u 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



sun docs not shine they winter as quietly as if 

 in the open air, and for the past weelv it has 

 ma le very little difference if the sun did shine 

 for with a temperature Ijelow zero our glass is 

 so obscured by frost that very few of the sun's 

 rays jjet throu<rh. Without any artiflcial heat, 

 and with the sash in a very insecure manner 

 the bees have only once been subjected to a 

 freezing temperature and then only for a short 

 time (Jan. 9th,) when the temperature was out- 

 side 18° below zero. The adjoining under- 

 ground apartment answers excellently the pur- 

 pose of modifying the extremes of both heat and 

 cold. We have had some extra sash made to 

 be placed at an angle of 45" over the horizon- 

 tal one, and proposed getting this in place 

 before the intense cold weather : in this how- 

 ever we were prevented. 



WINTESI^fG BEES IN COLD FHAITIES. 



A PAPER I£K.\1> HICFOKIO TUE SKVESTU ANNUAL SES- 

 SION OF THE MICH. 15EE-KEEPElfS ASSOCIATION 

 HELD IN KALAMAZOO, DEC. 1<>, AND 17, 1874, 

 BY II. E. I5IUWELL, SOUTH IIAVEX, MICH. 



(NOTWITHSTANDING the important knowledge 



%l which we possess on the subject of wintering 



L^ bees, it is still impossible not to recognize the 

 hnmihiting tact that lliis is the source of our greatest 

 loss. The invention of movable frame hives marketl 

 an important era in the management of bees, and tlie 

 intro(Uictii)n ot' Italian bees increased the yielil of 

 honey and the number of colonies. The introduction 

 of these tv\o great im|n'ovements in bee culture bro't 

 with tlieni al^o two comparative evils, wliich have, 

 until now, never been overcome. 



Ttie movable frame furnislied an air passage around 

 and between llie combs, by wliich the cold air in win- 

 ter chilled the honey and" bees. This was overcome 

 in a great measure Ijy the use of close litting frames, 

 which on account of iheir inconvenience in handling 

 have not come into general use. The Italian bees 

 were ofahiglier trniperament and more sensitive to 

 cold. These two evils 1 believe a-e now overcome in 

 the use of cold frames. 



My average loss by the ordinary methods of winter- 

 ing bees lor the last twelve years, has been over one 

 lifth of the colonies, and nearly lour-lifths of the bees. 

 Willi the use of cold frames, I am coutident I can ])re- 

 serve swarms from flowers to flowers, witli their lull 

 liumbers. 



On the third of last S;^ptember, while the bees were 

 yet busy at work on the (jolden rod we placed 80 col- 

 onies in live beds, tiom whicii tliey >vere alloweil to 

 fl.V out ireely as long as they i-ould get honey enougli 

 to pay, wliich terminated on the (iili ot' Octoiier, when 

 tlie sash were placed on and covered witli boards. 

 Tlic weather during the remainder of tiie montli was 

 Imusnally warm and clear, and the Vii swarms re- 

 niainiiig out were coniiiuialjy thing tar and near, 

 seai'cliing lor something to work' upon. They were 

 poorly compensated by a lew Irosted melons, some 

 cull peaclies ami jx'ars ami an occasional bunch of 

 graijes. This illy re))aid tlie loss of Ave i)Ounds of 

 honey and over.'iooo bees to each colony. Every pre- 

 caution was used to keep the bees quiet, such as fas- 

 tening down the honey-boards ami coveiing them 

 with caps ; contracting the entrance and shading i he 

 front of the hive with boanls; and erecting division 

 fences. This was a great gain, and was also being 

 done to protect them from the severity of the coming 

 winter. Tlie bees in the bed remained quiet except 

 when allowed to lly out an hour or two on tlie2nd and 

 25tli of November, and tlie iritli of December. 



