248 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Apr. 18, 



very distinctly. Now, if the bees which I saw at work 3 

 miles away, and the Italian blood in the yard 4 miles away, 

 did not come from my yard, will someone please arise and say 

 where it did come from ? 



I also had several strains of Italians in my yard, and dur- 

 ing the next 3 years I noticed that the very yellow bees did 

 not winter nearly as well as those darker in color, although 

 they were all prepared alike as nearly as possible, and as It 

 took so much longer for them to get in proper strength to 

 work they did not do as well in storing honey. 



I also gave the Cyprian bees a trial for two seasons but 

 got rid of them on account of their being too cross, and cap- 

 ping their honey with such a greasy, water-soaked appearance. 



After 3 seasons I sold the bees, which had increased to over 

 100 colonies, to another party here, and I then engaged in the 

 mercantile business, which I followed for 10 years, but failing 

 health compelled me to again seek some out-door occupation, 

 so I again purchased 4 colonies of bees, and they increased so 

 rapidly that I in a short time found myself in possession of 

 100 colonies, and then I sold my store and am still caring for 

 the bees. 



After having the bees 10 years, the party to whom I sold 

 them had only 2 colonies of pure Italians in his yard, the bal- 

 ance being either blacks (to all appearance) or low-grade 

 hybrids, although the original colonies were nearly all pure 

 Italians. They had been allowed to replace their queens to 

 suit themselves, and if the Italians really are the stronger 

 race, why did they run out, as they were in the majority to 

 start with '? 



For some years past I have kept only Carniolans, with the 

 exception of a trial with Syrians and the so-called Funics, 

 both 01 which I have discarded as undesirable for producing 

 a choice article of comb honey. 



After much experimenting in wintering out-doors, I now 

 follow that plan exclusively and have not lost a colony during 

 the past 6 winters. Conld I have done better than this if I 

 had wintered them in a cellar ? I cover the frames with 

 enameled cloth and fill the H stories on the top with dry maple 

 leaves, to the depth of about 8 inches. This comes very near 

 to the sealed-cover idea, and gives better results than any 

 other plan I have tried. 



I use a hive of my own design, with a IJ^-inch space front 

 and back filled with sawdust, and wide enough to use a divis- 

 ion-board on each side, leaving IJo-ioch air-space between the 

 said boards and outside of hive. I prefer 10 Langstroth 

 frames to the colony, but can use from 1 to 18, as the case 

 requires. These hives are suited to the tiering-up plan, and 

 for extracting they could be used filled from side to side with 

 frames. I also use a slant bottom under my hives, which 

 comes up to within Js of an inch of the frames at the rear 

 end, and is \}4 inches lower at the front, leaving an opening 

 13-2x12 inches, which I close with an entrance-block, having 

 an opening cut in it % of an inch high and 8 inches long. 

 During the honey harvest and very hot weather, I remove 

 these blocks entirely, thus giving ample ventilation, which 

 helps to keep down the swarming fever. 



I have given 8 Langstroth frames a thorough trial beside 

 the larger number, with the result that I had to feed every 

 colony on 8 frames, while those on 10 required no such fus- 

 sing and were in better condition when the harvest came on 

 than the others. Now which is the more economical course, 

 to expend money to buy sugar to keep the colonies from starv- 

 ing, thus making an increased amount of labor, or to allow 

 room enough for the bees to store a sufficient quantity of 

 honey to last them ? 



In regard to the depth of frames, I notice that many seem 

 to advocate one of greater depth than the Langstroth, claim- 

 ing as their principal reason that a deeper hive is warmer, 

 from the fact that heat rises. Right here I want to ask, do 

 we want that heat generated by the bees to rise, or do we 

 want to hold it down where the bees are? Also, when a 

 colony of bees does not fill the hive from corner to corner, 

 where do they cluster ? and when the queen begins to lay in 

 the spring, is it up along the top of the frame, or down near 

 the center ? If in the latter place, then what is the result ? 

 Would it be better if the frame were deeper, thus allowing 

 more room for the heat to rise into ? If so, why cannot a 

 church or hall with high walls be warmed with an equal or 

 less amount of fuel than a room with a lower ceiling? 



These foregoing are vital questions, and I leave it to the 

 reader to decide. But having tried several frames of different 

 dimensions, I have now settled on the Langstroth frame, and 

 have thus far obtained better results, all things considered, 

 than with any other I have used, although the entire ques- 

 tion of success or failure in bee-keeping I do not consider to 

 be one of either hives or frames. West Galway, N. Y. 



