788 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



OXJEPLIES 



intb Replies tbereto. 



[It is quite uBeless to ask for answers to 

 Queries in this Department in less time 

 tban one month. They have to wait their 

 turn, he 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 

 apace for them in the JouRNAii. If you are 

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

 them to be inserted here.— EdJ 



Wly Bees Eat off Fonndation Starters. 



Qncry 499.— Why do the bees eat off the 

 comb- foundation Btaners in the aections ?— Calif . 



For lack of employment.— W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



To use the wax in some other spot. 

 — Dadant & Son. 



It comes either from mischievous 

 idling:, or from imperfect foundation.— 

 James Heddon. 



The foundation may be too thin, or 

 the bees may have nothing else to do. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



Perhaps because the foundation 

 was very thin, and little orno honey 

 to store.— C. C. iliLLBB. 



I do not know, unless for the same 

 reason that the bee went in the boy's 

 ear.— H. D. Cutting. 



They do not with me, if they are 

 getting honey. Perhaps it is to keep 

 out of mischief, unless that is mis- 

 chievous.— A. J. Cook. 



Bees do not eat off the comb foun- 

 dation starters when there is enough 

 honey coming in to enable them to 

 build comb. At other times they 

 will.— G. L. TiNKEK. 



Who can tell ? When no honey is 

 being gathered they do it out of pure 

 meanness. Do they do it when gath- 

 ering honey 't In asking questions, 

 full data should be given, if correct 

 answers are expected.— J. E. Pond. 



Because " Satan finds some mis- 

 chief still for idle hands to do." A 

 good yield of honey causes them to 

 add to the starters rather than eat 

 them ofi.— G. M. Doolittlb. 



Because they have nothing else to 

 do. I never had them to nibble oft 

 and waste the foundation starters at 

 a time when there was honey in the 

 Sowers. But they will use the wax 

 to stop cracks with, mixing it with 

 propolis, if given to them at a time 

 when there is no honey in the flowers, 

 or no flowers to secrete honey. I have 

 found, however, that they will not 

 waste the wax after they have begun 

 to draw out the foundation starters, 

 whether they are gathering honey or 

 not.— G. W. Demakee. 



Either they intend to use the wax 

 elsewhere, or they are inclined to be 

 mischievous. During a honey-flow 

 they would work on the starters and 

 rapidly increase their size, rather 

 than destroy them.— The Editob. 



Mm Fonndation for 50 Colonies, 



Query 500.— Will it pay to purchase a 



mill and mate my own comb foundation for 50 to 

 100 colonies of bees ?— Iowa. 



I think not.— James Heddon. 



It would be unprofitable for me.— 

 W. Z. Hutchinson. 



No, not if your time is worth any- 

 thing to you.— J. P. H Beown. 



I use the Poster molds, and I think 

 that pays. The cost is trifling, and 

 one pound of wax can be worked as 

 well as 50 pounds can be.— G. M. 

 Doolittle. 



It all depends upon circumstances, 

 and the person interested has much 

 to do with it. Unless the circum- 

 stances are very favorable, it would 

 be cheaper to buy the foundation for 

 50 colonies than to try to make it.— H. 

 D. Cutting. 



1 have always thought best to buy 

 my foundation, even with 300 or 400 

 colonies; but if your time is unoc- 

 cupied, it may be best to make your 

 own foundation. — C. C. Miller. 



No, not when you can buy better 

 fonndation than you can make your- 

 self, without making a great outlay 

 for proper flxtures, at only a slight 

 advance above the first cost of the 

 wax.— G. Ij. Tinker. 



It would not pay me. You must 

 buy an outfit, and have a suitable 

 room to operate in ; you must work 

 up wax that costs as much as any- 

 body's wax does, and there is nothing 

 left you but the margin between the 

 price of the wax and the price of the 

 foundation when finished. I know 

 several persons who manufacture 

 their own foundation on a small scale, 

 and I have to see the first sheet of 

 it that comes up to my idea of a first- 

 class article. The large, well-fur- 

 nished foundation factories turn out 

 the best foundation.— G. W.Demaree. 



