672 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



straight and true within the frames 

 without the aid of comb foundation, 

 is the object of tliis article. I expect 

 many will think it " mistaken econ- 

 omy " to try to get combs without 

 using foundation, but many cannot 

 afford to buy it, and a few, myself 

 among that number, believe that 

 combs can be built as cheaply as the 

 foundation can be purchased and got- 

 ten into combs. In a future article I 

 propose to discuss this matter regard- 

 ing the economy of comb foundation, 

 therefore I will say nothing further on 

 the subject here. 



As a starting point toward straight 

 combs, I use a wax guide on the un- 

 der side of the top-bar of the frame, 

 which is secured by making a straight 

 edge of hard wood. 7-16 thick by 1 

 inch wide, and J4 inch shorter than the 

 inside of the top-bar of the frame. 

 This straight-edge is nailed to a wide 

 board, and the board so tixed that it 

 inclines enough for the melted wax, 

 (which is to be used to make the 

 guide) to run along the top-bar freely. 

 With a wet sponge, moisten the 

 straiglit-edge, lay the frame on the 

 wide board with the underside of the 

 top-bar pressed against the straight- 

 edge, when a little wax is turned from 

 a spoon into the upper end of the V 

 shaped trough (which is made by the 

 top-bar of the frame and the straight- 

 edge,) and allowed to run down the 

 whole length of it. Now lift the frame 

 and you have a nice wax guide for the 

 bees to start their comb on. By keep- 

 ing the straight-edge wet, the wax 

 will not slick to it, and by using a 

 lamp under the dish of wax, it can be 

 so regulated that the wax is kept at 

 the right temperature all the while. 

 In this way guides can be put on very 

 rapidly. 



While I have found a guide of some 

 kind an absolute necessity (the above 

 being the best,) I have also found that 

 no guide can always be depended 

 upon, for bees are sometimes very ob- 

 stinate, and will leave the guide so as 

 to build crooked combs if they do net 

 go directly across the frames. Conse- 

 quently, it pays the apiarist to look at 

 each colony hived on empty frames 

 while they are buildhigcomb, as often 

 as once in 3 days. If any combs are 

 found going wrong, they can be bent 

 back in line very easily, and after the 

 hive is once filled, they are good for a 

 long time, as I never saw one that I 

 would discard on account of age. 



The readers of the Bee Jouiinal 

 are aware that I prefer natural swarms, 

 and to best illustrate how I secure 

 combs such as I desire, I will give my 

 management of a swarm. As all my 

 queens have their wings clipped, the 

 swarm is hived by letting them re- 

 turn, previously movingtlie old colony 

 to a new location and setting the new 

 hive, containing the full number (9) 

 of frames, in its place. In two days I 

 open the hive, and usually find that 

 the bees have made a start in 5 frames. 

 These 5 frames are placed together at 

 one side of the hive, and a division 

 board is placed next to them. This 

 throws the full force on these frames, 

 and they will soon till them with 

 straight worker comb as a rule, es- 

 pecially if a few sections are placed 



over them (as there always should be), 

 so that if any drone comb is built, it 

 can be done in the sections. This also 

 gets the bees at work in the sections 

 quicker than any way I know of. If 

 you get these .5 combs built straight, 

 you will have no trouble in getting the 

 rest so. as they can build them no 

 other way, if placed between two of 

 those already built. If every comb is 

 straight and all worker, such a colony 

 will be a profitable one. and if each 

 colony has such combs, all will be pro- 

 fitable. 



No apiarist if he has not more than 

 8 or 4 colonies, should consider them 

 in proper working order until each 

 comb is a straigiit worker comb. 

 There is no need of having hives half 

 full of drone comb, and so crooked that 

 they cannot be handled. If we do 

 things at the right time and in a 

 proper manner, our bees will more 

 than pay us for all time spent on them. 



Suppose that, instead of working 

 as above, we hive swarms without 

 paying any further attention to them. 

 Swarms issuing when honey is very 

 abundant, will build comb very rapid- 

 ly, filling their hive in s or 10 days, in 

 which case their combs will be apt to 

 be crooked, and at least ^3 drone or 

 store comb, which is good for nothing 

 for rearing workers the next season ; 

 but is an actual damage, as the drones 

 reared in them will consume a great 

 part of what the workers gather. Such 

 colonies will be unprofitable ones, 

 either for rearing bees or storing 

 honey, just so long as the comb is kept 

 in that condition. 



