1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



87 



remain long in one position either in- 

 side or outside of a contracted cluster, 

 for those outside would chill and those 

 inside would suffer with vitiated air; 

 therefore, winter activity is the result 

 of a contracted cluster. 



Dr. Gates recognized these activities 

 and recorded them in Bulletin No. 9(i. 

 They are also recognized by Dr. Phil- 

 lips, and recorded in Bulletin No. 93, 

 as a process of external heat genera- 

 tion by muscular action, but the deduc- 

 tions drawn from experiments recorded 

 in the bulletins mentioned warrant the 

 conclusion that heat generation is an 

 internal, incessant, involuntary process. 

 The consensus of opinion is that cold 

 weather causes increased activity and 

 increased food consumption, and in- 

 creased food consumption causes in- 

 creased heat generation. 



Expansion and contraction of the 

 winter cluster is the basic principle of 

 the heating problem, and the sum and 

 substance of heat generation so far as 

 relates to the activity of the bees. 

 These activities have a devitalizing 

 tendency, and the only remedy is to 

 eliminate the contraction of the cluster 

 by raising the temperature of the win- 

 ter nest to a point that expands the 

 cluster. This is accomplished by ex- 

 treme contraction and internal insula- 

 tion of the winter chamber, thus 

 eliminating the cold zone and conserv- 

 ing the heat that always radiates from 

 bees. 



It cannot be accomplished with heavy 

 packing on the outside of a non-con- 

 tracted hive any more than one can 

 keep warm in bed with the blankets 

 spread on the roof; in either case the 

 heat is lost by diffusion with the sur- 

 rounding atmosphere, and the patient 

 is chilled to the marrow by currents of 

 cold air untempered by a heated cham- 

 ber. A cumbersome winter case with 

 heavy packing surrounding a thick- 

 wall non-contracted hive will do for 

 cold storage, but these are not the 

 qualifications that should recommend 

 a competent wintering hive when heat 

 conservation is imperative. Extreme 

 contraction is the most potent factor, 

 except the food supply, and the wise 

 beekeeper will supply ample stores of 

 food and contract the winter chamber 

 to conform to the compass of a winter 

 cluster and surround the contracted 

 chamber closely with porous packing, 

 thus eliminating the cold zoneand con- 

 serving the heat. 



In this ideal condition bees will 

 maintain a comfortable expanded clus- 

 ter free from compulsive activities, will 

 consume food moderately and come 

 out in spring strong in numbers and 

 vitality. The convertible principle 

 solves the problem at a cost of 40 cents 

 for extra equipment. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



Taking 



Care of and Moving 

 Winter-Slieds 



BY G. C. GREINER. 



WHEN I planned the use of win- 

 ter-sheds with suitable pack- 

 ing as a means of better out- 

 door wintering, some 16 or 18 years 

 ago, I was inclined to think that hous- 

 ing them during the summer would be 

 necessary to materially prolong their 

 service. To facilitate handling and to 

 store them in as small a space as pos- 



sible, they were made collapsible. All 

 parts, sides, ends, tops and bottoms, 

 could with little trouble be separated 

 and re-adjusted as desired. 



Housing them proved to be a heavy 

 task, repeating itself every year. The 

 advantages seemed out of proportion 

 to the time and labor spent. All my 

 hives, although constantly left out- 

 doors, with proper care lasted a life- 

 time, and to judge from all appearance 

 would last another, and why should my 

 sheds not do the same ? They were well 

 made, special care always being taken 

 to have their roofs in perfect condi- 

 tion, waterproof, and otherwise con- 

 structed with a view to resist the in- 

 clemencies of the weather. Taking 

 these points into consideration I de- 

 cided, some 12 or 14 years ago, to store 

 them outdoors. 



But this did not entirely eliminate 

 the handling of the sheds. If we un- 

 pack our bees for the summer and 

 place them on separate stands, which 

 must be done to have free access to 

 them, the sheds have to be moved back 

 and forth from their storage ground 

 to the summer stand of the bees in the 

 fall, and back again in the spring. As 

 I have no helper I always considered 

 this the most tedious feature of the 

 whole season. To overcome the diffi- 

 culty I used a couple of 6 or 8 inch 



rollers, picking up the back one, when 

 clear, and placing it in front to con- 

 tinue the transit. This mode of loco- 

 motion answered the purpose except 

 that it was too slow. For years I had 

 planned to construct a car or rig for 

 this special purpose, and the only rea- 

 son why my plans had not materialized 

 before, was the lack of suitable wheels. 



Last fall, just before putting my bees 

 into winter quarters, I happened to run 

 across a castaway two-wheel garden- 

 drill, and the accompanying drawing, 

 Fig. 1, is the result of my find. I have 

 used the rig only one season, but I am 

 so elated over its usefulness that I con- 

 sider it one of my best time-saving 

 tools. The drawing shows a shed on 

 the move. 



Figure 2 gives the frame without 

 wheels; a is the platform made of 2x8- 

 inch yellow pine, with a wooden block: 

 b, on the underside of each end to hold 

 a yi-inch steel rod for an axle ; c c are 

 the handles, 2x4 inch of the same ma- 

 terial ; d is the combination swing shelf 

 that answers three distinct purposes; 

 first, it supplies legs to the handles; 

 second, it forms the connecting link 

 and gives stability to the frame, and 

 third, it carries the back part of the 

 transported shed. It is made of a piece 

 of medium heavy wagon-tire and 

 swings on bolts in the handles. Almost 



v^. A 



MANNER OF PLACING THE CART 



>5^ z 



THE CART UNDER CONSTRUCTION 