(To be continued.) 



Several " Kinks " that May Help You. 



BY P. D. WALLACE. 



Sepabating Swarms, when two or three cluster together. 

 — If for three swarms, tier up three hives with an entrance 

 to each on a stand ; raise the bottom hive an inch from the 

 board to give the bees room to go in : shake the bees in front 

 of the hives, stop the entrances to the two upper ones, and let 

 them settle for half an hour ; then take the top hive and put 

 it on a stand, put the second on another, and let the bottom 

 one remain, and your three swarms and queens are separated. 

 I have tried this plan three seasons successfully, but whether 

 a greater number would separate I know not. 



A Hand-Barrow. — I will offer an improvement to what I 

 call a hand-barrow, spoken of by a correspondent awhile ago. 

 Instead of using 4x4 scantling as he does, I use two boards 8 

 or 10 inches wide; slope all from one edge until you get 

 handles on them, then nail half-inch boards on top suitable 

 for one or two hives, whichever you choose. Nail two laths 

 across on the bottom to strengthen it. Leave the frame long 

 enough so the rear person can see to walk. I have used one 

 since I have kept bees, and it is light and convenient. A little 

 boy or girl can carry one end with a hive on it anywhere. 

 This style needs no legs. 



Sprayer for Swarming. — A sprayer to cause bees to 

 settle when swarming, is made thus : Have a tin tube made 

 one foot long, and 1 M inches in diameter. Have a bottom put 

 in punched with fine holes, then you have what the boys call a 

 "squirt-gun." This is handier and better every way than a 

 fountain pump, and costs 10 or 15 cents. It will spray fruit- 

 trees also. 



Underground Cellars. — I will suggest a plan that I 

 think is better than any I have read in the American Bee 

 Journal. Build the wall with stone, if possible, as it will be 

 the cheapest In the end. Do not cover it with clay, as it will 

 bo too damp ; 2nd, the ants will burrow in the roof, and the 

 sand and clay will sift through ; 3rd, it will not last long ; 

 4th, it is a big job to cover it properly. 



Build a tight floor or celling overhead, then a ridge-pole, 

 and cover it with good boards. Leave a door on one side with 

 hinges, like an outside cellar-door, then cover the floor with 

 18 inches of chaff. Paint the roof, and it will last a long 

 time, and when it rots you can easily replace it. 



How TO Use T Tins. — Turn the flat side of the T tins 

 up to the sections, then there will be no interstices for the 

 bees to fill with bee-glue, as you can press the sections to- 

 gether, and they will come out easily. 



Richland Centre, Wis. 



Makiug Foul-Broody Hives Safe for Use. 



BY J. B. ADAMS. 



On page 103, N. T. S. asks what to do with foul-broody 

 hives. As bee-inspector of Boulder county, it has been neces- 

 sary for me to disinfect hundreds of foul hives, and I have ex- 

 perimented with foul brood for a number of years. I will give 

 N. T. S. the best way to manage that I have found. 



I have a galvanized-iron tank large enough to hold a dove- 

 tailed hive, and used to boil them, but that injured the paint 

 and caused some of the hives to warp and become open at the 

 joints. I now fill the tank with water, build a good fire under 

 it, then cut out all foul parts of combs and put them into the 

 fire, then put the frames, if there is no honey in the rest of the 

 comb, into the water, and weight them below the melted wax, 

 and boil them hard for at least ten minutes. After all the 

 wax is melted, let it cool until the wax will come off in a cake. 

 Take the frames out, and they are perfectly safe to use again. 

 While they are being boiled, cut what pieces of comb that will 

 pay out of the hive, and put them into the tank, then put a 

 piece of paper or cloth (I use a long sack nearly as long as the 

 hive) on the bottom, saturate it with coal oil and set it on fire. 

 By moving it with a stick all the inside of the hive can be 

 thoroughly heated, but it is not necessary to char the wood. 

 When the wood commences to char, put the cover on, and 

 close the entrance of the hive air-tight. This will smother the 

 flame, and force the heat into all joints and cracks. This dis- 

 infects the whole hive at once. Leave it closed until cool. 



In my experiments I took a number of hives from an api- 

 ary where the lost bees had died two years previous with foul 

 brood. I also scraped some as clean as they could be with a 

 hive-scraper, put bees into them, and the disease developed in 

 all eleven of them with the first brood. This is not according 

 to Mr. McEvoy — the danger is with the germ in the honey. 

 When Dr. Howard (see Dr. Howard on Foul Brood) asked Mr. 



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