THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



211 



keepinj,' up the stren<(th of the colony un- 

 til its own bees begin to emerge. If we 

 can give the swarm combs instead of em- 

 pty frames, and some honey in the combs, 

 the beginning of winter will find us in 

 possession of a more valualjle colony than 

 results from the hiving of a prime swarm. 

 The reason is that the queen of the after- 

 swarm will surely be in her prime the 

 next year, while the queen of a prime 

 swarm often begins to weaken and fail 

 before the honey harvest of the next 

 year. If there are no empty combs to 

 give them fill the frames with foundation, 

 even if it costs 75 cents a pound. If lack- 

 ing in stores when the season draws to a 

 close, such colonies must be fed the same 

 as any colon}- that is short of stores; and 

 this should be done just as soon as it is 

 seen 1:hat there is no possibility for the 

 bees to add to their stores from natural 

 sources. 



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SIZE OK HIVKS. 



Gleanings is still discussing this sub- 

 ject; and its editor feels as though we 

 were only getting down to facts, now, 

 after all this talking. Reading between 

 the lines, it looks as though my Medina 

 co-worker were hankering to try a great, 

 big, large, hive; and, as the advertise- 

 ments say, "he won't be happy until he 

 gets ( tries ) it. " 



In the American Bee Journal for June 

 22, the Query Department takes up this 

 matter by asking " Which will give the 

 apiarist the better results. So colonies on 

 8 frames, or 40 colonies on 16 frames, in 

 two stories, time, labor and expense be- 

 ing equally computed ? " Sixteen of the 

 Senators vote for the 8-frame hives; five 

 for the i6-framers; and ten give qualified 

 answers. I never thought much of these 

 "stand up and be counted" ways of de- 

 ciding such questions. A man may use 

 and believe in a small hive, but that does 

 not prove that it is the best hive for him 

 to use. Give us the reasons, gentlemen, 

 and we can think about it for ourselves. 



Some of the answers to this query are 

 very good. The Dadants and J. A. Stone 

 say that 8 frames are too few, and 16 too 

 many. G. M. Doolittle says that 8 frames 

 are all right for comb honey production; 

 16 all right for producing extracted 

 honey. 



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Ants are sometimes a nuisance in a 

 honey house. Prof. Cook writes to the 

 American Bee Journal that corrosive sub- 

 limate and buhach, or insect powder, are 

 the best substances to repel them. The 

 corrosive sublimate may be brushed along 

 the floor where the ants enter; or strings 

 may be dipped into it and laid along 

 where they will obstruct the ants' path. 

 Dusting with the buhach also clears them 

 out; but the treatment may have to be 

 repeated every week or two. Years ago 

 the ants were very troublesome in my 

 honey-house, and I built a platform for 

 honey, and had the supports to the plat- 

 form rest in dishes of water. This an- 

 swered for awhile; then a sort of scum 

 formed over the top of the water, and 

 the ants walked over dry-shod. Then I 

 put kerosene oil in the dishes, and my 

 troubles were over. 



•T»^« Mf^rmw^f 



.\PPLE TREES FOR SH.\DING HIVES. 



Mr. E. R. Root, in commenting upon 

 my picture and article of last month up- 

 on shade for bees, says that he regards 

 apple trees, or any fruit trees with low, 

 spreading branches, as the ideal shade. 

 They afford comfort for the bee-keeper 

 as well as for the bees. This is all true; 

 and I agree with my Medina friend. If 

 we have such trees, of the right size, and 

 quantity, and in the right position, they 

 are all right. If we have them not, and 

 nmst re.sort to what might be termed an 

 artificial shade, I know of nothing better 

 than the shade-board, two by three feet 

 in .size. Mr. Root says he should judge 

 that the picture of the hive given in last 

 Review was taken in the forenoon and 



