806 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



abnormally large. The first sign of the 

 disease is the shrinking of the abdomen, 

 and then the black, shiny appearance 

 comes on gradually. The colony which 

 is most affected is strong in numbers, 

 and has a very prolific queen, but does 

 not seem to make any headway in honey 

 gathering. I would be glad to know 

 what it is, and the remedy. 



G. B. Replogle. 

 Centerville, Iowa. 



Transferring Bees from Box-Hives. 



If I transfer my bees from box-hives 

 to those having frames, at this time of 

 the year, will it interfere with their 

 swarming this season ? A. F. 



[Yes ; but it is better to transfer bees 

 early in the Spring, when the combs 

 contain but little honey. If left until 

 now, it would be as well«or better not 

 to molest them until after harvest ; but 

 if it is necesary, transferring can be 

 done in the middle of the day at any 

 time. — Ed.] 



Doolittle's Q,ueen-Rearing. 



I am very much pleased with " Doo- 

 little's Scientific Queen-Rearing." Out 

 of the first 36 cell-cups I tried, I secured 

 23 queens. It is the best plan of start- 

 ing queen-cells that I have ever tried. I 

 let a friend have my copy of the book, 

 and want another one, as I wish to try 

 having queens fertilized a la Doolittle. 

 My hives are chock full of " bug juice " 

 fso-called honey-dew]. What shall I do 

 with it ? It is still coming in, or I would 

 extract. A. N. Draper. 



Upper Alton, Ills., June 9, 1891. 



[Do anything with it, except to dispose 

 of it as honey. — Ed.] 



Packages • for Extracted-Honey . 



I am having correspondence from 

 many bee-keepers, nearly all asking the 

 following question : What are the best 

 marketable packages of extracted-honey? 

 I would advise bee-keepers to ship tjieir 

 extracted-honey to this market in good, 

 tight kegs, in half barrels, or barrels. 

 The majority of people who buy ex- 

 tracted-honey buy it in quantities, and 

 do not want to pay for cans and crates, 

 which add at least a cent a pound to the 

 cost of the honey, as well as time, 

 trouble, and extra freight charges to the 



shipper. I would also advise the bee- 

 keepers to see that their small sections 

 of comb-honey do not run over one pound 

 each ; it is better they should average 

 14 ounces than 18 ounces. From the 

 numerous inquiries I thought that, had 

 you space in the Bee Journal, this 

 would be the only means of bringing 

 this valuable information to bee-keepers 

 in time to have them profit by it. 



J. A. Lamon. 

 Chicago, Ills., June 10, 1891. 



Feeding Swarms, Etc. 



1. If a cold, rainy spell of weather 

 follows the hiving of a swarm of bees, do 

 I need to feed them ? 2. Does the 

 ringing of bells, or throwing water or 

 dirt among bees, while swarming, cause 

 them to settle ? 3. Should I put on the 

 section -case as soon as a swarm is hived? 



Manning, Iowa. M. L. Branson. 



[1. If the cold, rainy spell lasts more 

 more than two or three days, I would 

 feed them. Early May swarms some- 

 times require to be fed to prevent 

 starvation. 



2. It is doubtful if the ringing of bells 

 does any good in causing a swarm to 

 cluster, but the throwing of water with 

 a good fountain pump does. 



3. If a queen-excluder is used the 

 sections may be put on at once, other- 

 wise wait at least three days. — G. L. 

 Tinker.] 



Cannot Gather Half of the Honey. 



On April 11 I placed 50 colonies of 

 bees on the summer stands, most of 

 which were in fine condition. Four 

 colonies were light in bees, but they have 

 good queens, and are building up very 

 rapidly. I lost but one colony, and that 

 one starved in the cellar. My bees have 

 a very large field force, and the combs 

 are well covered with young bees, and 

 on an average six combs of solid, sealed 

 brood, apparently nearly ready to hatch 

 when I examined the brood-chambers 

 last week. We have had a succession of 

 honey-dews during the past week or 

 two, on the burr oaks and box-elders, 

 and the majority of my hives appear to 

 be chock full of honey and brood, and as 

 soon as the brood that is sealed now 

 comes out the bees will be compelled to 

 go to the sections for room, or swarm. 

 My bees gathered pollen the next day 



