388 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



IVUb Replies tlieretu. 



[It is quite useless to ask for answers to 

 Queries in this Department in less time 

 than one month. They have to wait their 

 turn, be put in type, and sent in about a 

 dozen at a time to each of those who answer 

 them ; get them returned, and then find 

 •pace for them in the Jouknai,. If you are 

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

 them to be inserted here.— Ed.1 



Qneenless Colony WorMng, 



Query 433.— Can a queenless colony be 

 made to work satisfactorily ? If so, how would 

 you manage it during the honey-flow ?—V. V. H., 

 Ohio. 



Give the bees a chance to rear a 

 queen.— Dadant & Son. 



I know of no practical method.— C. 

 "W. Dayton. 



I have had no practical experience 

 that way.— H. D. Cutting. 



By giving them some larvae ^nd 

 eggs with which to start queen-rear- 

 ing.— Jambs Heddon. 



Not as much so as one that has a 

 queen, and for that reason I should 

 introduce a young queen at once.— J. 

 E. Pond. 



Yes, it will work well if it has a 

 little brood from which to start 

 queen-cells. Extract the honey.— W. 

 Z. Hutchinson. 



I have had them do very good work, 

 yet on the whole I believe it is best 

 to have a queen present. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



I prefer to have a queen in each 

 colony. Some claim to make queen- 

 less colonies do good "biz," but I am 

 not among that number.— G. M. Doo- 



LITTLB. 



A strong queenless colony will 

 gather more surplus in a given time 

 than a colony that is rearing much 

 brood: But at the end of the time 

 you will have the surplus without the 

 colony.— J. P. H. Brown. 



I have not succeeded in making 

 queenless colonies store comb honey 

 to any extent. Bees never work with 

 so great energy and advantage as 

 when they have a quantity of young 

 larva} to feed and care for.— G. L. 

 Tinker. 



Yes, if the queen is just removed, 

 and they have brood in all stages. 

 They will then do their best. If they 

 are hopelessly queenless — that is, 

 have no eggs or young brood— they 

 will do very little work.— A. J. Cook. 



Yes, by proper management. I 

 have written several articles showing 

 how it can be done, but I have found 

 that better results can be had by 

 letting the bees have a queen, but re- 

 strict her to a very small brood de- 

 partment. But it does not pay to 

 cramp the queen beyond certain 

 limits, if the bees are to be kept in 

 good conditions.— G. W. Demaree. 



A queenless colony without brood 

 or eggs will very soon become dis- 

 couraged, and refuse to work. If they 

 have "brood" to care for, they will 

 work well while rearing a queen.— 

 The Editor. 



DiYiiliM, or Natural Swarming. 



Query 434.— Of the two methods of 

 securing increase, dividing and natural swarming, 

 which do you consider the better for a large 

 apiary ?— Ward, Wis. 



Natural Swarming.— W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson. 



Increase by dividing colonies, by all 

 means.— Dadant & Son. 



Natural swarming.— G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



It depends upon the locality, pas- 

 turage, etc. In my locality I prefer 

 natural swarming.— J. P. H. Brown. 



Natural swarming, if it is practi- 

 cable. If we have to leave our bees 

 all day, it cannot be practiced safely. 

 —A. J. Cook. 



It depends upon the man, and per- 

 haps on the place. I should be de- 

 lighted never to see another natural 

 swarm, even if I wanted to double 

 every year.— C. C. Miller. 



Sometimes one, sometimes the 

 other. I prevent swarming if possi- 

 ble, and make the increase by divid- 

 ing at the close of the honey harvest. 

 If they must swarm, then make the 

 increase in that way ; both methods 

 are usnally employed. If honey was 

 no object, I prefer natural swarming. 

 — C. W. Dayton. 



Natural swarming vigorously dis- 

 couraged, for in the large honey- pro- 

 ducing apiary we do not want any 

 increase. If I did, and especially if I 

 had plenty of empty combs, I might 

 prefer and employ dividing colonies 

 to obtain it.— James Heddon. 



Dividing. This, however, is a 

 mooted question, and one that de- 

 pends so largely upon the man and 

 the location, etc., that it is really an 

 individual matter, and no positive 

 rule can be laid down in regard to it. 

 —J. E. Pond. 



I would not be confined to any one 

 method ; it is best to practice both. 

 In many cases I prefer natural swarm- 

 ing. Too many good colonies are 

 ruined by untimely dividing. The 

 theory of dividing is all right, but 

 just when and how to do it is a diffi- 

 cult matter to one not thoroughly 

 posted.— H. D. Cutting. 



Natural swarming, all the time. 

 When several swarms issue and settle 

 together they may be separated by 

 throwing them on a sheet, and the 

 queens secured. Then divide up the 

 bees and give a queen to each lot in 

 hiving. Where increase is not de- 

 sired, it is better to take out all the 

 queens but one, and hive all together, 

 giving sufficient room in the supers. 

 In any case, I prefer the contracted 

 brood - case and queen - excluding 

 honey-board in managing swarms. — 

 G. L. Tinker. 



In a " large apiary " increase is 

 usually undesirable. The object of 

 the apiarist would be, a good crop of 

 honey, and no increase. In such case 

 "natural swarming" would be dis- 

 couraged in every possible way, and 

 "dividing " practiced only in such a 

 way as to prevent swarming.— The 

 Editor. 



Uniting Weak Colonies. 



Query 435.— Would you advise unlttn^r 



weak colonies in the spring ? If not. what course 

 is best to pursue with them ?— M. C. G., Ills. 



See my answer to Query 432. — 

 —James Heddon. 



See my answer to Query 432. — J. E. 

 Pond. 



See my answer to Query 432.— H. 

 D. Cutting. 



See my answer to Query 432.— J. P. 

 H. Brown. 



Not until just before the honey 

 harvest.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Let them be until June, then unite 

 them.— G. M. Doolittle. 



No. I get them as strong as possi- 

 ble, and unite them to form strong 

 colonies in time for honey-gathering. 

 — C. W. Dayton. 



If they have queens, confine them, 

 pack around them closely, stimulate 

 gently, and as they and other strong 

 colonies can bear it, give them frames 

 of capped brood.— A. J. Cook. 



No. I would build them up into 

 strong colonies. If I had more beea 

 than I wanted, and could not sell 

 them, I would unite the weak colonies 

 just before the white clover harvest 

 begins.— G. W. Desiaree. 



If a colony is too far gone to help 

 itself, it will not amount to much 

 when united with another. But the 

 help of weak colonies, from strong 

 colonies in the spring, is very efficient, 

 if carefully done.- Dadant & Son. 



See my answer to Query 432. There 

 seems to be but one practicable plan 

 to unite either weak or strong colo- 

 nies, and it is done as follows : Take 

 out one of the queens and move the 

 colonies to be united a few feet each 

 day until near each other. In 9 days 

 cut out the queen-cells and place one 

 colony over the other. If the bees 

 are sprayed with essence of pepper- 

 mint, there will not be a bee killed, 

 and but very few without it. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



No. Give them frames of brood 

 from strong colonies if you have 

 them, and they will build up rapidly. 

 —The Editor. 



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