1919 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



205 



Ueedowv^ 

 'Boiled Dowiv/ 



Saving^ Weak Colonies 



IN looking through my bees this 

 spring I found three colonies that 

 had only about a handful each 

 of bees, but the queens seemed to be 

 good; and, as I wanted to save them 

 if possible, I took queen-excluders 

 and covered them with wire-cloth 

 and bored a three-eighth-inch hole in 

 the hives for entrances. I placed 

 the weaklings over strong colonies 

 with these screen-covered excluders 

 between the two hive-bodies and 

 gave them each a frame of hatching- 

 brood. About a week later I took 

 the wire-cloth off, and now they have 

 three frames of brood each. As soon 

 as the dandelions begin to bloom I 

 will separate these hives. I think in 

 this way I have saved the queens and 

 at the same time have built up three 

 good colonies of bees that will store 

 me some surplus honey, as our main 

 honey-flow starts about the 10th of 

 June. The dandelion promises a 

 good crop here to build the bees up 

 on, and sweet clover and alfalfa are 

 corning on in good shape, so every- 

 thing points towards a good crop 

 this season. 

 CURTIS WHARTOX, Juntura, Ore. 



Increase 



I HAVE a number of colonies of 

 bees at my old home, about 100 

 miles from here. Having no source 

 of honey and pollen here for the bees 

 to build up on till about June 20, when 

 there will be an abundance of alfalfa 

 and sweet clover, I thought to leave 

 them where they are now and let 

 them build up on fruit blossoms and 

 dandelion, and then bring them here 

 in combless packages, leaving enough 

 bees in the hives to take care of the 

 brood and build up to a strong col- 

 ony again. 



I intend to bring them here on a 

 truck or automobile and make the 

 trip over night, if need be, on account 

 of heat. What I want to know is 

 whether I can put the bees of a 

 whole colony in one box, or would it 

 be better to have smaller packages? 

 Please give me the best way to do it. 

 ALFRED DURTSCHI, 



Myton, Utah. 

 Answer. — The method you propose 

 would be practical, if it is your in- 

 tention to make increase in prefer- 

 ence to honey. The taking of the 

 bees in an empty hive would be all 

 right, if you arrange to give them air, 

 say by placing a screen over the top 

 in place of cover, for the trip. "We 

 would recommend hauling enough 

 combs of brood to give each colony 

 one on arrival, to prevent their de- 



serting the hives, as the trip might 

 cause them to wish to leave. 



Some eastern beekeepers practice 

 a similar plan by having apiaries in 

 the South from which they remove 

 the bees prior to the northern honey- 

 flow, leaving the brood and sufficient 

 bees to keep it warm on the old 

 stand with which to build-up the col- 

 ony. 



However, the transportation of 

 your bees in full colonies at the date 

 you mention should give you no diffi- 

 culty, if you transport them after 

 night and give them plenty of ven- 

 tilation by placing an empty super 

 over the hive and leave the top open 

 with a screen for air. 



A Safe Feeder 



I think I have developed a conven- 

 ient, safe device for feeding bees, 

 either out of doors, on thin syrup, or 

 over the brood-nest. 



Make a shallow box of wood or 

 metal, any depth, and in it put a piece 

 of galvanized window screen bent 

 like the bellows of a photograph 

 camera, into a series of V's, thus : 



vwwvv. 



Using it I find it necessary to punch 

 holes, large enough for the bees to 

 pass through easily, in the top of the 

 ridges. To do this quickly and easily 

 bore a hole in a board, and with an 

 iron point punch the holes, resting 

 the wire over the hole in the board. 

 With the holes in the wire, which 

 should be about an inch and a half 

 apart, the bees will not get under the 

 wire and drown, but it will be as well 

 to have the wire V's fill the box from 

 side to side. 



A strip of wire cloth as wide as the 

 box will take about 18 inches for 

 every foot of length, if the V's are 

 \Yi in ;hes deep and the same from 

 apex to apex of the ridges. The 

 wire may be bent simply by folding 

 it on itself. 



I have tried this out thoroughly 

 this spring, and after putting the 

 holes in as described above have lost 

 not a bee bv drowning. 



DR. BOXXEY. 



Goldens 



YOU know what claims have been 

 and are being made by some 

 breeding Goldens. I want to be 

 fair or nothing, and so far, with many 

 tests up to 1917, not a single Golden 

 queen has proven worth while for me. 

 Have many good friends among 

 breeders who object to my unbiased 

 statement, and I promised to test 

 once more and for all the respective 

 merits of the 3-banded vs. Goldens. 

 Golden queens secured the past sea- 



son produced bees that were golden 

 all over, and a type that was new to 

 me — up and doing every minute, very 

 prolific, full of pep and energy. Hying 

 and working under adverse condi- 

 tions, losing no chance to gather 

 stores even if they had to steal them 

 —and had concluded that at last some 

 Goldens were up to representations. 

 But wanted to see how they win- 

 tered, as it was the apparent lack of 

 vitality in wintering and in early 

 spring -that heretofore proved their 

 undoing, but the weather was against 

 the thoroughness of the test. So far 

 they have lost more numerously than 

 the darker race, but are still active 

 and may build up fine when real 

 spring does come. 



Have to acknowdedge that this is 

 no final test, but am from Missouri. 

 and will have to be shown. 



E. J. Ladd, Portland. Ore. 



Hawkins to Wisconsin 



MANY of our readers will be in- 

 terested in the announcement 

 ol the G. B. Lewis Company 

 to the effect that Kenneth Hawkins 

 has been placed in charge of their ex- 

 perimental apiaries and the informa- 

 tion desk. He will answer the ques- 

 tions asked by their customers and 

 endeavor to assist with such prob- 

 lems as are brought to him. 



Mr. Hawkins was for some time en- 

 gaged in queen rearing in Illinois and 

 later spent some time in extension 

 work for the U. S. Department of Ag- 

 riculture. His extensive travel in ex- 

 tension work added to his practical 

 experience as a honey producer and 

 queen breeder should fit him well for 

 his new position. 



The G. B. Lewis Company is one of 

 the largest bee supply manufacturing 

 concerns in the world. The addition 

 of an experimental and information 

 department will enable them to make 

 tests of new equipment in their own 

 apiaries and to render much practical 

 assistance to their customers. 



Honey From Corn 



I SEE by the March Bee Journal 

 that Mr. Roose, Mr. Van Ronzelen 

 and Mr. Kaler claim to have got- 

 ten corn honey. I believe Mr. Ron- 

 zelen saw the bees gathering a sweet 

 juice from the corn cob, as he says, 

 and possibly Mr. Roose and Mr. Ka- 

 ler are right in their belief that they 

 secured corn honey, but I believe 

 from my observations that they 

 are mistaken. I have kept bees in 

 .Michigan about 45 years, and six 

 years here in Minnesota, and there 



