THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



87 



trols all this chaos. If he says an engine 

 shall take your car at once to some con- 

 necting line eight or ten nniles distant, 

 away you go. I have had a lot of this 

 experience in going to State fairs, and 1 

 could always use the argument that I 

 must be at a certain city the next day, 

 or I would be too late to exhibit. One of 

 the greatest difficulties in shipping bees 

 by freight is the delays at junction points. 

 I would never think of shipping a car of 

 bees without going with them. 



Ventilation of Bee Cellars. 



A correspondent calls attention to a 

 point that 1 have overlooked in describing 

 our bee cellars and their management, 

 and that is the amount of ventilation 

 given. It is true that I said an opening 

 about three feet square was left in the 

 ceiling and this allowed the moisture to 

 escape, but my friend says it would also 

 allow too much heat to escape, and thinks 

 that I must have failed to tell the whole 

 story. Yes, I ought to have explained 

 more fully on this point. We have a 

 board cover larger than this opening, 

 and cover up the opening according to 

 the severity of the weather, the number 

 of colonies, etc. At the beginning of the 

 winter the opening is usually left open 

 full size. So long as the temperature 

 remains high enough, the opening is left 

 uncovered. As the season advances 

 and the temperature begins to drop, the 

 opening is partly covered; the amount 

 depending upon the conditions. At 

 present (Feb. 1st) the opening in the 

 cellar here at Flint is 1 x 5 feet. Towards 

 spring, if the temperature begins to go 

 up, the opening is again enlarged. 



By the way, we often cover this open- 

 ing with a piece of old carpet. This al- 

 lows the moisture to escape quite freely, 

 yet retains a large portion of the heat. 



New York's Comb Honey Pri/.e-Winner 

 to Write for the Review. 

 I have just returned from a trip to 

 New York, where I attended two bee- 

 keepers' conventions; also spent one 



delightful day at the home of Mr. S. D. 

 House of Cimillus, N. Y., where I 

 examined and photographed his hive, 

 super and im.plements, and listened to 

 his description, in detail, of the system 

 whereby he produces his wonderful crops 

 of comb honey- wonderful in quantity 

 and still more wonderful in quality and 

 finish. For fourteen years in succession 

 Mr. House has been awarded first 

 premium on his honey at the New York 

 State fair; and such is the demand for it 

 that he can virtually set his own price 

 upon it. It is sold by the section, or 

 crate, not by weight, but at present, it is 

 netting him at the rate of 20 cts. a pound, 

 wholesale. 



In regard to the quantity produced per 

 colony, here is a pointer: A neighboring 

 bee keeper told me that he had heard so 

 much about the big crops produced by 

 Mr. House that, for two or three years, 

 he had been going up there in June to 

 see the honey on the hives, and it would 

 surprise one to see the amount of honey 

 in the supers before other bees had even 

 made a start in the sections. 



Mr. House's father was an expert bee 

 keeper, and "S. D." was early pressed 

 into the service, and has been in the 

 harness ever since. At present he has 

 over 400 colonies, located in three 

 apiaries, doing nearly all of the work 

 himself. 



The Heview has been blessed in the 

 way of competent correspondents, but I 

 feel that its readers were never more 

 fortunate than when 1 secured the 

 promise of Mr. House to write a series of 

 articles on comb honey production. 



I might say, in closing, that, with many 

 other New York bee keepers. Mr. House 

 has had to contend with black brood, or 

 European foul brood, but he has not 

 only conquered it, but secured crops of 

 honey while doing it, and, that bee keepers 

 may have the benefit of this knowledge 

 early in the season, his first article (in 

 April) will deal with black brood and its 

 successful eradication, after which he 

 will talk upon comb honey production. 



