1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



571 



to center, but at that time little heat is needed from the bees, 

 and the same number of bees would cover just as many combs 

 if spaced IJa inches from center to center, and they would 

 rear just as much brood in one case as the other. 



In early spring, however, the case is different, and brood 

 will be found in only as many combs as the bees can cover 

 well when compactly clustered. Vou are right in saying, " a 

 given number of bees would cover more brood if crowded into 

 a 5/ 16 or '4 space than they would if they had to fill 7 /16 

 spaces. But you have lost sight, apparently, of another very 

 important factor, and that is that you may have the frames 

 crowded together until the mass of bees between the combs 

 shall be too small to generate a sufficient amount of heat. 

 And that factor must be considered in deciding how far you 

 can crowd. 



Uniting Colonies — Getting Honey from Box-Hives. 



I bought 2 colonies last spring, in old-fashioned square 

 hives. One swarmed three times; No. 2 and No. 3 the next 

 day. They built some comb, but seemed very dull. 1 found 

 they had no queen. I fed sugar syrup, as they had no honey. 

 I fed for two weeks, then put them on top of No. 1, which 

 were working nicely. They seem to be all right there. I 

 made holes for communication. Did I do right ? How can I 

 get honey from the old square boxes, and not injure the colo- 

 noies ? A. A. L. 



Verona, Ont., Aug. 12. 



Answer. — Your bees would probably unite all right as 

 you did. Bore one or more holes with an inch or \M inch bit 

 in the top of the hive. It may bore into the combs, but no 

 matter. Then put on one or more surplus boxes, and make a 

 cover large enough to fit over all. When they swarm next 

 summer you can put the swarm into a hive with movable 

 combs. 



Going into the Bee-Business. 



I have been thinking strongly of going into the bee-busi- 

 ness. How much capital will it require? How much ground, 

 and what localities are best? This is my first attempt, and I 

 don't want to fail. Now if I'm not asking too much, you will 

 Confer a great favor by giving me a few suggestions. 



Mbs. H. C. T. 



Answer. — Probably you will do well not to make any in- 

 vestment at present beyond a bee-paper and a text-book to 

 study between now until next spring, for it is pretty late to 

 start iu bee-keeping this year. Then in the spring you will 

 need to invest enough to buy two colonies of bees, and you can 

 tell better than I what you can get them for in your neighbor- 

 hood. You will need to invest a dollar or so more for veil and 

 smoker, and that will be enough to start on. As to other 

 points, you will be in better shape to receive suggestions after 

 your winter's study, and any points that are not clear then, I 

 shall be glad to throw light upon if I can. 1 might say that 

 you will need a square yard or so of ground for each colony. 



Rearing Queens and Drones. 



1. I have a queenless colony of bees, and on Aug. 6 I 

 gave them a frame with brood ranging from newly laid eggs 

 to hatching bees. How many days before I should have a 

 laying queen ? 



2. If I feed them, will they be strong enough to go into 

 the winter ? 



3. Can the bees develop queens and drones from any egg 

 if taken at the right time ? or are a certain proportion of the 

 eggs, queen and drone eggs, to be developed if needed, and if 

 not, then to be destroyed ? Amateur. 



Weeping Water, Nebr. 



Answers. — 1. I would hardly look to find out before 

 about three weeks after giving the brood. The queen may be 

 laying before that, but sometimes they are longer, and it's a 

 good deal easier to decide the case after eggs are somewhat 

 plenty. 



2. That depends. If they have dwindled down to almost 

 nothing before the queen lays, no. If they are yet strong, 

 yes. 



3. No; if an egg is impregnated it may produce a queen 

 or a worker, but never a drone. If unimpregnated it can pro- 

 duce nothing but a drone. It will pay you well to get a good 

 bee-book and read up on this. As a rule, no eggs are wasted, 

 every egg the queen lays being utilized. 



CONDUCTED BY 



Rei'. Eaierson T. Abhott, St. •Josepb, Mo. 



S'wanningf. — " I have tried many plans to prevent 

 swarming but without profitable results, and I now believe I 

 can get the best results, not by preventing but by encouraging 

 swarming, and then properly utilizing it to accomplish certain 

 aims." — B. Taylor, in Review. 



I am quite sure that this strikes the keynote of success 

 with bees. As I have often said, I do not think it possible or 

 desirable to develop a non- swarming race of bees. If it were 

 possible, I am quite sure it would be at the expense of the 

 honey-gathering qualities. The truth of the matter is, that I 

 have never found swarming such a drawback as some claim it 

 to be. A-colony of bees which has been given plenty of room 

 as fast as it is needed, until it has reached the point of swarm- 

 ing, is in the best possible condition to store a large quantity 

 of honey, if the nectar is to be had in the flowers, and they 

 are so manipulated that the strength of the colony is all 

 thrown to the new swarm. It is a real pleasure to see such a 

 colony work and to note how quickly they will fill the sections 

 in two or three supers, and even more, if the honey-flow con- 

 tinues any length of time. 



Value of Insects. — "I do not hesitate in this con- 

 nection to refer to another of Prof. Ward's conclusions set 

 forth in one of his interesting articles, namely, that most of 

 the higher flowering plants would speedily perish were insect 

 aid withdrawn, and that but for such aid in the past we 

 should now be without most of our gorgeous flora, and that in- 

 sects have actually paved the way for man's existence by the 

 part they have played in the development of fruit and nut 

 bearing plants." — Prof. Riley, in Insect Life. 



This is well put, and clearly brings out the idea of man's 

 dependence upon the things about him — animate as well as in- 

 animate. As we study this inter-dependence of all things, the 

 world comes to mean more to us, and the wisdom and good- 

 ness of the Designer stands out in bold relief at every step we 

 take. The lower forms of life have paved the way for the 

 higher types, and are constantly adding to their comfort and 

 rendering their continued existence possible. So it comes to 

 pass that science is daily opening up new fields of investiga- 

 tion, and giving the careful student of Nature enlarged ideas 

 and broader views of the world in which he lives. Careful 

 study soon leads one to see that this is not a world of chance, 

 but one of law and order, and one in which the life of the 

 smallest creature is not to be treated with contempt. 



Position of "Winter Stores.—" Say ! hold on : 

 Isn't is a fact that, but for the short warm spells during win- 

 ter, which permit the bees to carry stores from any direction 

 in the brood-nest to the center of the cluster, they would 

 starve, the shape of the hive notwithstanding ?" — J. H. Mark- 

 ley, in Gleanings. 



Bees in old-fashioned box-hives do not depend upon warm 

 days for their supply of honey, and I am quite sure that he 

 who so prepares his bees for winter that they must depend 

 upon the coming of warm spells for the food necessary to keep 

 them alive, is very apt to find himself short a good many colo- 

 nies in the spring. If bees are to winter in the best possible 

 condition, they must have sealed honey, or" something that 

 will take the place of it, immediately above the cluster, and in 

 direct contact with it as long as the cold weather lasts. The 

 bees that are forced to carry honey during some " warm spell " 

 into the combs on which they have clustered will not be found 

 the " fittest to survive," in my opinion. I know that some 

 advocate the theory that the cluster can move lengthwise of 

 the comb and get honey in that way, but for some reason or 

 other all of my bees that have been compelled to do this in 

 order to reach their stores, have found the effort too much for 

 them, and have perished in the attempt. Plenty of good food 

 above the cluster is what takes them through, every time. 