Care should be exercised in having the beds dry 

 ■ivhen tlie bees are put in, ami the sash iicarlv level, 

 having only sutlii-ient slopi' to the south to carry olf 

 thi; rain. It is praciicable to bring the hives togcTlher 

 near their summer stands and cover them there with 

 the frames, which can be removecl in the spring and 

 the hives rclurned to their original stands. Twt> jire- 

 (iautions should be observed -the same relative i>()si- 

 tion should be ))reserved and Ihe hives should be 

 luovtfd Without jarring or dist\irbing the bees. As the 

 severity of winter aiiproa<'hes, the beds shoulil be 

 banked up with (^arth, straw or litter to preserver the 

 Uniformity of lemperalure within, which, when cov- 

 ed with boanls should be from 10 to fid ; and « hen 

 wanned uji by the sun, when the boards are removed, 



from 70 to 80°. A trap for catching any mice which 

 may happen to get in, and and a thermometer suspen- 

 ded inside for making observations, compleftes the 

 process, which I hope, trust and believe will save 

 enough bees to make auccessful Ijee culture, not the 

 exception, but the rule. 



FRIEND NOVICE :— I went over to see Mr. Bi<lwell 

 to-day, and get his i)aper, a copy of which I send yo\i. 

 1 found his bees that are in the cold frames, in gooil 

 condition, while those on their summer stands need a 

 fly badly, to void their fajces. AVintering under glass, 

 as practiced by Mr. Eidwell is undoubtedly a success. 

 As nearly as I'could judge, there were perhaps a table 

 spoonful of dead bees, to the hive, on the bottom of 

 Mr BidwelPs cold frames. There could not have been 

 more. This you will see, is reducing the loss to the 

 minimum, as the bees have been in these cold frames 

 about four months. Thus far, the loss all told, from 

 the colonies (lt>) in one bed does not reach the amount 

 olten lost from a single colony, in one day. in the 

 month of October. " Heubeut a'. Bukch. 



South Haven, Mich. Jan. 12th, 1«7.5. 



Mr. B's plan of moving the hives in the fall 

 and spring, we should be inclined tooppose,both 

 on account of labor involved and confusion 

 and disturbance that seems to us has resulted 

 among the bees when we have moved them thus. 



His loss of bees is less than ours but our own 

 now get back quite satisfactorily. Although 

 the outside air was very near zero on the 17th 

 of Jan. we by artiflcial heat lilledthe air so full 

 of bees under the glass that it seemed as if they 

 never could get back strait, yet in the evening 

 we found inst four bees remaining on the sash, 

 No trace of dysentery, hives clean as in summer. 



FUAIUEIS. 



[For Gleanings.] 



UY (at least so)ue of it is) M. quinbv. 



JIEN you S])eak of the Qninljy frame do you 



Wmean a frame just so large ? and are all frames 

 ^ -^ just that size, for any hive ami i)lan, (^•uinby'sl-' 

 If 1 make some (ixl2 whose will they be ? Does t'apt. 

 Iletheringtou, KUvood and some others, who use a 

 frame two inches shorter than 1 do tell the tiuth, when 

 they tell us they use the Quinby frame? I want the 

 (Juinby frame distinguished from' others, by something 

 else, than size. The size I use at jiresent, accommo- 

 ttates me, when a smaller one, docs not. Let the 

 fault bo found where you tliink it is. If it is the fear 

 of su))erceding what isalready used, say so. I believe 

 it will be universally used (as I make it now) as soon 

 as bee-keepers learn a little better liow to manage 

 bees. Wlien president Olai'k acknowledged that he 

 could not manage a Quinby hive, in cold weather, he 

 did not cinnpliment himself on his skill and experi- 

 ence. I expect to make some hives with just the 

 IVames, that will be <diea)ily made, and will do to 

 l>ractice witli equallv well as anv for extracting. 



"M. (,)uiNBv", St. .Johnsville, N. Y. 



If it is 7(s that our friend is talking to we can 

 answer without hesitation that in our attempts 

 to classify frames we called everything Quiitby 

 that was about a foot high, and a foot and a 

 half long. We got the dimensions as near as 

 we could from Mr. Q's book, and after a while 

 supposing we had found good reasons for 

 thiidcing our first dimensions an error, we 

 changed them, and thereliy made trouble by 

 giving our customers two different sizes under 

 the same name. No one has ever favored us 

 with a suggi'Stion, that we can recollect, to 

 aid in our attempt to classify and render uni- 

 form the live principal frames in use. 



iMr. (Juinby in his book describes a hanging 

 frame, and many such are in use ; later he has 

 made a "closed ends" frame that stands on the 

 bottom-boaril. We think we shall get on bet- 

 ter if we frankly admit that we have, perhaps 

 unwisely, looked with very little favor on this 

 last arrangement. Mr. Q. avc beg pardon. We 

 have very little "/wr" of any thing or any body, 



