THOUSAND ANSWERS 213 



If the bees can get at them more freely, they tear the combs to 

 pieces. With a sufficiently large number to be cleaned out, say 

 something like a super for each colony, you may go to the other 

 extreme and spread them all out so as to let the bees have free 

 access to the whole business at once. I spread the supers about 

 in my shop cellar, and when all are ready I open the door and in- 

 vite all bees to help themselves. They are protected against rain, 

 and may remain several days until the bees have them thoroughly 

 cleaned out. If you pile them up on top of hives they will be 

 cleaned up, but the bees are likely to put some of the honey back 

 into the sections. Someone, I think, has reported success by 

 piling supers back of a hive, allowing access by way of the bot- 

 tom-board without allowing other bees access. I never tried it. I 

 have tried putting them in front and it wag a failure. It might 

 work better behind. 



Sellingr Bees. — Q. When is the best time to sell bees, to get 

 the highest prices? 

 A. In the spring. 



Separators. — Q. Do you approve of the separators in supers? 

 I have two supers of honey before me now, just taken off, one 

 with and one without the division-boards, and I find the bees 

 have fastened the sections nearly all over to the board. 



A. I rnost certainly approve of separators for sections that 

 are to be packed for shipping. If the sections are intended for 

 home use, it is as well to have no separators. I have no trouble 

 with sections being built to separators, but hives are level from 

 side to side. Bottom starters help, too. 



Q. What separator do you consider best, fence or sawed 

 wood? I ordered sawed wood, slotted top and bottom. 



A. All things considered, I prefer to use a plain wood separa- 

 tor, sliced or sawed, with no slots or scallops. 



Sex of Bees. — Q. Does the size and shape of the cell in which 

 the bee is reared have anything to do with the kind and sex of 

 the bee? Or is it the food on which the larva is fed that deter- 

 mines the sex and kind of bee, as the eggs that bring forth the 

 three kinds of bees are all laid by the one queen? 



A. The sex of the bees depends upon whether the egg is fer- 

 tilized or not. An unfertilized egg produces a drone, a fertilized 

 egg a queen or a worker. An unfertilized egg in a worker-cell 

 can produce only a drone; a fertilized egg in a drone-cell can pro- 

 duce only a worker or a queen. Under normal conditions only un- 



