164 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



WltU Keplies thereto. 



rit is quite useless to ask for answers to 

 Quer/es in tliis Department in less time 

 than one month. They have to wait their 

 tSrn. be put in type, and sent in about a 

 dozei at £ time to each of thof^jlo answer 

 them : (ret them returned, and then find 

 gplce for them in the Joubnal. M you are 

 In a •• hurry " tor replies, do not ask for 

 them to be inserted here.— Eel 



package is usually the most salable, 

 as it is compact in form, of conven- 

 ient size for use, and what is of some 

 consequence, reasonable in price, ilie 

 style of package will depend upon tbe 

 taste of customers.— J. E. 1 ond. 



Glass jars, tin pails or kegs, accord- 

 ing to the requirements of your 

 market.— The Editor. 



hardly detected. I have seen grades 

 of comb honey that could not be 

 eaten without getting the mouth full 

 of wax. It will no doubt pay the best 

 in the end to produce the lightest 

 combs even if we have to ship far to 

 market.— G. L. Tinker. 



The real difference is too slight for 

 a choice.— The Editor. 



PacKaps for^acteci Honey. 



Query, No. 388.-What are the best 

 packages to put up honey in for retail, before it iB 

 RraQulated ?— J. G. 



Glass-jars, tumblers, or small cans. 

 —J. P.H. Brown. 



For packages (less than a gallon), 

 glass.— James Heddon. 



Probahly pint and quart fruit-cans 



made of flint glass.-G.M.DooLiTTLE. 



If the honey is to be allowed to 



granulate, I know of nothing better 



than tin pails.-W. Z. Hutchinson. 



A jar belonging to the consumer. 

 The second best is tumblers and 

 raised-cover pails. The jar usually 

 holds the most,and is emptied soonest. 

 — C. W. Dayton. 



Different markets require different 

 packages, and you must find out by 

 experiment for your own market.— O. 

 C. Miller. 



It depends upon your trade. The 

 low prices make large packages more 

 protitable than heretofore. Hence 

 we would advise small kegs and cans 

 holding from 10 to 50 pounds,although 

 we use 5-pound cans to a very good 

 advantage.— Dadant & Son. 



I have used the Muth glass jars, 1 

 and 2 pounds; the objection is that 

 they cost too much. Tin packages 

 are cheaper, but do not sell the honey 

 like the glass jars do. Glass pack- 

 ages for the retail trade are best, it 

 we cau get them cheap enough.— G. 

 W. Dkmaree. 



It will depend upon your market. 

 Find out what the people want, then 

 supply that want. In this locality 

 small glass packages sell best. If you 

 can sell granulated honey in your 

 market, I would advise putting it m 

 tin packKges.-H. D. Cutting. 



It depends entirely upon the mar- 

 ket. Some useful vessel of small size, 

 which can be tightly sealed, like tin 

 pails or jelly cups, or fruit cans are 

 the best. Some markets prefer Muth 

 jars, but they are of no use after the 

 honey is out.— A. J. Cook. 



The best package to put up liquid 

 honey for retail is a glass package 

 that may afterwards be used for 

 other purposes. I saw recently a new 

 sealing cap for glass jars of foreign 

 design, introduced by Mr. James A. 

 Abbott, of Loudon, that must prove 

 verv valuable.— G. L. Tinker. 



It will depend entirely upon the 

 taste of purchasers. Ascertain the 

 wants and requirements of the mar- 

 ket, and follow them. The pcnd 



Tlie Best Bees for Comli-BiiMiiiE. 



Onerv No. SS"*.— 1— What race or strain 



of bees make the thinnest oell-walls.or use the least 

 wax ill comb building, and what use I h.^lV h Javv 

 Would you recommend a strain 'l"^' t"lV' 'l^;''^^ 

 combs if you had to ship honey some distance to 

 market?— G. 



I think there is little difference. 

 The blacks use the most wax in cap- 

 ping.— G. M. Doohttle. 



I do not know. Some think that 

 black bees make rather thicker caps. 

 Surely their combs are whiter.— A. 

 J. Cook. 



I think the claims of this or that 

 variety of the honey-bee for making 

 thin cell-walls is more imaginary 

 than real. All these seeming diffex- 

 ences depend more upon the variety 

 and upon the amount of the honey- 

 flow.— J. P. H. Brown. 



