 

 gathered in dry weather. No surplus 

 was gathered until the last of August. 

 Will some one please tell me how they 

 extract Spanish needle honey V It is 

 always so thick and tenacious that I 

 cannot remove it clean from the 

 combs. In winter I can almost stack 

 it up without pails or barrels. Smart- 

 weed is easily managed in the ex- 

 tractor. I have been holding the entire 

 crop at 15 cents per pound, against a 

 12J^ retail market. Yesterday morn- 

 ing"! took some racks and sections 

 into ttie honey house from hives when 

 it was so cool that no bees were fly- 

 ing, but some adhered to the boxes, 

 and at noon were flying to the door 

 and daubing things like bees having 

 the dysentery. Was it the chill char- 

 acter of the honey, or something else 

 that caused it V I have only the two 

 kinds of honey mixed, to winter on, 

 and pollen is not abundant. 



R. 0. AiKiN. 



Shamhaugh, Iowa, Oct. 4, 1883. 



Answer.— The cause of bee dysen- 

 tery, of which a colored and partially 

 soiled evacuation, may be called 

 among the tirst conditions, is as yet 

 in dispute. Some of our experienced 

 brethren would pronounce chilled 

 honey the cause. For my own part, 

 I do not see how a liquid can be 

 changed to a solid, especially of the 

 character of the particles contained 

 in this feces, by a sudden '' chilling." 

 I do, however, see how a short con- 

 tinement will cause young pollen- 

 eatiTig bees to void a feces well-filled 

 with particles of partially-digested 

 pollen. While it may prove true that 

 pollen-eating is the cause of dysen- 

 tery, in every case it may turn out a 

 fact, that under most favorable con- 

 ditions bees crtii consume bee-bread 

 during confinement, and yet remain 



healthy. I rather doubt the last prop- 

 osition, however. la the case yon 

 mention, tliere is no cause for appre- 

 hension, as there is no intestinal in- 

 flammation, or at least none that will 

 shorten the life of the workers. This 

 we know by experience. 





Mississippi Valley for Bees. 



This has been a poor season for bees. 

 We have only }^ of a crop of honey, 

 and very little increase. In the early 

 part of the season it was too cold and 

 windy, and, after July 1, it was so dry 

 that bees could get no nectar from 

 clover. lam tliinkingof moving down 

 on the Mississippi valley. i)o you 

 think that there would be many bees 

 drowned crossing over to the islands 

 to get honey 'i There is plenty of 

 honey to be gathered there this fall. 

 I send you a plant for name. 



J. F. Sellers. 



Reynolds, 111,, Oct. 8, 18H3. 



[The plant is an aster, and excellent 

 for honey. 



The Mississippi valley yields excel- 

 lent fall flowers, and some bee-keep- 

 ers move their bees to the bottom 

 lands, in the fall, to utilize it. If the 

 bees have to fly across the water to 

 pasture, there is danger of loss in high 

 winds, etc., but we think th:it loss 

 would be trifling.— Ed.] 



Report of the Biielihorn Apiary for '83. 



I commenced the spring with S3 

 colonies — have increased to 78 by 

 natural swarming. I have obtained 

 2,-500 lbs. of comb honey, 4,000 lbs. of 

 extracted, and 50 lbs. of wax. The 

 comb honey is all sold in the home 

 market, and averaged 17 cts. per lb., 

 and the extracted at 14 cts.. by the 

 lielp of the pamphlet on "Honey as 

 Food and Medicine." My "boss" col- 

 ony gave me 300 lbs. of corab and 400- 

 lbs. of extracted honey. This colony 

 gave three swarms, and the first col- 

 ony swarmed once, making in all five 

 swarms, all in good condition and well 

 sui)plied for winter. I winter in a 

 bee cellar under my bee house. 



r. A. tilBfjON. 



Racine, Wis., Oct. 8, 1883. 



The Results of the Honey Season. 



I commenced the season with 12 

 fair colonies, increased to 65, and 

 have taken 800 pounds of extracted 

 honey. Twelve colonies in the spring, 

 at $10 per colony, were worth $120; 

 1 paid for 7 (pieens, fouiulation, etc., 

 $65; total, $185. I have now 65 colo- 

 nies on hand, with an average of 30 

 pounds each ; at $6 per colony, these 

 at $6 each, amount to $3!)5 ; 800 pounds 

 of honey at 15 cents per pound, $120 ; 

 10 queens sold at $1 each, $10; total, 