In conclusion, I will say that I have 

 never used 10 lbs. of foundation in 

 brood frames since I have kept bees, 

 but have built my combs as above, 

 and until I am better satisfied that 

 comb foundation pays than I have been 

 from past experiments. I expect to so 

 build them in the future ; hence I am 

 not preaching what I do not practice. 

 All I have to recommend the above, 

 is the success I have attained with it. 

 and if any think that it is not " the 

 right way to work." they can pass this 

 article by, the same as if it liad not 

 been written. Still I should like to 

 have all the advocates of foundation 

 try one colony as above, by the side of 

 one hived on comb foundation (both 

 hived at the same time), both of which 

 are to be worked for comb honey. 

 Keep the honey each produces sepa- 

 rate, and add to the one building its 

 own coml), enough to cover the cost of 

 the foundation used by the other, and 

 see which comes out ahead. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Syrian Bees as Breeders. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



On page 648, Mr. Fayette Lee takes 

 exceptions to souie of my statements 

 in regard to Syrian bees. Please allow 

 me to explain. I do not judge of the 

 Syrians' viciousness solely from my 

 own experience, nor from Mr. Lee's, 

 or Mr. L. L. Lowmaster's, or Prof. 

 Hasbrouck's, or Prof. Cook's, or Mr. 

 Jones', or any other single individual 

 experience, but I look at the evidence 



in the aggregate. When there are 

 more than 90 practical bee-keepers 

 gathered together, as tliere was last 

 October at Chicago, and only one of 

 that number has had gentle Syrians, 

 I consider the fact' signiticant. Mr. 

 D. A. .Jones himself admitted, at our 

 late State Convention, that the Ital- 

 ians were more gentle than the Syr- 

 ians, but said there was a difference 

 in the different strains of Syrians, 

 those from Mt. Lebanon being tl*e 

 most peaceable. 



Mr. Jones is a queen breeder and a 

 producer of extracted honey, and pre- 

 fers a cross between the Italians and 

 Syrians, while I make the production 

 of comb lioney a specialty, and prefer 

 a cross between the Italians and Ger- 

 mans ; we both have good reasons for 

 our preferences. 



In regard to their not properly ripen- 

 ing and sealing their honey, did I not 

 explicitly say, " I am aware that this 

 complaint against them is not univer- 

 sal ; " but those who are interested in 

 this matter, should turn to the report 

 of the Northwestern Convention for 

 l.S(52. and read the testimony of E. .1. 

 Oatman, upon the point. This point 

 would not be so serious in workingfor 

 extracted honey. 



Perhaps the statement that they 

 will '• rear brood so long as a drop of 

 honey remains in the hive," needs 

 qualifying to mean that they will dO' 

 so only in warm weather. I certainly 

 did not wish to convey the idea that 

 they would continue breeding after 

 cold weatlier had commenced, but 

 that they would breed from early 

 spring uiitil late in the fall, whether 

 honey was coining in or not. 



I have no desire to tear down nor to 

 build up the reputation of any bees, 

 neither do I enter any controversy 

 upon any subject for the sole purpose 

 of defeating my adversary ; my only 

 object is to arrive at tlie truth, and. if 

 in so doing I am " beaten" in my ar- 

 gument, I shall feel grateful to my 

 opponent for pointing out my errors. 



Kogersville, Mich., Dec. 15, 1S83. 



For the American Bee Jonmal.. 



The Pollen Theory "-Facts. 



J. M. SHUCK. 



Having given the winter condition 

 of bees very close attention for ten 

 years last past, I wish to add to Mr. 

 kohnke"s article in No. .50 of the Bee, 

 Journal, the following facts : 



1. I have observed that bees do at- 

 tempt to consume pollen during the 

 winter, when not rearing brood. Mr. 

 Doolittle will here arise to ask how I 

 know they do. I will answer by ask- 

 ing him how he knows his bees eat 

 lioney during the winter. I know 

 they eat pollen because it is gone from 

 the cells. I know they eat it, for it is 

 found in their excrement. I have 

 observed that they not only eat pollen 

 when driven to it, but that they at^ 

 tempt to eat the wax. I have re- 

 peatedly seen combs thus mutilated. 



2. I have seen queenless colonies 

 affected with diarrha?a where honey 

 was short and pollen present; these 

 could not have been rearing brood. 



