850 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



times makes it necessary to unpack the bees 

 sooner than I should otherwise like. 



I believe thoroughly that outside packing 

 pays. My favorite method is to pack four col- 

 onies together. During the summer the hives 

 are in groups of four, two facing east and two 

 west. They are far enough apart to allow of 

 working all around them easily; but on the 

 approach of winter they are moved close to- 

 gether. A large box (or, rather, a rim) without 

 top or bottom is then placed around them, the 

 ends resting on the " bridges " over the en- 

 trance so that the bees may fly undisturbed, the 

 sides resting on the ground. The sides and 

 ends are separate panels, which are lightly 

 tacked together at the corners, just before they 

 are set into place. The four hives are now 

 about two inches from each other, with a space 

 of three or four inches all around the outside, 

 and six or eight inches over the top. 



I generally use planer-shavings for packing. 

 Leaves of the softer varieties are good; but I 

 would not use chaff or straw, as the grain 

 they are apt to contain is an attraction for 

 mice. The whole is covered with a good roof — 

 one that will not leak or blow off. 



The hives I use are covered with a flat board 

 cover, and this is left just as it was during the 

 summer. 



Several years ago I wrote several articles in 

 favor of sealed covers for wintering — a method 

 which was then gaining favor rapidly. For 

 some reason, which I could never understand, 

 the tide turned. Led by the editor of Glean- 

 ings, many of the new converts recanted, turn- 

 ed right- about- face, and declared that they 

 wanted no more sealed covers. As I remained 

 silent, and made no further argument or reply 

 to those who criticised the methods I had ad- 

 vocated, some of my friends thought that I too 

 had concluded that I had been mistaken. Not 

 so. I am as firmly convinced as ever that seal- 

 ed covers, with proper protection, is the proper 

 method of wintering. Argument seemed use- 

 less: but when so many went back to porous 

 covering and absorbents. I tried the experiment 

 over, using quilts on a number of hives in order 

 to be sure I was not mistaken. The result sat- 

 isfied me that, the nearer I could come to a 

 perfectly tight cover to the hive, the better. 

 In practice it is difficult to always have per- 

 fectly sealed covers, as I often have to remove 

 covers so late that the bees have no chance to 

 seal them down again as perfectly as I should 

 like: but I use every effort to have the top of 

 the hive as tight as possible. 



Single hives are packed in the same way, 

 using a box that is at least three inches larger 

 each way, and six inches higher than the hive. 



For a roof, a sheet of corrugated iron is laid 

 over the top and weighted down. 



I am convinced that many who have tried 

 outer cases for packing have not been as suc- 



cessful as they might have been, because the 

 cases they used did not have room for enough 

 packing, especially on top. 



Last winter, for experiment and comparison I 

 left several colonies unprotected, and protected 

 others thoroughly on top, but left sides of hives 

 unprotected. The former all died. The latter 

 were alive in the spring, but so weak that they 

 soon dwindled away. The mortality among 

 those packed was not over ten per cent. 



Ottawa. 111., Oct. 30. 



WINTERING IN WISCONSIN. 



THKEK IMPORTANT CONDITIONS. 

 By C. A. HaUh. 



Three things are of first importance to winter 

 bees well: 1. Good stores; 2. Good bees; 3. 

 Proper temperature. Given these three essen- 

 tial conditions, bees will winter with many con- 

 ditions that otherwise are unfavorable. Like 

 a man of good constitution, 'great vitality, and 

 good health, the amount of abuse he will stand 

 and be none the worse is surprising. Just so with 

 bees. Give them the three things named above, 

 or even the first two, stores and bees of the 

 right kind, and they will live under many ad- 

 verse circumstances. But take away either of 

 these two, and no amount of coddling and fuss- 

 ing will make their wintering a success. 



The sooner we get to recognize what are the 

 essentials, the better it will be for us; for a great 

 amount of effort has been directed to things 

 that are of only secondary importance. Ven- 

 tilation is of importance, but not first; so is 

 moisture: but both, as affecting temperature, 

 become all-important. 



GOOD STOKES. 



Honey from flowers of any kind, if well ripen- 

 ed and sealed over, is all right, although there 

 seems to be a dift'erence in these, more on the 

 account of the liability of being something 

 which is not honey being stored with it than 

 from the honey itself. Any thing that would 

 cause the honey to ferment, as juice from any 

 kind of fruit, sugar-cane, or any thing of the 

 kind, seems to be detrimental. Honey-dew in 

 our State, no matter what others say, is very 

 poor winter food. The very best stores yet 

 found is wild-bergamot honey. 



That the winter food should be sealed is not 

 essential, if it be thick; but sealing helps it 

 about absorbing moisture and taking in fer- 

 mi nt germs. 



CHANGING STORES. 



If our bees get improper food into the hive it 

 becomes a serious matter to change this foi^ the 

 proper kind, for experience has taught that 

 there is a right and a wrong way to do even 

 this. Changing the frames of poor for frames- 

 of good honey is all right if thoroughly done 

 early enough in the season so that the bees can- 



