1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



267 



CONDHCTED BY 



DR. C. C. MILLER, MAREUfGO, ILL. 



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



About the Top-Bars of Brood-Frames. 



1. Is there any advantage iu having the top-bars of 

 brood-frames wider than one inch ? If so, what ? 



2. Does the width of top-bars have anything to do with 

 brace and burr combs ? 



3. Is there any other advantage in having the top-bar 

 made thicic, than to prevent sagging? If so, what? 



J. W. P. 

 ANSVfERS. — 1. Yes. See next answer. 



2. Yes. If there is a space of 3f inch between top-bars, 

 bees are not liiiely to build between. If the space is more, 

 they put in brace-combs ; if less, propolis. So if the frames 

 are spaced 1 Sg from center to center, the top-bars must be 1 '« 

 inches wide to make the space between U- 



3. Yes. With a thick top-bar the bees are less likely to 

 run up brace and burr combs. They will also build whiter 

 combs over black brood-frames. If the sections are too close 

 to the brood-frames the bees will carry little bits of black 

 wax from the brood-combs to the sections. 



Transferring — Ifflanagement at Swarming-Time. 



1. I wish to transfer bees from some old frame hives of a 

 different size from the dovetail hives, into the latter — without 

 cutting the combs out. Will this plan work well ? — Place a 

 new hive under the old, with a honey-board between, after 

 having first found the queen on a comb of brood and placing 

 comb and queen in the lower hive. Then fill up the lower hive 

 with combs and honey from some colonies that have died during 

 the previous winter. If I can do this safely about the middle 

 of April or a little before, the bees would be all hatched out 

 by apple-bloom, which occurs about the first of May. 



2. I notice you indorse Mr. Dugdale's method at swarm- 

 ing time. He places the old hive on top of the new swarm for 

 •4 or 5 days. Now the Frank Coverdale method is the same in 

 principle, only he runs the newly-hatched bees into the swarm 

 for some 14 days. Now would you think it entirely practical 

 to take the remaining young bees and brood at the end of 14 

 days and make a nucleus of them, and how would you do it? 

 I think the Coverdale plan a good one, especially so if there 

 would be enough bees and brood left at the end of 14 days for 

 what increase that is desired. "Out West." 



Answers. — I think your plan will work all right at the 

 right time, but I'm afraid you'll lose by it if you try it as early 

 as you propose. True, if your bees are strong enough to 

 swarm before fruit-bloom, then it would be all right, but your 

 locality, bees, or something else must be quite e.'cceplional if 

 you have swarming before fruit-bloom. Before that time bees 

 are building up, and dividing the forces as much as would 

 happen by putting the queen in a story below the brood, with 

 an excluder between, would be somewhat disastrous in most 

 places. I think you would find that the majority of the bees 

 would stay with the brood iu the upper story, and so few 

 would stay with the queen that she would diminish her laying. 

 The long and short of it is, that the plan is all right when 

 colonies are strong enough, but practiced before that time it 

 will simply retard the building up. In most localities the time 

 for operation would only be after fruit-bloom, or with very 

 strong colonies during fruit-bloom. 



2. Yes, you could make a nucleus of the young bees left 

 at the end of 14 days, and all you will need to do is to give 

 them a queen-cell or a queen. They can be allowed to stay 

 where they are, or they can be moved to a new stand, for 

 these young bees will stay wherever they are put. But you 

 might gain a good deal of time by letting the bees rear their 

 own queen from one cf the cells left in the old hive. Have a 

 piece of excluder-zinc to prevent the young queen going 

 out through the escape, or rather from going into the escape, 

 and at the end of the 14 days take away the escape and give 

 the regular entrance. You may count upon it that only one 

 young queen is left without your cutting out queen-cells. 



But you can accomplish exactly the same thing with a 

 modification of the Dugdale plan, and although it may be no 

 better, yet I know more about it from having practiced it 

 years ago. Leave only enough bees on the brood above to 



take care of it, shaking off the rest into the new hive, and the 

 bees will not swarm again even if you leave all queen-cells. 