®0rr^sp^0n£jenrje. 



This mark © indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near tne center ot tbe state named; 

 5 north of the center; 9 south; O* east; 

 >0 west; and this i< northeast: ^ northwest: 

 3> southeast; and 9 southwest of the center 

 of the State mentioned. 



For the Amerlcaii Bee JonmaL 



PacMng Bees for Winter. 



J. A. BUCHANAN. 



It depends largely upon your local- 

 ity. Ordinarily it would not for my- 

 self at present prices. If bee-keeping 

 is the sole occupation, it would prob- 

 ably pay, as it could be made at times 

 when there was nothing else that 

 could be profitably done. The price 

 of wax, however, would form an im- 

 portant factor even then. — J. E. Pond. 



To make comb foundation is a 

 trade ; to make as good an article as 

 can be purchased, requires much ex- 

 perimenting, loss of time and ma- 

 terial, and these, when added to the 

 disagreeable work of its manufacture 

 would outweigh every other consid- 

 eration, and compel us not to manu- 

 facture it, when it can be purchased 

 at a reasonable price.— The Editor. 



Convention Notices. 



|y The Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 hold its annual meeting at Woodstock, Ontaria, on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 10 and 1 1, 1888. 



W. CousB, Sec. 



^" The Susquehanna County Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will meet at New Milford, Pa., on Jan. 

 7, 1888. Subjects for discussion : "The Beet Way 

 to Prevent Swarming," and "Is it Advisable to 

 Italianize Colonies 7" All bee-lieepers are cordially 

 Invited. H. M. Ssxliit, Su. 



What is there in the idea of pack- 

 ing bees for winter '( I have' asked 

 this question of a great many bee- 

 keepers in this locality, and the an- 

 swer is almost invariably, " Nothing 

 at all." When a colony has been 

 packed with several inches of dry 

 chaff or other good material, we say, 

 " Now the bees are in good condition 

 to endure the coldest winter that may 

 come." But, is this true i* If you 

 say " yes," I will ask, why it is that 

 we see, after a terrible, long, cold 

 winter, so many reports like the fol- 

 lowing ? "I put a splendid apiary 

 into winter quarters ; the hives were 

 thoroughly packed after the most 

 approved manner, but there are only 

 a few feeble colonies left to tell the 

 story." And continuing the sad re- 

 frain, he says: "I have just pur- 

 chased quite a number of strong colo- 

 nies in box-hives, and will stock up 

 again as fast as possible." 



Now it seems to me that when I see 

 such frequent reports like the above, 

 it is " giving away " the packing sys- 

 tem without reserve. 



I have thought, to account for the 

 many failures, bees were packed in 

 this wise : A packs his bees in chaff 

 hives with cushions all around the 

 cluster ; while B has his colonies in 

 single-walled hives exposed alike to 

 sunshine and rain. Winter begins 

 with a grip of icy coldness, with no 

 " let up " tor thre^ long months, when 

 there comes a few brief hours of sun- 

 shine, with a fleeting, balmy breeze 

 which react and revive the bees in 

 the thin hives, and taking advantage 

 of the opportune moment,they quickly 

 sally forth for a cleansing flight, and 

 are now in a condition to withstand 

 another long, cold spell. But not so 

 with the bees in the thick-walled 

 hives. The sun has not shone long 

 enough to react and revive them in 

 time to bring them out at the proper 

 time ; and before another warm spell 

 comes, so loaded with feces have they 

 become, that every day a few leave 

 the hives to relieve their overloaded 

 intestines, which is fust producing 

 disease and death. 



Spring-time comes again, and the 

 more lovely and joyous it is because 

 of the severity of the winter that has 

 preceded it ; but there is no hum of 

 peaceful content lingering near the 

 entrances of A's chaff -packed hives, 

 and only the sharp notes of plunder 

 come from B's strong colonies in the 

 single walled hives. 



I 



