654 



GLEANINGS iN liJiii: GVLl'VUk. 



Arc4. 



WINTERING WITH STORES ALWAYS 

 ABOVE THE CLUSTER. 



Report from Bee-Friends who keep from 400 

 to 500 Colonies in Six different Apiaries. 



IN TWO ( HAPTEHS. 



'0\V that the fruit-trees are in full blossom, we 

 think we can make our report and give our 

 true standing in regard to loss of bees for 

 the winter and spring-. We went into winter 

 quarters with 465 colonies of bees. To-day 

 we count up 3:J4, and we don't think we shall lose 

 any more. This has been a very hard winter, and 

 everybody's pet theory has been put to the test. 

 For our part we have no pet theory further than 

 this: When we lose a colony of bees we try to find 

 out why they died. We have not lost a colony but 

 that, on opening- up the hive, the reason of the loss 

 is plain enough to be seen. And just here I would 

 say, we don't go a cent on the pollen theory or 

 sugar stores either. We never take away any pol- 

 len, and have never fed a pound of sugar to our 

 bees, but still we have been moderately successful 

 with our bees; and even this very liard winter we 

 are still :38 colonies ahead of last year, and all were 

 wintered on their summer stands. 



We keep our bees in si.\ places— one vunl ;il lionic, 

 and the other five ai)iarles from four to nine miles 

 away. We hire help during the extiueting seasiin 

 only. All board at our house, and go with teams to 

 the different yards, and extract one yard a day. and 

 there is no one to look alter the bees when wi- are 

 away. 



We raise but very little cnmb honey, and that at 

 the home yard; we keep our rjueens all clipped. 



IJut, why did we lose so many lieesV Well, there 

 are several direct and indirect caw.ses. In the first 

 place,] will say that all that died during the win- 

 ter, starved— starved with plenty ol' honey in the 

 hive; but the very cold weather prevented them 

 from getting it. They ate their way up to the toi) 

 of the frames. It was too cold to move to where 

 they could get honey. Then they had the dysen- 

 tei"y, and died. What gave them the dysentei-y';' 

 Perhaps it was pollen. But, why did they eat the 

 pollen'/ Because they got out of honey. Now, I 

 take the ground that, if they had honey directly 

 over the cluster, they would have been all right; 

 thej- would not eat pollen enough to hurt them. At 

 any rate, we have not had one case of dysentery 

 nor lost a colony of bees that had honey over the 

 cluster— not a comb soiled, bees strong and healthy; 

 on the other hand, when the bees ate all the honey 

 over the cluster, clear up the top. they all had the 

 dysenteiy; and what did not die right out dwindled 

 badly— some deserted this sj)ring. 



We claim that the kind of hiv<; used has a great 

 deal to do with wintering bees successfully. We 

 have been using IhrtHMlifferent frames and hives; 

 but what we like best i.s a quadruple hi\e, double- 

 walled, two inches of chaff all around, holding four 

 colonies of bees, all under one roof. Kach division 

 of the bive is l^'oXlil^iX^l inches high, inside mea- 

 sure. We use 9 frames, which stand on the bottom ; 

 that gives us depth of frame; and if these nine 

 frames are tilled three-fourths full ot good honey, 

 the bees will commence the winter I'.ndcr the hon- 

 ey, and eat upward toward the top. The honey i.s 

 all the time directly over the cluster. The bees 

 work upward as they eat the honey, and it takes a 

 long cold winter to get to the top; and unless they 



do eat up to the top, they won't have dysentery, 

 and they will stand a good deal of cold weather. 

 We have some Langstroth hives, and a few Sim- 

 plicity L. hives which we made last winter, so that, 

 with what we had befoi-e, we have now enough 

 quadruple L. hives to hold 104 colonies two stories 

 high, using eight frames in each story. They are 

 double walled with chaff filling. The chamber, or 

 roof, covers the upper stories. The upper stories 

 are movable. We can set them oft' the lower stories, 

 each one by itself; this makes a good hive, safe to 

 winter in. Tt has depth, as we leave the upper sto- 

 ries on full of good sealed honey. We have used a 

 few of them now for three 5'ears with good success. 



We have one qiuidruple L. hive that has been in 

 use three years, and has never lost a colony in these 

 three past hard wintei-s, and no dysentery either. 

 They had all the pollen they gathered, but T have al- 

 ways been particular that they had the upper sto- 

 ries filled with honey. Standing Ijy the side of 

 it is one of my tall <jiiadrtiple hives (frames ~1 in. 

 high, nine Irames), in which, three years ago, we 

 put an imported Italian queen that we got of t'. Da- 

 daiit. She Is alive yet, and has a good strong colo- 

 ny. T have diawn two brood frames Irom it this 

 spring. This hive has not lost a colony in the three 

 past years. We have been very careful that the 

 liivehadall I'oiii- colonies in good trim in the fall, 

 plenty of bees, and Irames well tilled with honey, 

 because our on ported (jueen was there. 



Platleville. (irant Co., .Vis.. May :.';"., 18!*.-). 



<nAPTKIi II.. WHJI'TKN TIlliKK MO.NTIIS AFQ-KIJ. 



We handle bi'es diff'ei-eiuly, peihaps, from anyone 

 else, but we get the honey— not quite as much this 

 year as last, but we have :.'S,(HMI lbs., all extracted. 

 Our best day we took out 'Z^i) lbs.— SOT.'i lbs. of it 

 with one exti-actor. There were 1:) days when we 

 took out from KHlt to l.^od lbs. with one machine. 

 K. FiSANCi: A: So.v. 



Friend V.. I have no doubt that the tene- 

 ment-hive idea. or. if yon clioose. liaving 

 lour colonies in one iiive. ithiced so close to- 

 <;-ethei' that they leeeive the henetit of the 

 animal heat fri«ui each other, will l>e a safer 

 arrangement for severe winters than we can 

 possibly secnre by having' eacli colony in a 

 separate hive. A great many who have 

 tried tenement hives— ourselves among the 

 number— decided that we conld not stand 

 the complication resulting, and the ditlicnlty 

 of maniiMilation. Some of the advocates of 

 tenement liives say they would as soon han- 

 dle bees in that way as in any other, but I 

 can not agree with them. It seems to me 

 that a better way still would be to have 

 eight colonies in a single hive— four above, 

 and fiinr l)elow, with entrances so the l)ees 

 could go out when the weather i)ermits. 

 Eight colonies put closely together in this 

 way, with a very thin board separating the 

 clusters, would have a wonderful power in 

 resisting the encroachments of frost. lUit 

 then, tliere is the dithculty of handling tlie 

 lower combs. After all sifch exi)eriments, 1 

 have decided that I want each colony or nu- 

 cleus in a separate hive, and that hive at 

 least seven feet from any other. I am ready 

 to change my mind, however, if any plan of- 

 fers that will lielp us out of the ditiiculties I 

 have mentioned. I am very glad to receive 

 such a leport as you make in your second 

 chapter. Wisconsin seems to be destined to 

 keep up her reputation this season as well 

 as last. 



