18 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



before white clover came, showing that close 

 confinement makes bees unhealthy. We gen- 

 erally leave the honey board on top of the 

 frames, and lay on tlie second honey-board; 

 the slats between make a dead-air space. They 

 were set in the cellar about the middle of No- 

 vember. We like that time better than to wait 

 longer, unless warm weather continues. In 

 that case we watch the weather, and set in 

 with the couiing of a cold wave. 



WEAK COLONIES. 



We do not try to winter any more, but unite; 

 but on the weakest ones, in point of numbers, 

 of the good colonies, so far a.s we can judge, we 

 tie a red string, and set them in the center of 

 the cellar, and leave them in the latest in 

 spring, not leaving any later than the 1st to 

 10th of April. Several springs, our cellar being 

 so full, we would take some out the middle of 

 March, and once the first of March, so we could 

 keep the rest cool enough until about the 1st of 

 April. Then we took out the greater part, but 

 left some few in until the last of April. The 

 last ones taken out gave but very little surplus 

 honey, not having built up into strong colonies 

 soon enough. Those taken out the first and 

 middle of March were better than those left in 

 until the last of April. 



OUK CELLAR. 



This is 20x20. We find by repeated trial that 

 that size keeps the temperature about right for 

 about 80 or UO colonies, one year with another. 

 A few colonies in a large cellar are too cool and 

 damp— something like a few bees in a large 

 hive, or a few bees on too many combs; and if 

 there are too many colonies in a small cellar, 

 the bees often get too warm, and become un- 

 easy, and flit out too much. One needs to learn 

 just about how many colonies he can keep 

 profitably in his own cellars, as no two are of 

 equal temperature. 



OUTDOOR WINTERING. 



We have tried many ways of putting up our 

 bees for wintering outdoors, and find no other 

 so good as Moses Quinby's plan — the originator 

 of our large hives— that of setting the brood- 

 frames an inch from the bottom of the hive. 

 We set them upon a frame, and reverse the 

 brood-frames in the hive, and cover all with 

 two or more thicknesses of carpet, and fill in 

 all around the brood-frames with dry chaff, and 

 on top. At the sides of the brood-frames are 

 thin division-boards to keep the chaff from get- 

 ting in among the bees. We used to tip the 

 hives forward by setting a brick on end at the 

 back side of the hives, while the front stood on 

 a brick laid flat; but we find, if there is a long 

 cold spell, the bees that drop down in the hive, 

 and die, are more apt to close up the entrance, 

 and there is no advantage in tipping up, as the 

 dampness is absorbed by the chaff. If the en- 

 trance is not clogged, the bees will drag out the 

 few dead ones when a warm spell comes. 



If the bees are covered by a board, the damp- 

 ness will gather upon the board and run down 

 in front, clogging ihe entrance with ice more if 

 pitched forward. If left level it drops down 

 upon the bees; if slanting backward it leaves 

 the entrance clear, but is more difficult for the 

 bees to keep the dead ones dragged out; and if 

 it were not for swaying the combs to one side, 

 the slanting of the hive to one side would be 

 better where a board is kept over the bees; but 

 we very much prefer, for outdoor wintering, 

 hives packed with dry chatf. I would empha- 

 size the word dry— not wet or green chaff'. All 

 packing should be dry, whatever it may be. 

 When we first began keeping bees, for several 

 years we used buckwlieat chaff afier it was 

 thrashed, and it would often be quite damp, 

 with some green stems in it, and ttie covers 

 were leaky. We lost a great many colonies 

 then each winter. Since then we have dry oat 

 chaff, gathered up direct from the thrashing- 

 machine, and kept in the barn until wanted, 

 and have covered our roofs with sheet tin, and 

 painted them since then; and, other conditions 

 being right, they have wintert'd much better. 



CALIFORNIA HONEY. 



Our stores are being flooded with a sweet 

 that is called "Califurnia honey," put up in 

 glass tumblers, retailing at 10 cts. each. h.ach 

 glass has a small strip of comb honey, and filled 

 with liquid syrup that does not taste like hon- 

 ey, yet possibly there is a small quantity mixed 

 with the syrup that tastes more like corn syrup 

 .with a little honey stirred in than any thing 

 else. On the glass it says. "Put up by " a cer- 

 tain man in Chicago, in small letters; but "Cal- 

 ifornia "is in large bold letters. Possibly the 

 strip of comb honey came from California, but 

 I doubt whether the rest did, as it could not be 

 sold so cheap; yet our storekeepers claim it to 

 be California honey. They say that it tastes 

 exactly like sage honey. Its selling so cheap 

 makes slow sale for our pure honey. 



Roseville, 111. 



[California sage extracted is now selling for 

 3 cents in California. The car freight rate is 

 about 1 ct. per lb. The jars at wholesale would 

 cost the jobber about 1-y cts. This would leave 

 only about Ihi cts. for putting up and labeling. 

 It is possible for this honey to be pure, but it is 

 probable that it was doctored a little, perhaps 

 in that " wicked city of Chicago.'' Kindly send 

 us a sample by express and we will investigate 

 and report.— Ed.] 



DIVISIBLE BROOD-CHAMBERS. 



QUEENS OCCUPYING TWO STORIES; AN IMPOR- 

 TANT POINT TO CONSIDER BEFORE SHIP- 

 PING HONEY TO THE CITY' MARKET. 



By Dr. C. C. Miller. 



The discussion that started with trying to 

 determine the proper size of hives seems to 

 have widened sufficiently to take in the form 

 and kind of hive. On page 628, J. E. Hand ad- 



