342 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



October 



perfect system of hive management 

 to assure this has not yet been dis- 

 covered. 



The best that we can do is to be 

 guided by results from methods em- 

 ployed in past seasons, and so ar- 

 range the autumn preparation that 

 the bees may be enabled to meet the 

 changing elements of weather and 

 temperature as they come through 

 the winter, and have the reserve of 

 energy to build up rapidly in the 

 spring. 



Stocks that die out in March are 

 generally those that were weak in 

 the fall, and though the axiom "keep 

 stocks strong" is so well known, the 

 losses by starvation, queenlessness 

 and the under protection are a proof 

 that it is not sufficiently acted upon. 



With us, winter preparation begins 

 as early as August. 



Directly the supers are removed 

 each colony is examined as to its 

 queen, strength in bees, and amount 

 of honey in the brood-combs. 



Colonies that have sent off swarms 



introduced in mailing cages by the 

 popular candy method. 



If a few simple precautions are ob- 

 served the losses are few. 



A quick inspection ten days after 

 giving the new queen will reveal any 

 cases of queenlessness. These are at 

 once dealt with by giving another 

 queen, the natural queen-cells being 

 first torn down. As fast as each col- 

 ony is re-queened the weight of 

 stores, if insufficient, is made up 

 either by giving reserve combs taken 

 from "emergency hives," by equalized 

 stores, or by feeding sugar syrup. 



When the brood-chamber contains 

 25 pounds of stores the bees are con- 

 sidered to have sufficient to carry 

 them through. 



I should here explain the purpose 

 of "emergency hives." 



Two or three good colonies in each 

 apiary are set apart for the work of 

 accumulating stores. 



Supers containing ten of our stand- 

 ard brood-combs are given as needed 

 through the season. 



CASTLE AMONG THE PALM TREES OF FIGHIG 



and are, therefore, known to possess 

 young queens, are passed over till 

 later, as are also those which have 

 yielded heavy weights of honey. 



These are dealt with later on. The 

 necessity of re-queening any failing 

 colonies is as great every year, but 

 the question of stores depends large- 

 ly on the season. 



If the season has been an "off" one, 

 with the yield light, and the bees 

 have bred heavily and exhausted 

 their stores before winter, a consid- 

 erable amount of syrup has to be fed. 



On the other hand, if the harvest 

 has been good, as in the present year, 

 when all brood-chambers are blocked 

 with honey, a great deal of labor and 

 e.xpense is saved. 



Besides, bees unquestionably win- 

 ter better on honey than on syrup 

 stores. 



All the stocks noted to be re- 

 queened have their roofs marked 

 with blue chalk. 



On a fine day, suitable for openmg 

 colonies, as many queens are re- 

 moved as there are young ones to 

 take their places. 



These are taken from nuclei, and 



No honey is e.xtracted, but the 

 filled combs in the fall are distributed 

 to needy colonies in order to make 

 them rich enough for wintering, any 

 small balance being frequently made 

 up by giving a few pounds of syrup. 



The calico coverings on the frames 

 are frequently eaten through and 

 torn. These are renewed, as are also 

 the felt upper coverings, so that each 

 stock shall have three. 



All such work is planned to be 

 completed about the end of Septem- 

 ber, so that the normal reduction of 

 the brood-nest can take place. 



Late feeding unduly stimulates 

 breeding, and past experience goes 

 to prove that late breeding in the fall 

 means a late start in the spring. 



Of the various ways in vogue of 

 packing bees the following is the one 

 I prefer : 



All our hives are provided with an 

 outer cover known as a telescopic 

 "lift," which acts in summer as a 

 cover for the supers of sections, and 

 in the fall, when reversed, it slides 

 over the brood-chamber, forming an 

 extra thickness of wood all around, 



adding to the snugness of the bees] 

 inside. 



From October 1 to 15 the hives in I 

 all apiaries are "closed down" for ] 

 winter. 



Two sticks about 8 inches long and 

 as thick as one's finger are laid 

 across the top of the frames and un- 

 der the quilts to provide a "winter 

 passage" in frosty weather. 



The coverings of warm felt are ad- 

 justed, and on them are laid a couple 

 of newspapers. 



The telescopic lift, when reversed, 

 presses the paper tightly down on all 

 four sides, and so all draughts are 

 e.xcluded. The zinc-covered roof effi- 

 ciently keeps out wet. Some enthu- 

 siasts place a 2-pound box of soft 

 bee-candy underneath the quilts, and 

 this provides an excellent passage 

 way. But if the stock is amply stored 

 the candy is neither desirable nor 

 necessary. Its value is only as an 

 emergency food in the spring if 

 stores run short by oversight. 



Treated like this and kept warm 

 and dry bees can stand any amount 

 of hard frost in winter time; and 

 there is little to do beside keeping 

 the restricted entrance from getting 

 filled up with dead bees during a 

 cold spell. 



Mice, which are sometimes trouble- 

 some, are kept out of the hives by 

 having a guard of perforated zinc 

 tacked along the entrance. 



To winter successfully the moral is 

 "keep young queens." 



Colonies with vigorous queens, 

 strong in bees and abundant stores 

 always winter safely. 



Cheltenham, England. 



Winter Packing for Bees 



By F. J. Rettig. 



AN experiment with winter cases 

 and their success in wintering 

 last winter may possibly inter- 

 est some reader. 



I made the test with 40 colonies, all 

 wintered in two-story 10-frame "L" 

 hives, and tried to have them all 

 about equal in strength in bees, with 

 not less than 40 pounds of honey to 

 each colony. 



I began packing the last of October 

 and finished early in November, each 

 hive having a separate winter-case. 

 All had 4 inches of packing on the 

 bottom, planer shavings. All had 

 canvas or burlap 2, 3 or 4 thicknesses 

 over the top brood-chamber, then a 

 super on top of the burlap. 



These supers were all filled with 

 burlap, old clothing or anything to 

 absorb the moisture. I put the top 

 cover on and put 3 to 4 inches of 

 planer shavings over all. Four colo- 

 nies were packed with 2 inches of 

 planer shavings on four sides; four 

 others were packed with 4 inches of 

 shavings on the sides; the balance 

 were packed with 3 inches of packing 

 on all sides. The entrances were all 

 closed down to 2 inches, except where 

 the wind had a better chance at them, 

 and they were closed to IH and 1 

 inch. 



The ones packed with 2 inches of 

 packing, three out of four died; the 

 ones with 4-inch packing were in 



I 



