1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



309 



binding of the sides, ends and tops. 

 The next and future steps are to fit 

 other pieces to top, end and sides, 

 giving the first layer of pastelioard 

 a coat of rather thick glue, and hold- 

 ing each layer in place with nails. 

 Allow to dry between each layer, 

 which, in a warm room, will not take 

 long. The nails are, of course, re- 

 moved from each layer when dry. 

 The corrugations of the paper should 

 run lengthwise on sides and ends, as 

 much as possible, so that the air 

 spaces will be sealed tight. 



There is no limit to the thickness 

 of the various layers. An inch on 

 top and half an inch or more on sides 

 and ends, for the paper costs nothing 

 and glue is cheap, and I think an inch 

 will afford as much insulation as two 

 inches of other material, as paper is 

 a poor conductor of heat, and the air 

 spaces made by the corrugations 

 add to it. 



Buck Gove, Iowa. 



case and covered with cheap roofing 

 paper, also nail the two cross-cleats 

 so that they will fit inside to keep it 

 from blowing off.) 



I have never lost a colony since 

 wintering in these cases, and every 

 year always winter a few three- 

 frame nuclei with soft candy feed. I 

 have six three-frame nuclei now that 

 arc just as spry and "sassy" as they 

 were last September. 



The big advantage of this case is 

 that one man can handle it very 

 easily. 



Indianapolis, Ind. 



Successful Wintering 



By W. E. Green. 



YOU will notice by the drawing 

 that my case is for two colo- 

 nies and consists of seven seg- 

 ments, all of which are made of 1x10- 

 inch and 2x4-inch rough pine; the 

 bottom is used as a permanent hive 

 stand, the two colonies are simply 

 shifted to each side in the summer 

 time, placing them about 10 inches 

 apart, then the other segments are 

 piled one upon another, in this way 

 taking up very little space. 



In the fall the two colonies are 

 moved together in the center, then 

 the sides, back and front are set up 

 and tacked with two six-penny nails 

 at each corner, the entrance guard 

 placed down in front of the hives, 

 straw packing placed around them 

 tightly, then the cover is put on 

 (Cover is made a little larger than the 



B'.cA 



■raai 



How Bees Die 



By Dr. Brunnich. 



FROM one hundred thousand to 

 two hundred thousand bees die 

 every year, from April to Au- 

 gust, in a mighty colony, while in the 

 time of rest,, in the bees' winter, 

 from September till March, in our 

 latitude, there will perish only a few 

 thousands of them. In many forms 

 death approaches the little pets ; by 

 far the majority die on the battle- 

 field of work. They say that work 

 prolongs life. With the busy honey- 

 seekers the contrary is true. In the 

 time of repose bees may become nine 

 months old, but in spring and sum- 

 mer, when they are at work, they 

 often reach only a term of four 

 weeks, if they do not succumb earlier 

 by an accident, owing to their num- 

 erous enemies, among which one of 

 the greatest is man. 



In spring, April and May, a severe 

 death cause is weather. The inhab- 

 itants of the waxen home find in 

 their artistically built store-rooms 

 albumen and carbohydrates — pollen 

 and honey. But for securing water, 

 the indispensable element needed to 

 prepare the baby food, the}' are com- 

 pelled to fly out, to avoid the pining 

 away of their cherished progeny. Un- 



M 



J^ " X yy " 



T 



"TT" 



Sottimi 



Ht'vc ^i^nci 





ji It -/y ' 



fi 



-e.t'/— 



-Z'V 



DETAILED DIAGRAM OF AN OUTSIDE CASE AS USED BY W. E. GREEN. 



happily they are able to store the 

 crystal element of life only in a limit- 

 ed degree, first in their own bodies 

 which, saturated with water, may de- 

 liver it from one to another or to 

 the petty alabaster worms; secondly, 

 in the food which is liquified with 

 water. But much of the precious sub- 

 stance is needed when there are to 

 be fed 10,000 or more infants three to 

 eight days old, and the stores within 

 their own bodies and in the cells be- 

 come drained after a series of bad 

 days. The young cry for food; water 

 is needed, and the old guard rushes 

 out in inclement weather to bring 

 the coveted liquid from the river, 

 the pools or the springs. But, oh, the 

 cold liquid chills the venturesome 

 workers and many a brave bee is 

 paralyzed with her filled knapsask 

 and will never again see her beloved 

 home. 



In summer, the real time of har- 

 vest, the assiduous citizens of the 

 hive destroy themselves by heavy 

 work. When they find honey they do 

 not allow themselves any repose; 

 they are busy during the very night. 

 By fanning in array on the alighting 

 board and through the hive and back 

 again, they perform an energetic 

 work of ventilation, an indispensable 

 labor, for the atmosphere of the hive 

 is constantly becoming laden with 

 poisonous carbonic acid gas by con- 

 sequence of the strenuous work and 

 great numbers of the indwellers. It 

 is also needed to keep down the heat 

 to a normal degree. 



The nursing of the brood is exclu- 

 sively done bj' the young bees. But 

 besides this, there are plenty of 

 tasks. When the insect has accom- 

 plished its transformations and has 

 emerged from the cell, it is neces- 

 sary to burnish the cell, i. e., to clean 

 it and coat it w'ith an extremely fine 

 layer of fresh wax. They also carry 

 the nectar from one cell to another, 

 which helps to condense it or mature 

 it, when a part of the water it con- 

 tains is withdrawn. The new build- 

 ings and repairs are carried on by 

 the house bees. 



By this unflagging activity the 

 faithful citizens of the community 

 wear themselves out, the hair down, 

 the wings are worn by constant 

 crawling in the blossoms, among the 

 plants, and back and forth in the 

 hive. By accidents they lose claws, 

 and even legs; the inner organs, 

 glands and muscles are exhausted. 

 Within a few weeks the industrious 

 worker has grown old, but it sum- 

 mons the rest of its energy to con- 

 tinue the work. Soon it may be no 

 longer able to return. It may meet 

 its death fainting upon a blossom, or 

 in the flight home it may be unable 

 longer to struggle against the wind, 

 or a sudden rain may beat it down 

 with its burden to where it will not 

 have the strength to rise again. A 

 wornout bee. feeling its approaching 

 end, will nevertheless leave the hive, 

 crawl to the alighting board, drop to 

 the ground, still struggling to work, 

 and will die in loneliness. No bee 

 that can drag itself will die in the 

 hive. 



The fall time of the beehive comes 



