54 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 24, 



others had done so, but do not 



when? Only one practices it j 

 now, as they do not like it. 



THE BEGINNER — HONEY-PLANTS. 



What would you advise a man to do first, who has decided 

 to go into the bee-business ? Look up a good location. 



The subject of honey-plants was discussed. Alsike clover 

 was thought profitable for honey, and also for hay. Sweet 

 clover was considered very good for honey. 



DIVISION-BOARD — FOUNDATION FASTENER. 



Where a division-board is used in the hive, will the bees 

 work as well in the sections over an open space ? Not so well. 



What is the best method of fastening foundation in sec- 

 tions? Some liked the Parker foundation fastener. Dr. 

 Miller prefers the " Daisy." 



HIVING SWARMS— SPRAYING FRUIT. 



Is it best to put the new swarm on the old stand ? Some 

 thought it was. Dr. Miller thought a good plan was to put 

 the new swarm on the old stand, and leave the old one beside 

 It for about five days, then remove to new location. 



An essay on spraying fruit, and its connection with bee- 

 keeping, was read by Mr. A. J. Sweezey, of Guilford. A gen- 

 eral discussion followed, in which it was reported that several 

 fruit-men had sprayed while in bloom, and killed the bees. 

 One case was given about a man in Ogle county, who sprayed 

 his plum trees while in bloom, and killed 80 colonies of bees. 

 It seems that a good many do not know the time to spray — 

 that it is after the blossoms have fallen. 



New Milford, 111. B. Kennedy, Sec. 



CONDUCTED BY 



£>R. C. C. miLLER, AIAREIfGO, ILl^. 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.] 



Spreading Brood in the Spring. 



Would you advise spreading the brood in the spring, to 

 increase brood-rearing, if it is done cautiously, in a locality 

 where they have to " hustle," to be up to the standard in time 

 for the honey-flow ? 



Answer. — I'm afraid about how "cautiously" you'd do 

 it. I certainly wouldn't do it if the queen kept as many cells 

 filled as the bees could fully cover. 



Snow in Front of the Hives. 



Is it necessary to keep the snow away from the front of 

 the hives during winter, to keep the bees from smothering ? 

 Or will it do no'harm if left there? W. E. H. 



Fairfield, Pa. 



Answer. — A little snow will do no harm, so long as it re- 

 mains loose and open, but if it thaws, packs, and freezes, 

 then it may prevent the bees getting the air they need. A 

 hive may be buried ten feet deep in snow without any danger 

 of smothering, for the snow will melt away around the hive, 

 leaving an open space ; but if the hive remains too long buried 

 • — perhaps more than a week or two — then it works mischief, 

 for the bees get warm, uneasy, commence breeding, and are 

 in bad condition by spring. It's a safe plan to keep snow 

 cleaied away from the entrance. 



•♦Busty" Combs- 



-Sowing Buckwheat- 

 nies in One Place ? 



-How Slany Colo- 



1. About the middle of November I took surplus honey 

 off of my hives, and examined the bees slightly, as it was too 

 cool to disturb them any more than I was obliged to do. Four 

 out of five of the brood-combs were covered with a kind of 

 red moth or dust — something like rust on wheat or oats, only 

 not so red, butmoro flesh color or purple. I thought that it 

 had a bad smell, but probably it was my imagination. On one 

 hive the surplus honey had some on, too. I could blow some 

 of it off, but not nearly all of it. The honey tastes all right. 

 The four colonies affected this way did not gather much honey 



until fall. Do you know what is the matter with them ? And 

 what must I do with them if they are not right ? 



2. I have two acres of rented land, about one-half of it 

 being too wet for early planting of anything. It is only about 

 30 rods from my apiary. Would you advise me to sow 

 buckwheat on all that is dry enough in the spring? (By the 

 time it would ripen, the other land would do to cultivate.) 

 Harvest the first (if there were anything to harvest), and 

 then sow all of the two acres to it ? The land is a corner by 

 itself, and wet. 



3. About how many colonies would you want to keep in 

 this locality ? There are no forests in sight, some willows, 

 long branches and ditches, and not much waste land. Of 

 course we have pastures, lanes and fence-corners for them to 

 work on. J. E. S. 



State Line, Ind, 



Answers. — 1. I cannot tell anything about it. Can any 

 of our readers help us out ? 



2. I have some doubt whether you would gain anything 

 by sowing in spring. Plants have their proper season for 

 blooming, and you can't crowd them much out of their regular 

 course. Besides, if you should get buckwheat to bloom during 

 the Pow of white honey, the white honey might be damaged 

 more than all you would gain. 



3. That's a tough question. Much depends upon the 

 number of bees kept within a radius of two or three miles. If 

 such bees are not plenty, it's possible lUO colonies might do 

 well for you, but likely 75 would do better. 



Drones from a Mismated Queen. 



Are the drones of a mismated queen pure ? 



J. S. W. 



Answer. — Some say yes, some say no. I doubt if you or 

 I could tell any difference, and for all practical purposes I 

 should be satisfied with such drones, if indeed there is any 

 difference at all. 



Colonies of Pretty Good Strength in Spring. 



I wish to try some bees, and want to know what is the 

 number of frames bees should be between to be considered 

 strong and in good condition after coming through the winter ? 



Berryville, Va. J. R. C. L. 



Answer. — If you find bees clustered in four or five of the 

 spaces between the frames, they are of pretty good strength. 



Frames of Honey, or Syrup and Extracted Honey, for 

 Stimulative Feeding. 



Will feeding frames of honey give as good results for 

 stimulative purposes as sugar syrup or extracted honey fed 

 from a feeder ? Nebraska. 



Answer. — There is some difference of opinion. I have 

 been somewhat inclined to the opinion that when there was 

 plenty of honey in the hives the queens were always likely to- 

 keep as large a brood-nest supplied as the bees could cover. 

 Still, some think it makes a difference whether honey is com- 

 ing into the hive, and there may be something in it. A frame 

 of honey would not seem as much like stores coming in from 

 the field as would stores given in a feeder. But if you will 

 scratch some of the cappings, then it will have all the advan- 

 tages of the feeder. 



Weak Colonies Destroyed by Moth-'Worms. 



I have lost several colonies of bees by moth-worms, and it 

 seems that as soon as they get in there is no hopes. They 

 tear the combs and eat the bees. The larva is in a cocoon, 

 and sticks to the wood, cutting grooves in it, sometimes cut- 

 ting holes through the top-bars ; it is sometimes a mass of 

 cocoons between the top-bars and division-board, making it 

 hard to get the latter off. How will I keep the moth-millers 

 out, and avoid losing the colony ? W. R. W. 



Bellevue, Del. 



Answer. — If I were on a tree, high enough so I knew you 

 couldn't reach me with a stone, I'd say I don't believe the 

 millers ever destroyed a colony for you. I've had hives con- 

 taining just such things as you tell about, but the fault didn't 

 lie with the millers in the hive, but with the two-legged Miller 



