848 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



lbs. of honey, a colony half its size will winter 

 well on four combs and 15 lbs. of honey. Of 

 course, after warm weather, and brood is ma- 

 turing rapidly, the small colony will need more 

 honey than the large one in proportion to its 

 size, for it will mature brood almost as fast, 

 oftentimes. 



Now. if it is such an advantage for a small 

 colony to have its hive reduced, would it not be 

 a saving in honey to place a strong colony on, say, 

 six combs? I answer no. They would be likely 

 to consume even more honey than if left prop- 

 erly packed upon eight combs. The strong 

 colony is liable to be overwarm and restless, 

 and to rear a large amount of brood in winter, 

 thus wasting its stores and vitality both. So I 

 use the division-board freely, and have brood- 

 chambers of all sizes from four to nine or ten 

 Langstroth combs, and I have wintered very 

 small colonies upon three combs with entire 

 success. 



Last winter, in my home yard and one three 

 miles west, consisting of over 200 colonies, I 

 lost, previous to May 15, but four, and one of 

 these was broken up by thieves. Another was 

 overlooked, and the frames but partly covered 

 by a loose board, leaving less than one per cent 

 loss from wintering. In another yard the loss 

 was. T think, less than two per cent. 



In another yard of over 135 colonies I thought 

 I would experiment, and left several colonies 

 upon eleven combs, and lost nearly all of them, 

 while the loss among the rest was very trifling 

 — perhaps~one or'two. In still another yard 

 I experimented upon a larger scale. Most of 

 the colonies in this yard were under size, and I 

 left the most of them upon seven or eight 

 combs, when they should have been placed 

 upon from four to seven, and I lost not far from 

 35 per cent of them. 



I made these experiments because I thought 

 I had be.pn running to the other extreme, and 

 to Iwarn if possible the golden mean. 

 Middlebury, Vt. 



INDOOR AND OUTDOOR WINTERING IN YORK 

 STATE. 



ADVANTAGES OF SHALLOW FRAMES FOB IN- 

 DOOR WINTERING : RAISING THE HIVE UP 

 FROM THE BOTTOM -BOARD BY A 

 SHALLOW RIM. 



Friedemann Orciner. 



In wintering my bees I practice both methods; 

 viz., wintering on summer stands in perma- 

 nently packed hives (chaff hives), and cellar 

 wintering in light single-walled hives. I am 

 generally successful with both of these meth- 

 ods. My way is as follows : 



When I remove the surplus-cases after the 

 honey season is over I ascertain whether there 

 is a sufficient quantity of honey in each hive. I 

 do not consider it necessary nor advisable to 



weigh or lift each frame in each hive, as Mr. 

 Doolittle recommends. 1 simply spread the 

 brood-nest in the center, to see how far down 

 there is any honey. I can then judge whether 

 a colony has honey enough or not. I almost 

 always find some colonies extremely heavy, a 

 few too light. I make a note of this, and seize 

 the first opportunity to make an exchange 

 between the light and heavy colonies. I also 

 satisfv myself at the time of removing the last 

 surplus-cases as to the presence of a queen. 

 Capped brood at this time I take as a sufficient 

 indication, and I can almost always see whether 

 or not there Is brood when I spread apart the 

 central frames, as already explained in the case 

 of ascertaining the amount of honey. 



My hives which I use for outdoor wintering 

 are packed with from 3 to 3 inches of chaff, 

 moss, or sawdust. I own up that I am one of 

 the old fogies, using a honey-board. This I 

 remove when preparing for winter; put on a 

 quilt instead, with a 5 to t3 inch cushion over 

 the same; a Hill device I do not use. After my 

 hives are " fixed " up, say by Nov. 1, I scarcely 

 look at them until the following spring. I give 

 full entrance {% x8 inches), and like the idea of 

 setting up a short piece of board, leaning 

 against the hive, protecting and shading the 

 entrance. 



The cellar which my bees in single-walled 

 hives are wintered in is under my dwelling- 

 house. This cellar is also used for storing 

 potatoes, vegetables, and provision in general, 

 but is partitioned oft' and made perfectly dark. 

 The sash of the only window is covered with 

 tarred paper, and hinged to the casing so I may 

 open it or shut it by means of a string without 

 entering the bee-room itself. The window- 

 casing is covered with screen, inside and out, 

 and the space between (10 inches) filled with 

 fine hay. A thermometer is kept in the bee- 

 room, and arranged so I may read off the tem- 

 perature by opening a slide from the other part 

 of the cellar. 



After the middle of November, on a cool, dry 

 day, my bees are taken in and stacked up four 

 high on a foundation of scantling. 1 leave on 

 the bottom-boards and honey-boards; but I like 

 the idea of placing a two-inch rim, size of hive, 

 between bottom and body, except in case where 

 a very shallow frame in a single story is 

 used. 



Ordinary cellars do not maintain an even 

 temperature; at least, my cellar does not; so I 

 keep close watch, especially during changeable 

 weather. By opening or shutting the window 

 I can regulate the temperature pretty well- 

 enough so that I have been able to winter my 

 bees in this cellar for ten years with very little 

 loss. About April 10, or when the bees wintered 

 out of doors begin to bring pollen, I take all 

 colonies from the cellar, and do this during the 

 night. In placing them on their stands I pay 



