384 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



N, 



with enough for 4 frames, and a 

 third with enough for 2 frames. If 

 the time was spring, it is possihle 

 the second might be worth three- 

 fourths as much as the first, and the 

 third a third as much as the first. 

 But if it were late fall the second 

 might be worth a third as much as 

 the first, and the third only a tenth. 

 Ignorance must be the excuse for not 

 giving a more satisfactory answer, 

 and also for making no attempt to 

 answer as to equipment. 



To clean out an extractor the right 

 kind of a brush is important. A dish 

 mop with a long handle will do, but 

 the one in use here is much better. 

 It was gotten originally for clean- 

 ing out glass fruit jars. The brush, 

 handle and all, is about 20 inches 

 long, the brush part being 8 inches 

 long, round and made of bristles. 

 The long handle allows one to reach 

 to the bottom of the extractor, and 

 the brush is small enough in di- 

 ameter to go anywhere around or 

 inside the baskets. As soon as ex- 

 tracting is over, wash the extractor 

 thoroughly with cold water, using 

 the brush to get off all the bits of 

 wax. Then scald with boiling water, 

 again using the brush. Drain off the 

 water and set in the sun to dry. 

 Cover with heavy muslin cover to 

 keep out dust, and it is all ready to 

 use the next time it is wanted. The 

 one washing at the close of the sea- 

 son is enough here, if the extractor 

 is kept perfectly covered between 

 extractings. 



Cellar Wintering 



I have been reading about Dr. Mil- 

 ler in the American Magazine. I'll 

 soon be 16, but I've already decided 

 ' what I'm going to do when I'm 

 grown, and that is to raise horses, 

 hogs and bees. So I was naturally 

 very much interested in what was 

 said concerning bees. I suppose by 

 this time you are wondering what I 

 want. Well, it's this: It mentions 

 that bees cannot stand cold weather. 

 So you place them in the cellar and 

 heat it artificially. What tempera- 

 ture do you heat this place? You 

 see when I start out I want to profit 

 by what's been found out before me. 

 You would laugh if you could see the 

 amount of stuff I have collected. But 

 I hope to put it to good use soon. 

 HELEN COULSON. 

 Very careful experiments by Dr. 

 Phillips, the man in charge of the 

 interests of beekeepers at Washing- 

 ton, have shown that a temperature 

 of about 57 degrees in the hive is 

 what the bees like best for good 

 wintering. Of course, one cannot al- 

 ways keep the temperature of a cel- 

 lar at a given point, and there are 

 a good many cellars where it some- 

 times reaches the freezing point. 

 That will do if it is only occasionally 

 and for a short time. But a con- 

 tinued freezing temperature would 

 not do at all. Some means should be 

 used to keep the temperature not be- 

 low SO degrees, although bees have 

 wintered well at 45. 



Instead of having to keep the cel- 

 lar warm enough, the effort may be 



to keep it cool enough, if there is a 

 furnace in the cellar. Then in some- 

 way enough cool air must be let 

 into the cellar, without letting in 

 any light, to keep the temperature 

 somewere from 50 to 55, perhaps oc- 

 casionally running up to 60. 



Now, if you think you know just 

 how to run a bee cellar successfully, 

 it may be as well to tell you that as 

 far south as you are you should 

 hardly winter bees in a cellar at all. 

 At Hamilton, 111., the home of the 

 American Bee Journal, the Dadants 

 have decided it is better to winter 

 bees outdoors. They are a little 

 north of Hie parallel of 40 degrees. 

 You are a little south of it. So it's 

 pretty plainly outdoors for your 

 bees. 



You are very wise to read up m 

 advance about bees, and you should 

 have Dadant's Langstroth or some 

 other good text-book to study. 

 Then, as soon as you can get them, 

 start in with not more than two 

 colonies of bees to practice with. 



Ants— Bees Not Working 



On a super I noticed a number of 

 ants between outside and inside 

 cover, also that the bees had com- 

 pletely covered the little square space 

 in inside cover, which is screen wire, 

 with propolis. I removed that, think- 

 ing it would give them more air. Did 

 I do wrong? Do you think they had 

 filled the screen with propolis to 

 keep the ants out? 



