386 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



November 



man has his own way, and yours is good. 



2. We have never used thin surplus foun- 

 dation in extracting frames, but it would 

 probably do if it is wired. The electric wir- 

 ing tool would be excellent for this. 



3. Roofs, to protect the center of the cap 

 from the sun and rain. They are made uf 

 rough lumber and those in the picture are 

 rather smaller than the average. 



Miscellaneous 



1. Do you believe that bees produce wax in 

 the average clover flow in an involuntary man- 

 ner? 



2. If one has two-thirds of the necessary 

 combs to hold his crop, how much honey will 

 it cost him to draw the other third? Extracted 

 honey being produced and full sheets ! 



3. Do you know of any objection to the L ise 

 of sappy yellow pine for shallow supers and 

 frames? Some of the sap yellow pine being 

 lighter than cyprus, and nearly as light as 



Vhltr 



pin 



4. Do" you believe that one pound of sugar 

 syrup, made two to one, is the equivalent of 

 one poun of &ood honey for winter food? 



5. Do you believe that well-ripened clover 

 honey should ttand a few days in open tanks 

 before being canned and sealed? I had some 

 sour, and a beekeeper of long experience said 

 it was because it had been scaled in cans 

 within a few hours after being extracted. (I 

 believe he is" wroi.g.) OHIO. 



Answers. — 1. It is quite probable that bees 

 produce more or less wax involuntarily, when 

 they are compelled to remain filled with honey 

 for days. Field bees produce but little wax 

 if they are able to unload their honey sac 

 at each trip. 



2. I don't know. That is a question which 

 is more or less speculative, as much depends 

 upon crop conditions. 



3. Sappy yellow pine is all right, where it 

 can be used without splitting and where it is 

 not exposed to moisture. 



4. Yes, very nearly. 



5. If it is welt-ripened there is no need of 

 its being kept in open tanks. But was :his 

 well-ripened? If not, standing in an open 

 tank in a warm, dry spot, would have tended 

 to improve it. 



Clipping Queens 



1. Would you advise cropping a queen's 

 wings to prevent her absconding with a swarm 

 where the apiarist has to be absent part of 

 the time? If so, would you crop one or both 

 wings, and how much would you clip oft*. 



2. Would her wings ever grow back normal 

 again? 



3. Wouldn't the queen, after having her 

 wings cropped, crawl out on the ground with 

 her swarm, and would she be likely to enter 

 an empty hive if one was placed 6 or 8 feet 

 away, and in front of the parenthive? 



4. On September 11 I hived a nice swarm of 

 bees. Do you think they will make enough 

 honey to sustain them till spring? 



MISSOURI. 

 Answers. — 1 Yes. One wing is sufficient. 



2. No, they never grow again. 



3. Usually when the queen is on the ground, 

 a number of bees accompany her and try to 

 protect her. She might enter an empty hive, 

 but would not be likely to do so, unless some 

 of her bees directed her in that direction. 



4. That is a question that you are better 

 able than anyone else to answer. Examine 

 that colony, and if it docs not have enough, 

 feed it. 



Wintering — Large Hives 



1. I intend to put my bees in good double- 

 walled hives. Then put them in a shed with a 

 roof, and north and west wall, to protect them 

 from cold winds. Could the hives be packed 

 row upon row upwards? 



2. Would this be enough protection, con- 

 sidering my location, it being Milwaukee? 



3. I have read articles endorsing the Jumbo 

 Langstroth pat'ern. Now, I have spoken to a 

 well-known Wisconsin beekeeper about them 

 in regard to swarming, etc, stimulating breed- 



ing. He claims that unless a colony is quite 

 strong in the spring, they will not breed up 

 as fast in the Jumbo hive as in a 10-frame 

 standard hive (regular depth.) 



4. What feeder do you advise for fall fci I 

 ing, fo- winter stores? WISCONSIN. 



Answers. — l. Your proposed method looks 

 good. You can pack your bees row upon n 

 but the more bees you will put in a small 

 space, moving them from their summer stand, 

 the more danger there will be of "drifting," 

 that is of the bees of weak colonies joining the 

 strong colonies. The reason is that, when they 

 3re moved they have to learn their location 

 again, and in the excitement of the change a 

 great many young bees go where the biggest 

 noise is made. 



2. I think so. 



3. Your advisor is right. But it is probable 

 that colonies in large hives will be stronger 

 to begin with, in the spring, than those in 

 smaller hives. In that case they will breed 

 as fast or faster in the larger hives. 



4. Use the Miller feeder, or any of the in- 

 verted can feeders over the brood combs. 