 Then 14 days after swarming move the old hive to a new 

 location and you are just about where you would be if you had 

 followed the Coverdale plan. For when you move the hive to 

 a new location all the bees that have been out flying will leave 

 the new location, go back, and join the main hive. So in 

 either plan you will have left only the young bees that have 

 not flown before the 14 days. I think you may have by the 

 last plan a little honey stored above in the old hive that by the 

 Coverdale plan might have gone into sections, but it will not 

 be lost, and you may gain something in the way of brood, for 

 the bees may take a little better care of the youngest brood 

 where they are free to go and come. 



Separators in Three Pieces. 



Has any one tried wood separators in three pieces, leav- 

 ing a bee-space between the pieces ? Will they work ? You 

 see if they work all right, I can rip my own stuff for separa- 

 tors. My sections are 45^x4f^. I. O. 



Answer. — I don't remember that I ever heard of separa- 

 tors being made in three pieces, but I think it is B. Taylor 

 who make them in two pieces and likes them much. And he's 

 good authority, too. I don't see why three pieces couldn't be 

 used as well as two. I think he fastens the two parts together 

 by little cleats running up and down. 



What to Do With a Colony in a Box. 



I captured a stray swarm of bees last June, in a box 

 18x14x18, and they are in good condition now in the same 

 box. What would be the best thing to do with them for this 

 season — would you advise to transfer them into a proper hive, 

 or leave them the way they are ? I would like to get a swarm 

 from them this summer, as I intend to get as many as I can 

 and find out what there is in the bee-business in my neighbor- 

 hood. J. K. E. 



Aspinwall, Pa. 



Answer. — I suspect you'll do best to leave them where 

 they are till they swarm, especially as you want to get a 

 swarm. But you may do well to limit their room somewhat, 

 for you're giving them a pretty big contract to fill a box 

 18x14x18. You will be more sure of a swarm if you cut 

 down the contents of their box to about 2,000 cubic inches. 

 There are two ways in which this may be done. One way is 

 to saw off the bottom of the box or hive. 'The other way is to 

 fill up as much as you would saw off. The way to do this is 

 to make a box closed on all six sides as deep as the depth you 

 want taken from the hive, and the other two dimensions an 

 inch less each way than the inside dimensions of the hive. 

 Then lift the hive and set it down over this box. 



When a swarm issues, hive it in a movable-comb hive, set 

 this on the old stand, putting the old hive close beside it, and 

 in five or six days move the old hive to a new place altogether. 

 Then in three weeks from the time of swarming you can 

 transfer the mother colony into a frame hive or not, as best 

 suits you. 



I half believe if I were in your place I'd not transfer, but 

 let the bees stay, after swarming, in the old box-hive. They'll 

 probably winter there better than in a frame hive, and give 

 you a rousing swarm each season from which you'll get a good 

 lot of honey. In case the season is good after swarming-time, 

 it's possible the old colony may give you some surplus. Bore 

 a big bole in the top of the hive, or better still, about four 1- 

 inch holes, set a box over this for surplus, glass in one side if 

 you like, and a larger box to cover over the surplus box to 

 protect from the weather. Never mind if you bore right into 

 the honey. Won't hurt a bit. 



If you're anxious for more increase, put the swarm in a 

 new place, and let the old hive stand, and it will likely throw 

 out a second swarm. But in that case you run the risk of 

 having it so weak it won't get through the winter. 



Look here. If you " want to find out what there is in the 

 bee-business," first thing you do, get one of those " A B C's " 

 this journal is now offering at such favorable rates (see page 

 2.54). Sorry that's advertising, but I'm not going to with- 

 hold good advice on that account. 



Xliat jXew Song— " Queenie Jeanette"— which is being 

 sung everywhere, we can send you for 40 cents, postpaid, or club 

 it with the American Bee Journal for one year — both tor only 

 -SI. 10. Or, send us one new subscriber for a year (with $1.00), and 

 we will mail you a copy of the song free. 



