186 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 21, 



CONDUCTED BY 



JOR. C. C. MIT^LER, AIARE^^GO, ILl^. 



IQuestlons may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.! 



When to Get Bees by the Pound. 



What month would be the best to buy bees by the pound ? 

 Does it pay to get them early and feed on drawn-out combs, 

 or wait until the bees are Rathering honey ? H. S. J. 



Answer.— Probably you will do best not to get them till 

 bees get fairly to work gathering, say in fruit-bloom. 



The 8-Frame Hive and a Queen's Laying Capacity. 



When a queen lays on an average of 8,000 eggs per day 

 during the busy season (as I have seen stated in the Bee Jour- 

 nal), how does she find room enongh in an 8-frame hive of the 

 standard size to keep her busy the 21 days? What does she 

 do with the surplus ? Maybe I ought to have her lay in my 

 hand, like Mrs. Atchley does. Wisconsin. 



Answer.— Now, look here, if you don't stop asking 

 "sassy " questions, I'll come up to Wisconsin and see to you. 



Let's see. If we figure 3,000 a day for 21 days, and 

 have 8 frames in a hive, that will make about 160 square 

 inches in each frame to be tilled with eggs. But there are not 

 more than about 140 inches in a comb, so a queen can't keep 

 up the 3,000 even if she wants to. 1 suspect some queens 

 might keep up to that mark, and being cramped for room must 

 limit the number. Others would have room enough in the 8 

 frames. There is a very ssrious side to the matter if, as some 

 one has suggested, the repression of the laying has an injuri- 

 ous effect on the queen herself. More light on the matter is 

 desirable. 



Distance Bees Go for Honey. 



How far will bees successfully gather honey? I think I 

 once saw in the Canadian Bee Journal that bees had been 

 known to gather buckwheat honey nine miles from the apiary, 

 but I could not believe it. There is an abundance of pasture 

 four miles from here, but can my bees get at it ? 



Victoria, B. C. E. L. E. 



Answer. — I think it has been pretty well authenticated 

 that bees have gone nine miles to gather, but whether profit- 

 ably is quite another thing. If there is no pasture nearer, I 

 think your bees will go the four miles, and if some rapid 

 yielder like linden is there they may profit considerably by it. 



Feeding- Colonies Short of Stores. 



I have 3 colonies of bees that are short of stores. How 

 will It do to take the outside frame and fill it full of syrup and 

 set it back? Will it do any harm to the bees? I have 19 

 colonies, and 16 are all right and in fine condition. We are 

 having a blizzard to-day. J. V. E. 



Lebanon, Ind., March 4. 



Answer.- As late in the spring as this, it will work all 

 right. You can feed almost anything but poison to bees when 

 they have a chance to fly every few days. 



ftueen and Extracted Honey Questions. 



1. On Aug. 10, 1894, I received three untested queens 

 from a reliable queen-breeder of this State. In introducing 

 them, two were balled, but were soon liberated again. Then 

 at the second trial they were received all right. Now, one of 

 those queens never laid an egg, as I could find, although she 

 appeared strong and vigorous in every way, and was almost 

 solid yellow; and although 1 gave the colony eggs and brood 

 at various times, they never attempted to rear another queen. 

 If she should live through the winter, is she likely to beany 

 good in the spring ? 



2. About Aug. 10 I commenced extracting buckwheat 

 honey, and continued for nearly a month, or until Sept. 5. 



The first extracting kept liquid until after the last extracted 

 was candied solid. What could have been the difference, as 

 none was extracted until the bees had commenced sealing the 

 the cells ? G. p. 



Rosemount, Minn. 



Answers.— 1. No one can tell till spring. She may be 

 all right, and she may be worthless. 



2. The difference is in the honey itself. Some honey 

 candies as soon as extracted, and some never candies. 



Camiolans Compared With Italians. 



1. Are the gray Carniclan bees hardier and better to win- 

 ter than Italian bees? 2. Are they as gentle as the Italian 

 bees? 3. Do they gather as much honey? 4. Do they swarm 

 much? 5. Are they as large and beautiful as Italians? 



P. W. 



Answers. — 1. About the same. 2. Some are cross, but 

 in general I think they are gentler than Italians. 3. Probably 

 about the same. 4. They have the reputation of being great 

 swarmers. 5. At first sight you'd probably call them common 

 black bees, and possibly at last sight. 



Tin or Galvanized Iron for Honey-Tanks. 



Which is best for extractors and honey-tanks, tin or gal- 

 vanized iron ? What is the objection to galvanized iron ? 



E. C. B. 



Answer. — For extractors, tin is generally used, I think, 

 probably because lighter. For tanks, galvanized iron is much 

 used. Last year the question of danger from galvanized iron 

 was thoroughly discussed in Gleanings, the publishers going 

 to the pains of having an analysis of honey made after being 

 a long time stored in galvanized iron. The general outcome 

 seemed to be that it was quite safe, although cases were re- 

 ported in which thin sour honey had apparently a bad result. 

 For decent honey it's probably all right. 



A Question on Supering. 



In working for comb honey, what advantage is their in 

 lifting the partly-filled super and putting the empty super 

 underneath? Why not put the empty super on top, and have 

 less partly-filled sections at the close of the honey season ? 



J. A. E. 



AN.SWER. — Bees commence work sooner if the empty super 

 is put under. But toward the last of the season, when you 

 think its doubtful if they will do much more, then put the 

 empty super on top. 



Feeding Bees — Sugar for Best Bee-Food. 



1. Is it a good plan to have open feeders off a few paces 

 from the hives, and let all the bees go to it on warm days, 

 when they are flying about? 



2. What sugar makes the best food for bees ? 



8. When should a person feed — early in the spring before 

 the first honey-flow, or after honey begins to be gathered ? 



J. J. W. 



Answers. — 1. That's practiced by some, but I think not 

 as much as formerly. One objection is that you're feeding 

 your neighbors' bees as well as your own. Another is, that 

 the strong colonies get the lion's share, but I don't know that 

 there's any great harm in that if there is plenty for all. ^:_3 



2. Granulated is generally used. 



3. Unless bees are short of stores, it's perhaps best not to 

 feed until they commence to gather, and then only when the 

 flowers don't yield enough. 



Keeping Queens— Selling Extracted and Comb Honey. 



1. How are queens teared and fcept for sale or use? I 

 have read several bee-books, and they do not tell how to keep 

 them ? 



2. I have 50 colonies now, and would like to know if you 

 think I can sell extracted honey as well as if in the comb. I 

 have some trouble in selling my comb honey even at 9 or 10 

 cents. Would you advise nie to buy an extractor, or is ex- 

 tracted honey more dilBcult to sell than comb? I am iving 