5. Do you think three-eighths of an inch 

 space between frames sufficient for wintering, 

 or would it be better to remove one frame 

 to give room for clustering, or remove one 

 and spread the rest farther apart? 



KANSAS. 



Answers. — 1. No; no matter what kind of 

 frame be in use, there will almost certainly ;-e 

 too much drone-comb with a 1-inch starter. 



2. They may do very well if that 40 de- 

 grees doesn't hold too long at a time. 

 " 3. Yes; 3 or 4 inches of packing would be a 

 good thing, but a good cellar would probably 

 be better. 



4. I think so, but have had no experience 

 with it. 



5. That depends. If top-bars are 1% wide, 

 then Jls-inch space between them is enough. 

 In general, if there is only a distance of \H 

 inches from center to center of frames, then 

 it may be better to arrange in some way for 

 wider spacing. 



Starter-Cells, Etc. 



1. Do bees generally build satisfactory combs 

 in Jumbo frames with 1-inch comb founda- 

 tion starters? 



2. Do you think a cellar under a dwelling, 

 brick walls, cemented on the inside and bot- 

 tom, perfectly dry, temperature from 55 in 

 early part and 40 in severest part of winter, a 

 good place to winter bees? 



3. Would packing do much good where tem- 

 perature may go to 12 below zero for a few 

 days; if so, how much would be satisfactory? 



4. Is lispedeza (Japan clover) any good ts 

 a honey plant? 



Shade Vs. Sunshine 



I have been told by some beemen that it is 

 better for bees to be out of the sunshine in 

 a shady place; that this was the best method; 

 but I see that most prominent beemen have 

 their bees out in the sunshine. Will you please 

 advise me which is the best? 



ALABAMA. 



Answer. — I wouldn't like to be positive 

 about it. I have been under the impression 

 that most beekeepers preferred the shade. In 

 this locality, at least, the bees seem more 

 comfortable in the shade, and I'm sure *he 

 shade is more coiafortable for the beekeeper 

 when he is working at them. 



Western New York Beekeepers Meet 



The Western New York Honey 

 Producers' Association will meet at 

 Genessee Hotel, in Buffalo, on Friday 

 and Saturday, November 14 and IS. 

 R. F. Holterman, of Ontario; George 

 H. Rae, Cornell University, and K. 

 Victor Underwood, of Erie Farm Bu- 

 reau, are among the speakers already 

 secured. 



of the two last State Bee Inspectors, 

 each of whom contend that he is en- 

 titled to the money for his salary, 

 when there is only enough money i.i 

 the fund to pay one of them. — Phoe- 

 nix Republican. 



Iowa Convention 



As we go to press announcement is 

 received that the annual convention 

 of the Iowa Beekeepers' Association 

 will be held at Des Moines on Mon- 

 day and Tuesday, November 10-11. 

 Program had not been completed at 

 time announcement was received, but 

 full information, together with pro- 

 gram, will be sent to all who apply 

 to F. B. Paddock, State Apiarist, 

 Ames. Iowa. 



New Bee Inspector for Arizona 



Arizona has a new bee inspector, 

 appointed by Governor Thomas rt. 

 Campbell. The new man is Earl L. 

 Matteson, of Benson, who succeeds 

 Peter Benson, of Buckeye, resigned. 

 Matteson is one of the biggest bee- 

 men of the State himself, being in- 

 terested in the business with Charles 

 A. Goetz. 



There is still pending in the courts 

 a pair of suits against the State Aud- 

 itor for the collection of the salaries 



Bee Club Organized 



With the organization of the Lib- 

 erty Bell Bee Club in Pasco, Wash., 

 there has been launched what is in- 

 tended to become a statewide and 

 perhaps a national institution. The 

 corporation is planned to increase 

 the production of honey and stimu- 

 late the saving habit and to provide 

 an educational fund to assist worthy 

 students in need of help in securing 

 a higher education. 



The mother apiary of the organiza- 

 tion will be started in Pasco, the 

 work being under the supervision of 

 L. S. Crossland. Plans call for the 

 raising of $2,500 capital in this coun- 

 try, and Mr. Crossland will guarantee 

 8 per cent return on the money in- 

 vested. As soon as the stock has 

 been sold other apiaries will be es- 

 tablished at other points and the 

 capital stock increased, eventually 

 spreading to all parts of the State. 

 It is provided that one-half of all 

 earnings over and above the initial 

 dividend shall be paid into an educa- 

 tional fund to be controlled and used 

 in accordance with the by-laws of 

 the organization. 



Spokane, Wash. 



