THOUSAND ANSWERS 9 



Baits for Swarms. — Q. A neighbor places common boxes up 

 in trees and catches stray swarms. Is there anything a person 

 can put in a hive that will bait a swarm to the box placed in a 

 tree? 



A. Yes, you can put brood-combs in it. If the combs have been 

 used but are still sweet and clean the bees will like them better 

 than any empty hive. 



Banats. — Q. Is the Banat bee a new race of bees brought 

 from some other country, or is it just a cross with some of our 

 native bees? Would they be hardy enough for Minnesota? 



A. It is counted a separate race. I know very little about them, 

 but I suppose they are equally as hardy as Italians, and perhaps 

 as good workers. 



Barrels. — Q. Where can I obtain barrels for extracted honey? 



A. Second-hand alcohol or syrup barrels are best and could 

 probably be obtained from drug stores, groceries and wholesale 

 medicine firms. 



Basswood. — Q. (a) I have just ordered some basswood trees. 

 How close can I plant them together? 



(b) Will they grow well in this climate; that is, hot and 

 dry in the summer-time, subject to strong winds in winter, no 

 snow, and temperature never falling very low? 



(c) How long will it be before they yield nectar to amount 

 to anything? 



(d) How much water do they need when growing? (Cali- 

 fornia.) 



A. (a) When they get to be large trees, 20 to 25 feet is 

 close enough. It is not a bad plan to plant only half as far apart 

 as you want the trees finally; then when half grown, to cut out 

 three-fourths of them. The danger is that you will be too tender- 

 hearted to cut them at the right time; but you will not have so 

 much nectar from the large trees that are too crowded. You will 

 easily see, however, that up to the time they get half their full 

 growth there would be a gain in nectar by having the larger 

 number of trees. 



(b) I don't know. One would think that conditions are all 

 right; yet I don't remember that anyone has reported planting 

 basswoods on a large scale in California. 



(c) Not before 8 to 12 years in this locality; but things move 

 faster in your pushing climate. 



(d) At a guess, I should say the same amount as crops in 

 general, particularly other trees. 



