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Vol. LVl.— No. 9 



HAMILTON, ILL., SEPTEMBER, 1916 



MONTHLY, $1.00 A YEAR 



PACKING BIG APIARIES FOR WINTER 



A Simple Method that May Be of Use Where Packing of Some 



Sort is Required and Time is T.imited 



MANY beekeepers object to out-of- 

 door wintering because they think 

 that too much labor is neces- 

 sary to properly pack the bees. Since 

 extensive honey producers who prac- 

 tice wintering on the summer stands 

 have systems by means of which they 

 are able to pack the bees as easily as 

 they can be placed in the cellar, an 

 article describing such a system some- 

 what in detail seems timely. While 

 the particular system described in this 

 article may not be suited to the condi- 

 tions of the extreme north, it is well 

 adapted to localities where the bees 

 have frequent opportunity for flight. 

 Where more careful packing is neces- 

 sary, as in Canada and the northern 

 United States, the same method of 

 gathering leaves may be used. Such 

 modifications as are necessary to meet 

 different climatic conditions will readily 

 suggest themselves. 



The pictures with this article are 

 nearly all taken in the Dadant apiaries 

 where nearly 600 colonies are wintered 

 on the summer stands. It should be 

 remembered that the Dadant frame is 

 2>s inches deeper than the Langstroth 

 frame, and that a deep frame is consid- 

 ered an advantage in out-of-door win- 

 tering. However, if there are plenty 

 of stores and a deep bottom to provide 

 clustering space under the frames, 

 bees will winter very well outside on 

 Langstroth frames. 



The first essential in preparing a 

 large apiary for outside wintering is 

 an abundance of some cheap packing 

 material. For this purpose, leaves 

 serve as well as anything and can 

 usually be obtained at little cost. In 

 order to handle the leaves economically 

 nets must be provided in which to carry 

 them from place to place. In the Da- 

 dant apiaries nets are still used which 

 were first made by the late Charles 

 Dadant. When empty they somewhat 

 resemble a large hammock. They are 

 about six feet square, with meshes of 

 about four inches and are made of 

 heavy fish-cord. A net full of leaves 



will pack four or five colonies, and a 

 large hay-rack will carry perhaps 25 

 filled nets, or enough to pack about 

 100 colonies. 



The first operation is to lay the nets 

 flat on the ground and stake down the 

 corners. With hand rakes, the leaves 

 are piled on the net as high as possible. 

 The corners are then taken up and 

 fastened together, making a big bundle 

 as shown in Fig. 1. As fast as the nets 

 are filled they are corded in big piles, 

 and if to be left for future use are cov- 

 ered with a canvas to prevent being 

 wet by rain. (Fig. 2). If the apiary is 

 situated in the woods where the leaves 

 are gathered they can be used as raked, 

 but otherwise it will be necessary to 

 haul them to the apiary as shown in 

 Fig. 3. Fifteen filled nets are piled on 

 this wagon with strips across the 

 box to serve the purpose of a rack. 



The cover picture shows how the auto- 

 mobile is utilized for carrying smaller 

 quantities of leaves. The five nets 

 shown in the picture contain enough 

 leaves to keep the men packing until 

 the slower moving wagon or truck 

 reaches the outyard. 



The nets last many years if properly 

 cared for. Some made by the elder 

 Dadant 25 or 30 years ago are still in 

 use. If purchased in the market they 

 cost about $1.25 each, and enough 

 should be provided for a full day's 

 operations. 



In the Dadant apiaries straw mats 

 are used over the brood-frames as 

 shown in Fig. 5. When the packing 

 begins the first operation is to remove 

 the oil cloth from the top of the frames 

 and replace it with the mat. Care is 

 used to see that a bee-space is provided 

 between the frames and the mat to per- 



FIG. i.-A NET FULL OF LEAVES 



