172 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mak. 1. 



box hive into frames. Well do we^^ remember 

 the trepidation, anxiety, and real labor con- 

 nected with that transfer. Indeed, it was a 

 •great undertaking, for the hive had several 

 cross-sticks, and the combs were heavy with 

 honey. 



' Friend Root tells us that most bee-keepers 

 change hives about once in ten years. The 

 rapid strides in advancement make, or did 

 make, it necessary, and we were no exception, 

 for we soon discarded the King hives and 

 adopted the old Quinby hive and frames, de- 

 scribed in " Quinby's Mysteries of liee-keeping," 

 edition of 18(56, pp. 68 to 70. This hive held 

 eight frames, and had a honey- board, or board 

 to cover the brood-chamber, one-fourth inch 

 above the frames; and how these boards used 

 to snap loose in cold weather, and start up a 

 lively row with hybrid bees, made vicious by 

 the use of tobacco smoke, applied through a tin 

 fumigator held in the teeth! Quite often the 

 dampness of the breath extinguished the fire, 

 and then how we did " catch it" ! 



During the second season we purchased a tine 

 Italian queen of Mr. Quinby, and have never 

 been without Italians since. Indeed, we doubt 

 whether on this globe a better bee exists. 



From 1866 to 3870, bees seemed to winter very 

 easily, either in cellars or on summer stands. 

 Strangely, during that period we had little or 

 no loss. 



Reading an article recently by friend Doolittle, 

 entitled " Wintering Under Snow," leads us to 

 narrate an experience we had during the period 

 named. We had bought a dozen or more colo- 

 nies in box hives, and our bees were on the 

 King frames. We packed the caps with hay or 

 straw, and placed the hives on the east side of 

 a high stone wall. Moderate weather prevail- 

 ed, but no snow until January 1. On that day 

 came a heavy fall, and this soon drifted the 

 hives out of sight. We then cut great blocks 

 of snow and placed them upon the wall, 

 thus increasing the bank, until all the hives 

 were under eight to ten feet of snow. Many 

 were sure the bees would smother; but Mr. 

 Quinby said they would not, and we relied up- 

 on his statement. Toward the last of March 

 the weather grew warm, and we had some fear 

 that water might settle around the hives. We 

 accordingly shoveled them out. The snow had 

 thawed away from six to fifteen inches all 

 around the hives, each standing in a little cavi- 

 ty. When the first one was uncovered we 

 listened for signs of life, but could hear none. 

 The hive being inverted, we saw bees in the 

 most dormant state we ever beheld; indeed, 

 they were about torpid, and it took nearly an 

 hour to get them to flying briskly. This condi- 

 tion existed with all those bees, and they came 

 out in splendid condition. 



We never again tried this method, for the 

 time of arrival and amount of snow are too un- 

 certain to calculate with any surety upon re- 

 sults. 



Time brought changes. We visited Mr. Quin- 

 by quite often; we saw his new standing frames 

 in large cases, called non-swarming hives. We 

 never could learn to like those frames, so plan- 

 ned as to use the large cases for side and top 

 boxing with the old-stylo frames. We succeed- 

 ed tolerably, and for some years we selected 

 sixteen of our best colonies and placed them in 

 these cases, and made a yearly average of one 

 hundred pounds of box honey per colony, 

 although invariably one or more of the number 

 would get such a swarming fever that they 

 produced little or no honey. 



About that time the State Agricultural Soci- 

 ety offered a prize of twenty dollars to the 

 largest yield of box honey produced oy one col- 

 ony, and we secured this prize for two seasons; 



one year producing 205 pounds in four-pound 

 boxes. 



On one occasion, before the invention of 

 comb foundation, we placed a strong colony In 

 a hive four feet long. This family built about 

 twenty sheets of comb and gave 317 pounds of 

 extracted honey, besides enough left in to de- 

 vide and winter two colonies. 



In those days white clover gave large yields; 

 now, with pastures white with blossoms, no 

 honey is gatliered. Melilot clover was then 

 unknown; now the Erie Canal, and the rail- 

 ways and highways are lined with it. 



After 1870 the mortality during winter and 

 spring was enormous, and we had our share of 

 losses. This deterred us from undertaking the 

 business on a large scale. 



On more than one occasion we inserted an 

 extra pair of followers and turned the seven or 

 eight brood-frames a quarter way around, pro- 

 viding a covered passage from the brood-nest to 

 the outer air, and packed four sides and the 

 tops with chaff. This plan seldom worked well, 

 especially if the snow accumulated around 

 the hives, and was sure to prove fatal if the 

 hives were buried with snow and subsequently 

 thawed out. We then learned that, with such 

 warm packing, the hives and entrances should 

 at all times be uncovered. Even in cold days, 

 if the hives were surrounded with snow to the 

 roof, and the roof exposed to a strong sun, the 

 bees would get very uneasy. 



Thus for some years we had variations of 

 success and failure — the former in summer and 

 the latter in winter. With moderately strong 

 colonies we never failed to get large crops in 

 ordinary seasons; but often considerable of the 

 summer passed before colonies were populous 

 enough to accomplish much. 



Just prior to 1876, the Northeastern Bee- 

 keepers' Association was organized, and the 

 writer was sooii and for several years made 

 secretary. The subject of wintering was year- 

 ly brought up, and developed animated and 

 lengthy discussions with deep interest. 



Julius Hoffman moved to Fort Plain, only 

 about four miles from our place, in 1873, and 

 we visited him toward the latter part of that 

 season. Never can we forget our surprise and 

 admiration at the wonderful progress he had 

 made and the rapidity with which he manipu- 

 lated his colonies. After that, at frequent in- 

 tervals we visited his place. VVe soon became 

 convinced that the frames he used possessed 

 advantages that we could poorly afford to fore- 

 go. We accordingly made several hundred 

 frames, Hoffman style, the size of the old Quin- 

 by, and transferred our combs. As we already 

 used a side-opening hive we thus secured the 

 advantages of rapid handling. 



The interest in bee-keeping was now becom- 

 ing general and animated, and we soon began 

 to advertise and grow large numbers of Italian 

 queens for the market. In this latitude this 

 occupation is attended with much labor and 

 expense, as the winters are long and severe, and 

 the queen-rearing season shoi't. A large corres- 

 pondence led to many inquiries for other goods, 

 and Anally we built a factory and began to 

 supply various goods used in the apiary. The 

 radical and frequent changes in hives and fix- 

 tures made it hazardous to manufacture stock 

 ahead; thus, during the busy season we were 

 often sadly overworked. A couple of rather un- 

 successful ventures, induced by lack of employ- 

 ment during the dull months, led to discourage- 

 ment, and finally a railroad was surveyed 

 through the buildings and premises, and we 

 were constrained to sell out the apiary and bee- 

 keepers' supply business, together with the 

 monthly Bee-keepers' Exchange, to Houck & 

 Peet, who assumed control late in 1881. The 



