Septkmi'.kr, mis 



G 1. E A N T X G S I N B K F. (' V I. T l' V. E 



iially iusteiid of in giou[)s of eiyht, ten, or 

 twelve frames acconliiig to the size of the 

 hive-body. 



So far we have left the reader on the 

 fence. What style and size of brood-nest 

 shall he adopt? 



The great majority of beekeepers have 

 settled down to the proposition that the 

 regular ten-frame Laiigstroth hive, while 

 lacking some of the advantages of either 

 the Quinby or Jumbo depth, or the twelve 

 or thirteen-frame Langstroth de])th, have 

 the gieat point in their favor that they are 

 standard. Sui)j)lies cost from 25 to 50 per 

 cent less. As illustrating the advantages of 

 standard equipment, let us say that the ex- 

 pert producer finds himself comp)elled to buy 

 out a less successful and perhaps competing 

 beekeeper who, perhaps, is encroaching on 

 his territory. The latter, in all probability, 

 will have standard equipment. If the sur- 

 vival of the fittest, or the more successful 

 beekeeper, is using something that is not 

 standard, he has got the everlasting nui- 

 sance of either a difference in the size of 

 the frame or a difference in supers, hive- 

 bodies, covers, and bottoms. This nuisance 

 is intolerable; and altho the beekeex^er may 

 see the advantage of the larger brood-nest, 

 yet he is almost compelled to keep standard 

 equipment. 



There is no denying the fact that there 

 are hundreds of beekeepers in this country 

 who are producing honey by the carload 

 with the standard ten-frame Langstroth 

 equipment. The eight-frame Langstroth 

 size of hive is going out so rapidly that we 

 can almost put it among the discards. 



We have been taking a good many photos 

 showing twelve and thirteen-frame hives. 

 Jumbo hives, and the Long Idea hive; and 

 in forthcoming issues of Gleanings we shall 

 illustrate some of these different equipments 

 and show their advantages. What we have 

 here said goes to show that there is a strong 

 tendency toward breeding in two-story 

 brood-nests of Langstroth size, as weil as 

 wintering in two such brood-nests, or one 

 such and a shallow-depth extracting-frame. 



a :ao ^as= t o 



DE. E. F. PHILLIPS, with whom we had 

 quite a long conference at the field meets 



in the State of New 

 Don't Fail to Yoik, wished us to em- 



Pack Early phasize in September 



Gleanings that out- 

 door-wintered colonies should be packed 

 early for the following reasons: 



Unpacked colonies in late September and 

 October are subject to extremes of tempera- 

 ture and frosty nights, with the result that 

 a good deal of brood is chilled, and with the 

 further result that the queen is discouraged 

 fiom laying. When the colonies are well 

 packed, says Dr. Phillips, they can be kept 

 right on breeding clear up into November. 

 Late breeding means young bees, and these 

 are vitally important for wintering, either 

 indoors or outdoors. 



The second reason is that, if the (-(jlonies 



are packed early, they become accustomed 

 to the new surroundings; and before cold 

 weather sets in they will be so accustomed 

 to their entrances that they will not 

 "drift," as will colonies that are packed 

 late. One of the serious difficulties that 

 beekeepers often encounter during the fol- 

 lowing spring is the "drifting" nuisance by 

 which colonies will be either too strong or 

 too weak. As their bees are not entirely 

 familiar with the changed surroundings, the 

 bees are liable to get mixed up by going to 

 the wrong hive on the first good flight day. 

 Some colonies get too many bees, and some 

 too few. The former may starve, and the 

 latter be chilled and die with dysentery. 

 a =>a ^^&i=: to 



THAT QUESTION is being asked hundreds 

 of times. If one lives in a locality subject 

 to continuous zero 

 Outdoor or weather for weeks 



Indoor at a time, and es- 



Wintering pecially if he lives 



in a hilly country 

 where he can have side-hill repositories, we 

 would advise the indoor plan. The past 

 winter showed that those who wintered in 

 cellar, especially with side-hill cellars, had 

 stronger and better colonies than those who 

 wintered outdoors. This is not saying that 

 bees can not be wintered outdoors in the 

 colder climates. Sonie of our best beekeep- 

 ers did it last winter and had rousing colo- 

 nies in the s])ring. 



In localities where the winters are more 

 open, and the bees have an opportunity for 

 a flight four or five times during midwinter, 

 we would advise the outdoor method. 



What shall the small beekeeper do who 

 has only a few colonies? If he lives in a 

 cold climate, he can winter in a cellar where 

 there is a furnace. The bees should be in a 

 room separate from the furnace room. 

 Twenty-five or thirty colonies will winter in 

 such a place very nicely, even in warm cli- 

 mates, if sufficient ventilation is provided; 

 and this can be done very well by leaving 

 the door ajar from the bee-room into the 

 furnace room. 



If one will properly jjack in a milder cli- 

 mate, the chances of success are better out- 

 doors than indoors. Control of temperature 

 and ventilation in a cellar is a nice art, and 

 beginners may not be able to master it. 



In our next issue we shall have full par- 

 ticulars with illustrations on how to winter 

 bees outdoors by the most approved meth- 

 ods. These illustrations will embody some 

 features that proved successful last winter. 



If there ever was a winter that proved 

 conclusively that packing is essential for 

 outdoor- wintered bees, it was the past one. 

 Some of the beekeepers who argued for sin- 

 gle-walled hives on summer stands have had 

 their theories knocked into a cocked hat. 

 While they are not saying, anything, thev 

 are sadder and wiser — sadder because they 

 had almost no bees this spring, and wiser 

 because they will never do it again, if the 

 Lord spares 'cm for another chance. 



