1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



683 



gard for the "tie of blood-relationship" than they do for the 

 spots on the sun. It is a common interest and purpose which 

 holds these communities together, and not consaiiguinity. It 

 is not true that "in all these communities the outsider is 

 looked upon as an outlaw," and " whoever is not a kinsman is 

 a foe." Every intelligent bee-keeper knows that the bees 

 pay no attention to kinship. They would reject their own 

 mother after she had been absent from the hive for a few 

 days, as quickly as they would any other queen, even though 

 she belongs to a different race or variety of bees. Those who 

 have both Germans and It^ilians frequently see demonstra- 

 tions of the fact that they pay no attention to kinship; for 

 during the busy season of the year, especially if the hives are 

 close together, the worker-bees of the various colonies be- 

 come almost " commoners," and a bee with a well-filled honey- 

 sac, and an overflowing pollen-basket, will not be repelled, if 

 she should make a mistake and enter the wrong hive, as is 

 frequently the case under these circumstances. So, it comes 

 to pass that Italians are often found among the bees of 

 neighboring black colonies, having entered the hive by mis- 

 take when coming home from a successful trip of pollen and 

 honey gathering. Kinship has nothing to do with letting 

 them in, or driving them out. 



Then, what bee-keeper has not seen black and Italian 

 swarms that happened to be in the air at the same time unite, 

 to the disgust of their owner, and pile upon the limb of some 

 tree with the utmost disregard of consanguinity, or even 

 " race prejudice?" I would advise Prof. Evans not to go to 

 the bee-hive when ho wants to point a moral or clinch an 

 argument, at least until he is better posted on the actual facts 

 as to what bees do, and do not do. On general principles, I 

 think it would be a good plan for all sc'ientific investigators 

 and writers to cease going to Virgil, Huber, and other anti- 

 quated authors for information about bees, and get a few 

 colonies and learn the facts at first-hand. They will then save 

 themselves from making many a blunder, and at times from 

 doing this growing and important industry a great injustice. 



CONDUCTED Br 



art. J. JP. H. BROWIS^, AUGUSTA, GA. 



[Please send all questions relating- to bee-keeping In the South direct 

 to Dr. Brown, and he will answer in this department.— Ed. 1 



Wintering; —Foundation — Transferring. 



Dr. Brown: — 1. Do you find it necessary to make prep- 

 aration for wintering bees, such as cellaring, chaff hives, etc., 

 in this climate ? 



2. I notice in the " A B C of Bee-Culture," and in the 

 bee-journals, this expression: "Just before you expect the 

 honey-flows." When are those times in Arkansas ? 



3. I have 6 colonies in box-hives which I will transfer in 

 the spring to dovetail hives. When should I order brood 

 foundation ? 



4. How long can I keep foundation fresh ? How is it 

 done? 



5. If I transfer in the spring, can I expect any surplus 

 next season ? 



6. Should I use the Heddon short way of transferring, 

 how long should I drum on the sides of the box-hive in order 

 to get the bees up into the " hiving-box" — -one minute, 5, 10, 

 or 60 minutes ? 



7. If within 21 days a new queen is found in the old hive, 

 what then ? 



8. I will Italianize next July or August, by getting 

 enough tested queens to go around. Will this plan keep my 

 apiary pure, barring an accident? For how long ? 



Lamar, Ark. C. S. R. 



Answers.— 1. It is not necessary at all. Only see that 

 your bees have plenty of stores, from 20 to 25 pounds of 

 honey per colony. 



2. What is understood by the expression " honey-flow," is 

 the time of the opening of those flowers that have the reputa- 

 tion of yielding honey in liberal quantity. From April L to 

 the middle of June would embrace the bulk of the bloom con- 

 tributing to the spring honey harvest in your State. The fall 

 honey-flow would be say from Sept. 1 till frost. 



3 and 4. Order it in time for your transfers. You can 

 keep foundation indefinitely if you place it in a tight box and 

 exclude the wax-moth. Before using, lay the foundation in 



the sun for a few minutes, and it will be as acceptable to the 

 bees as if just made. 



5. If you make your transfers early, say in February or 

 the first of March, you can secure a crop of surplus if there is 

 any honey to gather. 'When you transfer early, before there 

 is any honey to gather, you must place back the honey, or 

 feed until the bees can gather from natural sources. 



6. In case you used this method of transferring, your 

 hives should be populous in bees before making it. The 

 length of time to "drum" would depend much upon the 

 strength of the colony, and the temperature. If the air 

 should be cold, you would have to drum longer. When the 

 conditions are all right, five minutes is long enough — at other 

 times it might be necessary to use smoke to hurry the bees up. 



7. If you can replace her with an Italian queen, pinch 

 her head ; if you caunot, then retain her until you can do 

 better. 



8. The length of time will depend upon the number of 

 black bees around you. Your trouble would be with your 

 young queens, but if you should use care in controlling your 

 drones and queens, you might expect the larger number purely 

 fertilized. 



The Bee-lMarlin or Kinsbird. 



I see a good article on page 553, from T. S. Ford, of 

 Mississippi, in behalf of the king-bird. But I cannot agree 

 with him. There was a nest of bee-martins near my bees, 

 and when the young ones could fly they came close to the 

 hives and sat on the trees, and the old ones caught bees for 

 them to eat. I did not bother them for awhile, byt I found 

 that I was losing a large per cent, of my young queens, so 

 with my shot-gun I killed a portion of them, and the balance 

 left, and I have not lost any of my young queens since. If 

 Mr. Ford will send his bee-martins this way, I will kill them, 

 too. A. P. Lake. 



Batesburg, S. C. 



Sawdust Packin: 



— 4pi>le.Juice- 

 matinsr. 



-Drones for 



Dr. Brown: — 1. Would it pay, where sawdust is handy, 

 to make an outside box and set over a hive, leaving about two 

 inches of space, and filling with sawdust for winter, making a 

 kind of a chaff-hive? 



2. Do bees gather anything from green apples ? We are 

 drying, and they are so bad that at times we have to abandon 

 the work ? • 



3. Should the drones be allowed to remain in the hives 

 until the bees kill them, or should we catch them, leaving 

 those of one or more colonies to mate with the queens ? 



Mayking, Ky. J. J. W. 



Answers. — 1. I would not advise sawdust. It is notorious 

 for developing fungus. Dry leaves would be better. I think 

 it would hardly pay to give outside protection if your colonies 

 are strong, with plenty of stores. Still, you might try a chaff- 

 hive or an outside box. 



2. All they gather is a little apple-juice. In seasons of 

 scarcity they will work on many things they would not if the 

 flowers were yielding honey. 



3. Better select the drones for mating, and destroy the 



others. 



^ I ^ 



Bec-Keeping in Virginia. 



The honey crop this year will be about half. Dry weather 

 during May and June caused a failure in white clover, which 

 generally blooms throughout May, June, and a portiou of 

 July. My bees have stored from 25 to 50 pounds per colony 

 from basswood, sourvvood, and small plants. We have but a 

 small quantity of basswood in our part of the country. 



Bees are almost idle here during August. Some times we 

 have honey-dew. I would like some one to suggest plants 

 which yield honey during August. I expect a good yield from 

 white aster, which blooms during September. 



A number of "crank-y " farmers here still keep black bees 

 in box-hives. F. C. Ewing. 



Cany Hollow, Lee Co., Va., Sept. 16. 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 



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