786 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



rays of the sun shall not entice the bees out 

 when it is too cold for them to fly." 



"Do you winter all 3'our bees outdoors?" 

 "No. I prefer to winter a part of the 

 bees in the cellar, for I like the idea of 

 'mixed wintering,' as by this plan no ex- 

 treme loss is likely to occur; for a winter 

 which is severe on the bees out of doors is 

 generally good for cellar wintering." 



"At what time do you set the bees in the 

 cellar?" 



"Somewhere about the middle of Novem- 

 ber. At any time between the 10th of No- 

 vember and the Tst of December, when the 

 hives are dry, and free from frost, I set 

 them in. If they have a flight along about 

 this time I set them in the next day, if it 

 does not rain so the hives are wet; and I 

 find that this can be done, even if the wea- 

 ther is quite warm, much better than it can 

 on a cold morning when the hives come up 

 from their stands with a jar from having 

 been fi-ozen down." 



"Do j'ou give each hive a separate stand 

 when in the cellar, or set them on a plank 

 which will hold several hives?" 



"Neither. A cellar stand is made by 

 nailing four pieces of six-inch boards to- 

 gether so they shall be of the right size for 

 a hive to rest on. This raises the first hive 

 six inches ofl" the cellar bottom, and away 

 from the damj) air which is generally found 

 right at the cellar bottom. The first hive 

 is set on this stand, when hives are piled on 

 top of the first till the floor is reached, so 

 that each stand holds from three to five 

 hives, according to the depth of the cellar. 

 In this way the cellar is filled (if I have 

 colonies enough), except a passagewa3' 

 through the center to the back end, through 

 which I pass every two or three weeks to 

 see if all is right so far as temperature, 

 mice, etc., are concerned. Otherwise they 

 are left undisturbed during the winter." 



"At what temperature should the cellar 

 be kept?" 



"Here practical bee-keepers difi^er; but I 

 have had the best success with a tempera- 

 ture of from 43 to 45 degrees, or as near that 

 as can be had. With a cellar in a bank, 

 separate from any building, the keeping of 

 the temperature at this point is quite easy; 

 but with a cellar under a room or building 

 it is not so easily done, for the changes 

 from the outside have more efl'ect on the in- 

 terior of the cellar than they do where the 

 cellar is wholly under ground in a bank or 

 side hill. There are other things which 

 might be said on this wintering subject; 

 but with your consent we will leave them 

 till December, when I am not so busy, when, 

 if j'ou will come over, we will talk them 

 over more at length." 



[This is good orthodox advice on winter- 

 ing, and the average person will not go far 

 amiss in following it. The four pieces 

 nailed together to raise the hive oft" the cel- 

 lar bottom make what we ciill a hive-stand. 

 The same can be used outdoors as well. — 

 Ed.] 



BEE-STINGS AS A CURE FOR RHEUMATISM. 



Along in the '70's I had fever and ague 

 four years in succession, followed imme- 

 diately by typhoid fever three years in suc- 

 cession. The third attack was very severe, 

 and was combined with brain fever. It 

 left me a wreck, unable to read, write, 

 think, or work. Then when I got up from 

 the last attack of typhoid, rheumatism set 

 in, and I doctored for some time for it with- 

 out relief. Being unable to work, or occu- 

 py myself mentally, I bought a hive of bees 

 and spent man}' days sitting over it, taking 

 out comb after comb to watch the bees at 

 work and become acquainted with them. I 

 do not think it was good for the bees, and 

 it is needless to say that I became thorouLh- 

 ly acquainted with the business end of a 

 good many of them, and thereb}' hangs my 

 tale. I began, as soon as my head would 

 allow it, to read your ABC book and 

 Gleanings, and soon had calls from my 

 neighbors to handle their bees for them. 

 The result finally was, that my rheumatism 

 left me, its poison being counteracted bv 

 that of the bees, and I had no return of it 

 for eight years. By that time I had remj\- 

 ed to Wisconsin, and dropped mj' bee work. 

 The law of entire renovation of the systt m 

 once in seven years removed the bee-poiscn 

 from my system; and I then, having expos- 

 ed myself to damps in a cave I was exploi- 

 ing, had another attack of rheumatism. 

 This I cured by catching bees from tl e 

 flowers on the lawn, and making them stii g 

 me on the wrists. I was then free for six 

 years more, when I again had an attack 

 which I cured in the same way. 



I have not taken to bee-keeping since I er- 

 tered the ministr}', 14 years ago, beirg 

 afraid that my love for it would make me 

 spend too much time with them. But as I 

 have more frequent touches of rheumatism 

 as I grow older, I concluded I had better 

 spend some time with bees than to nurse 

 the rheumatism in bed for a week or two ; t 

 a time. My theory in the matter is, that 

 one needs to be constantly' inoculated with 

 bee-poison, to prevent the rheumatic poison 

 from getting a hold. 



When I told my doctor that bees had cur- 

 ed me, he said he had read of that cure in 

 medical journals, but thought it a humbur. 

 I have learned since that in Russia it is 

 common to cure rheumatism with bee-sting?. 

 Of course, it may not be safe for every one 

 to use this remedy; but I find it invaluable 

 for myself; and several others who have 

 used it at my suggestion have found relief 

 by it. L. P. Holmes. 



Sussex, Wis. 



[Many thanks, dear brother, for your ex- 

 cellent testimonial in regard to the benefit 



