DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEES J±.JSTTD EEOZNTE'^r 



Vol. II. 



DECEMBER 1, 1874. 



No. XII. 



HOW TO CONDUCT AN AFIAIIY . 



No. 12. 



¥ERY many of our subscribers in different 

 localities write us they have never lost 

 any bees in winter from any cause other than 

 starvation, and these fortunate people some of 

 them so far ignore the statements coming from 

 their less fortunate brothers, as to declare they 

 don't believe bees ever do die, where they have 

 food in abundance. Other writers have de- 

 clared that small colonies are the trouble and 

 that they don't believe a colony with plenty of 

 bees and sufficiency of food ever dies whether 

 in-doors or out. Now although these have 

 never had any personal experience with this 

 serious drawback in wintering, with hives 

 having plenty of bees and ample stores, would 

 it not behoove them to carefully read the re- 

 ports of the sufferers, and "go slow" in deciding 

 where the whole trouble lies. 



Were we to judge solely from our own local- 

 ity, we should in many things be led to think 

 differently from what Ave do when we take the 

 reports from the country at large. Although 

 isolated cases seem occasionally to point 

 strongly in favor of out-door Aviutering, the 

 testimony when summed up is very strongly 

 in favor of housing in a frost proof repository ; 

 bees having many times survived when thus 

 cared for, in localities where almost all others 

 were swept off. So many bee houses are in use 

 not really front proof, that good cellars have 

 rather given the best results. We really are 

 not sure that a bee house can be so construct- 

 ed above ground as to be as perfectly free from 

 change of temperature as those in part, or en- 

 tirely underground. When we dig down to a 

 certain depth, entirely below the reach of the 

 frost for instance, we find the ground almost 

 of a uniform temperature the year round. 

 This temperature is fortunately between 40 and 

 1-3 <>, in fact, just what we need to keep our bees 

 in that semi-torpid state in which the consump- 

 tion of honey is reduced to an amount so small 

 that we often hear it stated that they consume 

 none at all ; they also seem to awaken in spring 

 from this torpor (when the proper condition is 

 maintained) almost in the same state so far as 

 age is concerned as when they went in. This 

 in fact used to be all that was required, and 

 some contend that 'tis all that is required still, 

 but we think this position will have to be 

 given up. Since our wintering troubles, Quin- 

 by we believe, and some others have suggested 

 that all that is required, is to keep them a little 

 warmer, say from 45 to 50«, or even as high as 

 55° ; such a condition for instance as we have 



in a cellar directly underneath tin- family sit- 

 ting room. We believe many experiments have 

 decided that this don't do either, and in fact 

 nothing ever has amounted to a "row of pins 

 if we may be allowed the expression, except fine 

 weather that allowed the bees to fly. All agree 

 without exception that as soon as we have set- 

 tled warm weather, allowing the bees to fly 

 and gather pollen, all mortality ceases, and 

 even the weakest nuclei, can in June and July 

 be built up to strong colonies. Hence the po- 

 sition that, if bees are perfectly healthy in wa rat 

 weather, cold must be the cause of the malady. 

 Our bee house cost us over $200.00 and yet 

 it isn't frost proof unless it contains 40 or 50 

 good colonies ; again, if we have several days 

 of quite warm weather, it is impossible to keep 

 it cool enough to have the bees stay in their 

 hives, unless Ave should carry in lumps of ice 

 as has been recommended. Yet friend Blake- 

 slee says he feels sure he could keep bees safely 

 in his cellar any day in the year, the tempera- 

 ture being nearly the same both winter and 

 summer. Now comes the question; if cellars 

 are bettei - , Avhy not use them? The principal 

 objection Ave knoAV of is that they are generally 

 remote from the hives and are often inconveni- 

 ent of access, besides they should be kept per- 

 fectly dark and this necessitates dividing off an 

 apartment by some kind of a partition — thick 

 paper does A'ery Avell — and this often encroach- 

 es on the space needed for the family A-egetables 

 etc. Besides we Avant our wintering house to 

 scr\ r e for a honey room in the summer. In view 

 of all these items Ave are goiny to suggest a 

 wintering house built partly underground, and 

 covered entirely Avith 18 inches or two feet of 

 dry earth. We have just built such a room as 

 an* addition to our small hot house, and the en- 

 tire expense of it, labor and all, Avas not one 

 fourth that of our bee house. Where it is nec- 

 essary to economize it can be made to answer 

 very Avell for a honey house, and will be nice 

 and cool for summer work. Get live pieces of 

 4x4 pine or hemlock scantling, 10 feet long 



Cut them in two exactly in the middle, on a 

 bevel, so that their ends will lit together rafter 

 fashion at the tops while the bottoms arc jusl 

 12 feet apart. In the accompanying diagram 



