1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



729 



he is obliged to accept, and make the most of it, it being his 

 only alternative. 



If dividing is undesirable with "swarming" bees, it would 

 be doubly so with non-swarmers. With the former, one can 

 wait til! his bees are near the swarming point, before proceed- 

 ing, and probably be able to give one division a queen-cell 

 while the other retains the queen. On the other hand, there 

 would be no queen-cell for the non-swarmers, and the chances 

 are that they, not having any desire to swarm, would not have 

 nearly the amount of bees, brood, etc. Although one division 

 may retain the queen, the other is obliged to rear one from 

 the egg or larva, in either case not having a laying queen, it 

 is safe to say in less than three weeks, and no hatching bees 

 for three weeks more. This undesirable feature might be par- 

 tially overcome by those who rear queens for sale, but that 

 would not help others ; besides, I think there would be some 

 difficulty in having bees that know nothing of swarming, rear 

 queens, and although this mujht lead some to a process of rear- 

 ing queens from the egg artificially, that would not bo desir- 

 able any more than that it would afford us the pleasure of 

 knowing that it could be done. 



5th. It would not be desirable for the simple reason that 

 the majority do not desire it. Each year there are new hands 

 at the business, whose greatest desire is to have their bees 

 swarm. 



Aside from the impossibility and undesirablity of breed- 

 ing out the swarming habit, it is wmecessary to do so. Since 

 prcventioyi of swarms is all that a person expects to accomplish 

 by breeding out the habit, a practical plan of prevention is all 

 that is necessary, and I think would be more desirable, 

 because — 



1st. It can be more easily accomplished. 

 2nd. It is necessary to prevent swarming before the habit 

 can be bred out. 



3rd. A person could introduce new blood as often as de- 

 sirable without regard to pedigree and mating, any more than 

 that the queen is an Italian, Carniolan, etc., properly mated. 

 4th. If he should lose a number of colonies during the 

 winter, or if he should wish to increase his stock, he could 

 allow a sufficient number of colonies to swarm to meet the 

 demands. 



As to the possibility of having a perfect plan of preven- 

 tion, I have not the space to say anything further than that 

 since it is a fact that a large hive will check swarming to a 

 certain extent, and a hive well ventilated has the same ten- 

 dency, and since a colony in which there is a young queen 

 (less than a year old) rarely casts a swarm, I think that a 

 judicial combination, so to speak, of these facts will, in prac- 

 tice, bring us as near perfection on the line of prevention as 

 it is possible to come ; and I might add, be as near to breed- 

 ing out the swarming habit as it is possible to be. 



Dr. Miller, perhaps, might think that because some people 

 think it is possible to breed out the swarming habit, while 

 others think it is impossible, that the question is to be forever 

 unsettled ; others however may think otherwise. As for me 

 I don't think that what a man thinks has so much to do in 

 deciding a question, as do his reasons for thinking as he 

 thinks. I wonder if other people think as I think. If he, or 

 any other, thinks that it is possible to breed out the swarming 

 habit, and thinks he can prove it beyond a doubt, I think 

 there would be quite a number willing to listen while he 

 explains. 



I will add that the most convincing proof would be, to 

 produce a colony of bees that, notwithstanding all threats, 

 entreaties, etc., would emphatically refuse to swarm. Then 

 if the bees were no worse otherwise, it would also prove the 

 desirability, except perhaps in the line of increasing, and 

 keeping the breed pure, etc. 



I know it is hard to tell what changes will take place, and 

 in these days when electricity is doing so much in the line of 

 improvements, it is not best to attempt it ; still, I will venture 

 to state, however, that the swarming habit will not be bred 

 out of the bees in time to be of any benefit to Dr. Miller, or 

 prove in any way disastrous to me. So as far as we are con- 

 cerned, I think we may as well quit arguing. 



Charter Oak, Iowa. 



P. S. — Perhaps it will be noticed that in pointing out the 

 impossibility of breeding out the swarming habit, I dwelt more 

 on the impossibility of keeping a non-swarming race of bees 

 pure, than on the impossibility of producing a non-swarming 

 race ; but I do not wish to be understood that way. I do not 

 believe that it is possible to breed out the habit, because con- 

 trary to Nature ; but even if it were possible, as far as Na- 

 ture is concerned, there are other circumstances existing now 

 that would render it impossible. B. L. 



CONDUCTED BV 



DR. O. C. MILLER. MAltEXGO, ILL. 



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



Fumigating' Brood-Combs. 



Does it injure brood-combs to fumigate them with sul- 

 phur ? That is, will they be distasteful to the bees another 

 year ? W. C. 



Answeb. — I've smoked them till all was blue, and the 

 bees used them afterward all right. 



Bees Packed for Wintering in a Building. 



1. Would you advise wintering bees in a building well 

 ventilated but not frost-proof, if the building were kept dark, 

 and the bees packed with chaff cushions, as for out-door win- 

 tering ? 



2. Would it be desirable to leaved the Miller feeder prop- 

 erly packed in place through the winter ? R. R. 



Menomonee Fall, Wis. 



Answers. — 1. I wouldn't advise bees being fastened in 

 any place where they have no chance to fly out, unless such 

 place is kept at a temperature of at least 40^, and generally a 

 higher temperature. If there is communication with the out- 

 side air, so that the bees can fly whenever the weather is 

 warm enough, then they might do all right. 



2. I think it would do no harm, and might do good. I 

 hardly suppose you can pile too much on top of a hive, and I 

 doubt if enough is thought of the importance of keeping the 

 top of a hive warm. 



^ I ^ 



Wide-Frames and T Supers, Etc. 



1. I have supers that hold 7 movable-frames, 4 sections 

 to each wide-frame. Will bees store as much honey in them 

 as in the T super with tin rests where sections can't be taken 

 out when tilled as with wide-frames? 



2. Some of my friends claim that taking out a frame 

 when filled and putting in one filled with foundation, will stop 

 the bees from working for some time. Is it true ? 



Sandwich, Out. J- L. 



Answers.— 1. I don't think the bees would notice the 

 difference. The difference in supers is generally not a differ- 

 ence it makes to the bees, but a difference to the bee-keeper 

 in handling. If you nail the sections solid into the supers so 

 they can't be taken out without breaking, the bees would fill 

 them just as well, but it wouldn't suit the bee-keeper. But I 

 don't know how to manage T supers so the sections can't be 

 taken out. I can take sections out of T supers more easily 

 than out of wide-frames, and I've used wide-frames by the 

 thousand. 



2. That depends upon circumstances. If bees are get- 

 ting a big flow of honey, they'd keep right on. If getting 

 almost nothing, they would be very slow about starting on 

 foundation. 



Starting in Bee-Keeping. 



Please tell what it should cost one to start with, say 10 

 colonies of bees, itemizing the articles. T. H. B. 



Marcuse, Calif. 



Answer.— That's a hard one. Indeed, it's beyond me, 

 for more than one reason. Prices of bees vary very much, in 

 some places being two or three times as much as in others — 

 yes, a good deal more difference than that. Again, it makes 

 some difference whether you get an outfit for comb honey or 

 extracted. But I can help you a little. I can give you some 

 idea as to what you ought to have, then you can find out what 



