1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



241 



of it- You receive the narrative ''cum grano salts" 

 (with a graia of salt), as the saying is. It appears 

 to me a very small grain of consolation, that the 

 bees will "go further over the water than over 

 hills and forests." After these bees had gone 

 C'o miles over a sheet of water, they stretched 

 their flight two miles on land. I would be in- 

 clined to think they might go further over land 

 than over water. As forage became scant in a giv- 

 en locality, they would naturally wander a longer 

 distance, and even a pedestrian, adding a mile daily 

 to his walk, will go an astonishing distance in a day. 

 For myself, I give it up. I don't know "how far 

 bees Hy for honey" or for mating. They may, for 

 all I know, take an occasional holiday trip, like 

 human beings, a long way from home. When I 

 first got the Italians I bad no reason to believe that 

 aoj' one else had them within a distance of 50 miles. 

 How far I found traces of them, I do not like to tell. 

 Perhaps I may venture, after Mr. March has taken 

 another tour of observation. Certainly I feel very 

 like Cowper about Johnny Gilpin — 



■' When hi' next dotli ride abroad, 

 May 1 be tlieiv to see ! " 



My belief is, that to get the " coming bee " with 

 fixed points of highest excellence, we must have a 

 queen-breeding establishment in some absolutely 

 isolated locality, far from all possibility of inferior 

 admi-xture. Mr. Jones has struck out the right idea, 

 but there are serious difficulties in the way of success. 

 It is too costly an enterprise by far. The transport 

 of bees lUO miles back and forth, exprcssage of sup- 

 plies, and expense of attendance, foot up an enor- 

 mous bill in the course of the season. So far, mon- 

 ey has been sunk in the enterprise. Very lew will 

 be willmg to pay the prices that must be charged to 

 make such an undertaking pay. It would be well if 

 a more genial clime couid be found where bees can 

 stay all the year round. Is there no spot in the 

 " Great American Desert," with an oasis in it, where 

 a secluded queen-bee nursery could be established? 

 The enterprise is big enough, almost, to demand 

 that the government should take hold of it. If we 

 could once get the bee we want, with length enough 

 of tongue to gather the red-clover stores, there 

 would bo an enormous addition to the national 

 wealth. There is not much likelihood, I suppose, 

 that the government will be wise and patriotic 

 enough to embark in such an undertaking. It 

 seems to me, however, that a company might be 

 formed. If the shares were put low enough every 

 intelligent bee-keeper on the North American con- 

 tinent would take stock in it. The experiment is 

 well worth trying; and I hope there willyet be forth- 

 coming, men of brains and means, with pluck and 

 faith enough to set it going. \Vm. F. Clarke. 



Listowel, Can., April 8, 1SS3. 



Many thanks, friend Clarke, for the en- 

 couragement you liave given us, if notliing 

 more. Truly, we have a great lield before 

 us, and there is room enough for us all to 

 labor, and even write our peculiar ideas, on 

 partheno-genesis, and the D/Aer/.on theory, 

 without any clashing or hard feelings. 1 

 thank you, too, for pointing out the differ- 

 ence between partheno - genesis and the 

 Dzierzon theory, in a way that I should say 

 is correct, although I am hardly capable of 

 judging, without going back and studying 

 the matter up, in a way I have hardly time 

 to do now. Who among us can tell where 

 we shall tind that island, 50 miles from shore? 



THE liANGSTROTH FRAME FOR WIN- 

 TERING. 



ONE WAY OF USING. 



fN February Gleanings, Mr. D. A. McCord gives 

 an instance of losing a large colony where all 



' the frames were left in the lower story full of 

 honey, and seven frames above, where they clustered 

 and starved. I have experimented some in this di- 

 rection, and have lost colonies under similar condi- 

 tions. But when I removed one-half of the frames 

 from the lower story, and placed them above the 

 lower ones in the center of the hive, and covered top 

 and sides with pieces of carpet, I never lost one, and 

 I believe it is one of the best ways of wintering. 

 They are surrounded on two sides and top by a cov- 

 ering that will keep out the cold, yet let in plenty of 

 fresh air, and allow all moisture to escape; thus in- 

 suring good ventilation and dryness, which, with 

 plenty of good feed, are without doubt the condi- 

 tions most essential. It is adapted to either large or 

 small colonies. If the colony is small they will locate 

 in the upper frames, which will contain food enough 

 for them; if large, they will extend down into the 

 lower frames and have access to the stores below as 

 well as above, with the best of winter passages. It 

 has the advantage of eonflning the colony to a few 

 frames, without the disadvantage of removing all 

 but 5 or 6 frames and confining the colony upon 

 them alone; for it is hard to tell the exact size of a 

 colony early in the fall, and to know how many 

 frames they will occupy, and how much honey they 

 will consume, especially when the frames are not 

 all well filled; and it frequently happens that the 

 largest colonies are lost from starvation by being 

 confined on too few combs to eontaia sufficient food. 

 Or when the frames are not well filled, which is usu- 

 ally the case, especially when breeding has been 

 kept up till late in the fall, we have to give too many 

 frames to give sufficient food, which leaves too much 

 lateral space to keep warm. By placing the heaviest 

 combs above, the bees will cluster in the center and 

 have access to the honey below in moderate weath- 

 er, and to that above in cold weather, if a large col- 

 ony. A small colony will find sulficient stoi-es above, 

 without any lateral space to chill them. 



I use two pieces of carpet, and let them lap on top 

 of the frames, for convenience of examination, and 

 extend to the bottom of the hive. The spaces be- 

 tween the carpet and sides of hive may be filled with 

 dry leaves or chaff or cushions, but I have found two 

 thicknesses of carpet sufficient for the coldest 

 weather. Thaddeus Smith. 



Pelee Island, Ont.,Can., April, 1883. 



Pretty well done, friend S. You have re- 

 vived an old idea, and presented it so well 

 tliat I really feel like trying some strong 

 colonies in that way next winter. We can 

 dispense with the Hill devices and winter 

 passages, and who knows but that we may 

 do the same with chaff cushions. The plan 

 will also come in favor with those who have 

 been insisting so strongly on the importance 

 of bottom ventilation. It just now occurs 

 to me that I paid one oi" our friends a dollar 

 for the idea, several years ago, but never 

 used it, and I am not really sure I ever pub- 

 lished it before. May be the idea well 

 worked out will enable us to winter safely 

 in the two-story Simplicity hive. 