I looked at the bees again, July 29, 

 expecting to find the super filled or 

 at least find them busy in it, but to 

 my surprise they were not working 

 at all. 



Would the ants hinder from work- 

 ing? Could it be that they have no 

 queen? 



Where can I obtain a good breed- 

 ing queen, and which stock would 

 you advice, the three-banded or the 

 Golden Italians. 



What is the value of an apiary of 

 about 100 colonies of Italians and 

 hybrids in 10-frame hives and an ex- 

 tra hive for each? The colonies are 

 mostly all strong. Would like to 

 have your recipe for queen ca s 'e 

 candy. KANSAS. 



You are referred to the advertise- 

 ments of the American Bee Journal 

 for obtaining good queens, as all of 

 them are supposed to be reliable. The 

 three-banded Italians are generally 

 preferred. 



The question as to what you can 

 realize from an apiary of 100 colo- 

 nies, is one that no one can really 

 answer. It is a good deal as is the 

 " case with almost any business that 

 can be mentioned. Some merchants 

 make a fortune, some make a failure. 

 Something depends on the locality. 

 One location may be good and anoth- 

 er poor, so that the same beekeeper 

 would make three times as much in 

 one location as in another. Very 

 much depends on the individual. One 

 of experience may do well where a 

 green hand would fail. A beekeeper 

 full of energy may do three times as 

 well as a lazy one. It is a possibili- 

 ty — a possibility, mind you, — that an 

 able beekeeper in a good year might 

 average 200 pounds from each of 100 

 colonies. If he should sell that hon- 

 ey at 25 cents a pound he would get 

 $5000 for his crop. Then it is possi- 

 ble that the harvest might be an en- 

 tire failure the next year, leaving the 

 beekeeper out of pocket the amount 

 he would have to pay for feed. 



Now after thus evading any direct 

 answer so far, it may be well to give 

 a quotation from Productive Bee- 

 keeping, by Frank C. Pellett. The ex- 

 perienced and able editor of that 

 book says, page 17: "After gather- 

 ing the average results from a num- 

 ber of beekeepers who have kept 

 bees for many years, it seems safe 

 to place the average return in the 

 average locality at five dollars per 

 colony in the hands of expert bee- 

 keeper." That, of course, would 

 make $500 from 100 colonies. But 

 at the high prices of the last two 

 years that figure might be doubled. 

 To make queen candy, take best 

 quality of extracted honey; heat but 

 not boil, and stir into it all the pul- 

 verized white sugar (not confec- 

 tioner's sugar with starch in it) it 

 will take; then work in all the sugar 

 you can by kneading with the hands. 

 Let stand two or three days, and 

 again knead in all the sugar you can. 



/T 



DR. MILLER'S ANSWERS 



Doctor Miller to Have a Rest 



Readers of this department will 

 please note that Doctor Miller is not 

 as well as usual and refrain from 

 sending letters direct to him for the 

 present. The editors will do their 

 best to answer such questions as are 

 sent to the American Bee Journal 

 until such time as Dr. Miller is able 

 to resume his work. Although it will 

 be a disappointment to many of our 

 readers to find their questions un- 

 answered by the good Doctor, we 

 must remember that he is eighty-eight 

 years of age, and few men have been 

 able to carry on their work without 

 interruption to such a ripe old age. 

 He is certainly entitled to a vacation, 



and we are hopeful that he will soon 

 be quite himself again. 



All questions to be answered 

 should be mailed direct to this office 

 until further notice. 



Stings 



I had a horse that got into my apiary and 

 got stung very badly and died. What could 

 I have done for treatment in this case. Is 

 there anything 1 could have used to ease the 

 P-in? NEW JERSEY. 



Answer. — I'm afraid I cannot help you 

 much. The first thing, of course, is to get rhe 

 horse away from the bees, preferably into a 

 dark stable. It might be worth while to 

 scrape off the bees with a curry-comb to get 

 rid of some bees that are burrowing in the 

 hair but have not yet stung. I have read of 