I believe the Syrians have the thin- 

 nest cappings over the honey, and the 

 blacks the thickest. I would recoiii- 

 mend the latter simply for the sake 

 of appearance. In regard to the 

 thickness of the cell-walls I cannot 

 gay _W. Z. Hutchinson. 



The yellow race of bees use the 

 minimum amount of wax in con- 

 structing the combs and capping the 

 honey. The black race uses no more 

 wax in the side-walls than do the 

 yellow bees, but they make it up by 

 piling on the capping; this gives them 

 the reputation tor " white honey.' — 

 G. W. Demaree. 



We think the weight of the cell- 

 wall depends especially upon the tem- 

 perature of the hive, not on the race. 

 Those who tell vou that one race 

 builds heavier cells, are not sure ot 

 it,they only thinkso.— Dadant &boN. 



Who can tell V Considerable guess- 

 ing has been done on this subject, but 

 the difference is so slight that it woii d 

 require a microscopic test to tiilly 

 determine it. Get the best honey- 

 bees vou can end, and do not stop to 

 bother much about the slight difter- 

 ence that might be found in thickness 

 of comb.— J. E. Pond. 



German bees make the brightest and 

 thinnest combs. They use less wax 

 and make straighter and smoother 

 work. The yellow bees use more wax, 

 make more uneven and darker combs, 

 and while such combs may bear trans- 

 portation better, they cost more, and 

 do not sell as readily, and any combs 

 can be transported safely if properly 

 crated.— James Heddon. 



1 The Syrians make the most deli- 

 cate combs. The Carniolans and 

 blacks also make light combs, i he 

 Italians use more wax in comb build- 

 ing than any other race. 2. The ma- 

 jority of people prefer combs made so 

 delicate that in eating the wax is 



DouMiM 1 Late Si arms. 



Onery, No. 390.-In douhlinff up late 

 iwarms or weak colonies.do you think it best to kill 

 the queen ot the last bees you put into the hive, 

 or let the bees do it themselves 7 I suppose we 

 hive many queenless colonies.— H. O. U. 



Kill the poorest queen.— Dadant 



&SON. 



I never put in but one queen. I 

 prefer to select.— A. J. Cook. 



I think I would let the bees do it, , m 

 unless there was a choice of queens. — W 

 C. C. Miller. 



If colonies are to be united in the 

 fall I should prefer that one had been 

 queenless a few days.— W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson. 



Not unless there is a difference in 

 favor of the former. If such exists, 

 kill the poorer one.— G.M.Doolittlb. 



Always save and cage the best 

 queen, and destroy the others.— J. r. 

 H. Brown. 



Much depends upon the time of the 

 year and the honey flow. When the 

 bees were gathering rapidily I sliould 

 let them do the killiug.— Jas.Heddon. 



In case of weak colonies I think it 

 best to kill all queens but one, and 

 ca^e that one between the combs tor 

 48 hours. With swarms having young 

 queens, leave it to the " survival of 

 the fittest." When the swarms have 

 old queens I would cage one for 24 or 

 48 hours.— C. W. Dayton. 



If the colony receiving the bees has 

 a 200d queen, I should take away th& 

 queen from the other.-H.D.CuTTiNG. 



I always destroy the poorer queen, 

 and then I know that the best one is 

 saved; otherwise it would not be 

 known which was left, as one would 

 be as apt to be killed by the bees as 

 the other, and there is no certainty 

 that both even would not be destroyed 

 by them,— J. E. Pond. 



I prefer to have all the colonifsto 

 be iinited but one, queenless for at 

 least three days before the work of 

 uiting is done. It is not safe as a 

 general rule, to unite colonies when 

 both or all have queens. Sometimes 

 thev may be dumped together, queens 

 and all without serious consequences, 

 but it is a careless way of proceeding. 

 — G. W. Demaree. 



It is best in all cases in doubling up 

 colonies to kill one queen nine days 

 before doubling up. Then cut out 

 queen-cells and unite. Any other 

 plan will be attended by some loss ot 

 bees by fighting, and necessitates the 

 caging of one of the queens, the other 

 to be killed.-G. L. Tinker. 



Kill the poorest queen some time 

 previously; and when uniting, cage 

 the other queen.-THE Editor. 



