856 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



tered right boom right along, and generally 

 gather a surplus of spring honey, and are ready 

 for any flow that may come. I do some visiting 

 among bee-keepers. 2. That sub-earth ven- 

 tilators as usually constructed make the cellar 

 very wet, and that they are of but little if any 

 use made of tile. 3. That damp cellars may be 

 made dry by admitting no air that comes in, in 

 any way, through the ground, either through 

 the walls or under them, and admitting air 

 only from above ground. 4. That it is a mis- 

 take to leave the bees in the cellar late in spring 

 if they are at all uneasy. If a fine day comes 

 the first week in April, out go my bees. 5. That 

 a good warm cushion on top is all the packing 

 necessary in spring. 6. That bees do just as 

 well with entrances to the north as any other 

 direction, provided there are good wind-breaks 

 to the west and north.. 7. That hive air will 

 be purer and dryer, and the bees warmer and 

 more comfortable, with liberal entrances than 

 with too small entrances. Also, there will be 

 less robbing and less fighting among querulous 

 Italians of the same hive; entrances from 3 to 

 6 inches in early spring, and % high. Quer- 

 ulous Italians must have more to keep them at 

 peace among themselves. 8. That bees winter 

 better and do better in spring in small hives 

 than large ones. 9. That bees winter better 

 on 9in. than on 13-in. frames. 10. That cards 

 more than ten inches deep should have a hole 

 or two made a little above the center of all the 

 combs. 

 Belmont, Out., Can., Oct. 19. 



[It is very encouraging to note, as one reads 

 over this series of very interesting articles, that 

 the "wintering problem " is not such a serious 

 one as it formerly was; indeed, it may almost 

 be said to be solved if we may judge from the 

 unbroken records of success of not alone the 

 few who have given us their views, but of the 

 hundreds of bee-keepers all over our north 

 lands where winter's rigors hold full sway. 



Not all of the writers above follow exactly 

 the same methods; but it is significant that 

 they agree on ail important essentials. 



These, primarily, seem to be — good bees of 

 right age; good food, and suitable protection. 

 As to food, granulated-sugar syrup fed early 

 enough to be well ripened seems to hold the 

 first place; after that, good light honey. For 

 protection all are agreed that outdoor colonies 

 should be packed in double-walled hives, and 

 that those indoors should be in a frost-proof 

 room, generally under ground, darkened, and 

 capable of good ventilation. It seems to be 

 easier to control temperature in the cellars than 

 in the upground structures. 



As to ventilators for repositories: The sub- 

 earth do not receive much indorsement. Mr. 

 Pettit holds that the fresh air admitted through 

 underground tubes acquires an undue amount 

 of dampness, and is, therefore, detrimental. 

 The ventilation that is preferred seems to be 

 from doors and windows that may be opened 

 at intervals at night. 



It is significant, too. that the ventilation of 

 the hive should be from the bottom, either by 

 leaving the bottom-board off entirely and pil- 

 ing the hives over the spaces of those below, or 

 of raising the hive up on a rim to give air-spaces 



under the frames. So far, then, indoor colonies 

 should have tight covers. 



When it comes to the outdoor bees, there is a 

 divided opinion as to the desirability of a sealed 

 cover. 



All put their colonies into the cellar about 

 the middle of this month, or about the time 

 this journal reaches its readers. 



As to outdoor packing, planer-shavings seem 

 to receive a prominent recognition; and per- 

 haps I might say in this connection that we 

 now prefer them to chaff. They keep dryer, 

 and are more easily obtained. 



Hibernation! what a bone of contention that 

 used to be among the bee- brethren! Afterit 

 had been harped upon and harped upon again, 

 until it was hoped ihe word would never see 

 the light again on the pages of a bee-journal, 

 it was dropped, but not without some of the 

 brethren feeling that they had been deprived 

 of a right to the "last say." But as Mr. El- 

 wood has introduced it in this number he has 

 shorn it of all its old " non-swallowable" fea- 

 tures (excuse the coinage), and left it where 

 there is no chance for argument. Either we 

 have advanced in our knowledge and practice of 

 wintering, or else he has explained it so that 

 we understand the term better when applied to 

 bees. At all events, we can agree with him, I 

 think. 



There, now. it just occurs to me that I had 

 asked Dr. Miller io review these articles in our 

 next issue— to digest them, as it were, and give 

 us the solid meat. So I did; but. oh my! I 

 haven't begun to review them or sum up the 

 good things. Even if I have, I may have seen 

 through a glass darkly. Well, doctor, we will 

 suspend judgment until we see through your 

 eyes, after which the subject will be open for 

 further discussion if thought necessary. — Ed.] 



Br G.M.DOOLITTLE.BOROOINO.N.Y. M^f^f^-^A 



"^ " J II nil I [11 u .1 nuMiimiiBr 



FEEDING back; AN INTERESTING SERIES OF 

 EXPERIMENTS. 



Question. — I saw a little while ago. in one of 

 my papers, something about "feeding back." 

 Can you tell us in Gleanings what is meant by 

 this, and is there any profit in it to the person 

 who practices it? 



Answer. — Undoubtedly, every one of the older 

 readers of Gleanings knows what is meant by 

 " feeding back;" but in order that the younger 

 readers and our questioner may know just 

 what this term means I will say that feeding 

 back is the feeding of extracted honey, taken 

 during the honey harvest, back to the same 

 colony from which it was taken, or any others 

 if so preferred, after the harvest is past, for the 

 purpose of having said honey stored in sections, 

 the colony at this time having been fixed for 

 section honey. The object of such a procedure 

 is to get an article of less price converted into 

 one which brings a greater price. By using 

 the extractor during the honey-flow, from one- 

 third to one-half more honey is obtained than 

 would have been secured had the colony been 

 worked for section honey; but said honey does 



