1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



one thing. In Query 950, the answers, or most of them, say : 

 "The standard Langstroth frame," as though there was only 

 one length. 



The reason I ask is, that next year I may get more hives, 

 and as the dovetailed is the best way to make them, I should 

 probably get them, but I do not want, and would not have, 

 two sizes ; but I want the standard, whichever it is. T. T. 



Answer.— In the fullest sense, I suppose any movable 

 frame is a Langstroth frame, as the principle is there. The 

 original Langstroth frame was, however, 17?^ inches long. 

 Then they were made X'i % to accommodate the size of sec- 

 tions, and this size, which is sometimes called "Simplicity," 

 and sometimes "Langstroth," I suppose, would really be 

 called the standard size, as it is, I believe, the one in most 



general use. 



^ I ^ 



Arranging a Bee-Shed for Winter. 



Thinking to winter my bees to good advantage, I built 

 last spring a shed, closed on the north, east and west sides ; 

 also on the south to within 3 or 4 feet of the ground. I can 

 close it clear to the bottom in front, or the south side. 



1. Will it be better to leave it open in front, with the 

 hives well back, or had I better close it entirely when settled 

 cold weather comes ? 



2. As I can arrange to pack between and back of the 

 hives with straw, would it be advisable to do so? 



Sharpeye, Ohio. H. M. S. 



Answers. — 1. I believe I would leave it as you have it, so 

 that the sun may shine in when there comes a warm day. 



2. I think it would be a good thing, so long as the pack- 

 ing does not interfere with the hive-entrances. 



I* I — ^ 



Feeding in Winter— Transferring, Etc. 



1. How can bees be fed in box-hives at this time of the 

 year? 



2. Can bees winter with only a few bees on the combs 

 now, and no honey in the hive, if they are fed ? 



3. Is it better to transfer bees from box-hives to frame 

 ones now, or wait till spring ? 



4. Can all worker-bees lay eggs ? Do they lay worker or 

 drone eggs ? 



5. Does the queen lay all the eggs ? 



We have had a very poor year for honey. The bees gath- 

 ered some early in the spring, but none since. They are 

 starving to death in this country. I have a few colonies in 

 box-hives. They are very weak, and have no stores. I would 

 like to carry them through the winter. Please give me the 

 best advice you can on the matter. J. T. S. 



Buckeye, La. 



Answers. — Although you don't say so, I suspect that you 

 want your answers in the American Bee .Journal. I heartily 

 wish that each one asking questions and desiring answers in 



this journal would say so, as I can't tell whether you may not 

 be a reader of another paper to which I send replies. 



1. It depends a little on circumstances, what may be the 

 best way. If the weather is warm enough, all that is neces- 

 sary is to put some honey or some sugar-candy under the bees 

 and they will take it up. But the candy will not work so well 

 under the bees as honey, for it may be too dry. It isn't well to 

 feed syrup in winter. If it's too cold for the bees to come 

 down to the bottom-board, then you can turn the hive upside 

 down, lay the honey or the candy on the combs, and cover 

 over so the weather can't trouble, but don't cover so close as 

 to smother the bees. The first warm spell that comes, you 

 can turn the hive right side up. 



2. I wouldn't give much for their chances, and I would 

 not give much for the outfit if they should pull through. 



3. Better wait till spring. 



4. I don't know. The latest opinions rather tend toward 

 the belief that when circumstances are right to develop lay- 

 ing-workers, that any worker may develop into a laying- 

 worker. 



5. In a colony that's all right, the queen lays all the eggs. 



Perforated Zinc or Wire-Screen Separators. 



Have you, or anybody else, used separators made of per- 

 forated zinc, or wire-screen, with meshes so big that the bees 

 could go through? I have been thinking of trying some ex- 

 periments in that direction, as I think there is some advantage 

 in it ; but I thought of it too late to try it this year. 1 will 

 try it next season. O. G. R. 



Lake Mills, Iowa. 



Answer.— Yes, some years ago they were heralded as a 

 great improvement, and I believe were patented, but as they 

 sunk out of sight I suppose there was no great merit in them. 

 I commend your judgment in first asking about such things 

 before going to any great expense. Thousands of different 

 things have been tried, and it would be well for those who 

 think they have some improvement to first ask whether it is 

 anything new. ^ 



Basswood Division-Boards Warping. 



I have some nice basswood lumber, half-inch thick, that I 

 would like to make division-boards of for brood-chambers. 

 Will it make good division-boards ? or will it warp by the heat 

 of the bees, or from any cause ? L- E. E. 



Ousted, Mich. 



Answer.— Basswood, or linden, is one of the worst woods 

 to warp. But you can manage it in this way : Cut the divi- 

 sion-boards an inch short, then nail on each end a strip half 

 an inch wide. Indeed, I would have some kind of strips on 

 the end, no matter what kind of wood is used. 



Doctor^s f{\r)is 



By DR. PEIRO, Cliicago, 111. 



Not a Fool. 



No, sir, Mr. Jones ; you are in error to 

 suppose that your boy lacks ordinary intel- 

 ligence just because he has what you de- 

 scribe as " that far-away look." You don't 

 know, and cannot imagine, what thoughts 

 are going on in that brain of his. He may 

 greatly surprise you some of these fine days 

 by his original thoughts or works. 



I more than half suspect, from your let- 

 ter, that you have done him the great iu- 

 justice of frequently expressing your con- 

 viction to him, that you consider your son 

 little better than an idiot, until psrhaps he 



has almost become persuaded that your es 

 timate of his intelligence is correct ! Many 

 a boy and girl have been mentally ruined 

 by such heartless presumption. The fact 

 that your son is not particularly interested 

 in your farm work, and the various drudger- 

 ies it entails, is no evidence that he may 

 not be intended by Nature for some voca- 

 tion in life just as good or important as a 

 farmer. Many a boy, reai'ed on a farm, 

 has become the greatest of useful citizens. 

 " Film" on tbe Eye. 

 Well, Mrs. Whitman, I wouldn't take so 

 gloomy view of the case. A thick film on 

 the eye, even in a person of your years, 

 does not necessarily portend total loss of 

 sight. A practical opinion must depend 

 upon a thorough examination. But what 

 you call a " film " on the eye may really be 

 a thickening of the round center of the eye 



—the cornea, doctors call it. I don't mean 

 the little spot in the very center, but that 

 part by which you decide the color of one's 

 eyes. If it is thickened, perhaps little can 

 be done, but it may be that only the thin 

 membrane covering It is thickened, as the 

 result of inflamation. In that case a cure is 

 almost certain. So don't give up. 



Use a lotion made of 20 grains of boracic 

 acid and three ounces of camphor water— a 

 few drops put into each eye five or six times 

 a day. It doesn't pain. It wiU do no harm 

 if the case is of the hopeless kind, and is 

 pretty certain to make you well if it is of 

 the nature last considered. Try it, any- 

 way. 



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