December, 1915. 



American ^ee ^ournaij 



416 



vent fine particles of the chaff or other 

 material from sifting on to the combs. 

 The writer prefers to use cloth, burlap 

 or old carpet, both over and under the 

 chaff, with edges tucked in between 

 hive-walls and chaff; this makes a neat 

 job. 



There should also be room between 

 the top of the frames and this cover, 

 for the bees to cross over from one 

 comb to another. When cold, they 

 will not readily go downwards to get 

 on the other side after food, but will 

 do so when top cross-overs are pro- 

 vided. When the carpet or burlap is 

 placed next to the comb frames, a cou- 

 ple of 5-16 or fs inch sticks laid cross- 

 wise of the frames will insure against 

 cutting off the beeway, which may 

 occur from sagging of the material. 



Having made the top and bottom of 

 the hive shipshape, cover the outside 

 with building paper, strawboard or the 

 like; this will not cost more than a 

 few cents per hive and may be used 

 year after year. This paper covering 

 should be of good thickness, one-quar- 

 ter inch is good, but a half-inch is bet- 

 ter; this can be tied or tacked on to 

 the hive-body. Vents between the paper 

 and the hive-body are to be avoided. 



Black building paper draws the sun's 

 rays and is objectionable ; a coat of 

 light colored paint over the paper 

 cures this defect and also prevents 

 soaking from snow and rain. Almost 

 any kind of strong paper may be used 

 for the outer covering if given a coat 

 or two of paint to make it sufficiently 

 waterproof. Old newspapers folded 

 and tacked or tied on to the hives, 

 when covered with stronger paper, 

 afford splendid protection. 



These methods of protection are also 

 recommended when bees are wintered 

 in sheds or other non-heated buildings 

 above ground. In such cases less paper 

 insulation is required; the painting 

 process and cover boards may also be 

 omitted. 



By carefully observing the important 

 factors herein referred to, bees may be 

 safely wintered outdoors because they 

 will at all times be able to maintain 

 sufficient temperatures for their com- 

 fort and health without excessive con- 

 sumption of food or harmful physical 

 activity no matter how low the mer- 

 cury drops, and for the same reason 



the amount of food required is no 

 greater than if wintered in a cellar. 



The writer has successfully wintered 

 bees year after year in single-walled 

 hives stored in single board sheds in 

 Wisconsin, where the thermometer 

 registered 20 degrees Fahr. below zero 

 for days at a time, and these colonies 

 were stronger and better producers 

 than those wintered in the cellar. 



When experience proves beyond 

 doubt that cellar wintering may be 

 safely dispensed with, it will remove 

 one of the bug-a-boos of northern bee- 

 keepers, and should result in a greater 

 stimulus to apiculture in the northern 

 States. 



Grand Rapids, Mich. 



Comb Honey Production With- 

 out the Use of Separators 



BY ALLEN L.\TH.\M. 



ON page 187 Dr. Miller asks: "How 

 does he do it?" and I have prom- 

 ised to tell how I do it. All bee- 

 keepers know how fast time goes with 

 us, and that will explain why I have 

 been so long answering that question. 



It is perfectly simple and easy to 

 produce good section honey without 

 the use of separators, but to do so one 

 must take certain precautions. First 

 of all, he must have his hives level, per- 

 fectly level from side to side and pref- 

 erably level from front to back. Per- 

 sonally I consider it a mistake on the 

 part of many beekeepers to slant their 

 hives to the front, especially when this 

 slant involves supers also. It must be 

 obvious to every one that, if the bot- 

 tom-board slants, then no other part 

 need slant. It is clear that with tilted 

 hives the bees will not build market- 

 able section honey, for the combs will 

 be swung out of the sections since the 

 bees build them vertically. 



One cannot produce uniform sec- 

 tions without separators unless he 

 keeps his colonies strong. Work must 

 be started throughout the super at 

 once, or at least not be so slow in 

 spreading that sections can get well 

 under way before adjacent ones are 

 started. If this precaution is not fol- 

 lowed, then each older section will 

 bulge into the adjacent younger. This 

 does not necessarily mean unmarket- 

 able honey, but it will mean a less uni- 

 form product, and one which has to be 



API.\RY OF R. H. SCHMlUr, OF ;5HEBOYG.-\N. WIS.. IN WINTER PACKING CASES 



"\>t 



Wmi 







FIG. 3.— SWENSENS BEES IN THEIR WINTER CASES 



handled with more care. If, however, 

 the sections are uniformly begun, the 

 combs will meet midway. 



The next requisite is the secure fast- 

 ening of the full sheet of foundation to 

 the sides of the section. If this is not 

 done the foundation will warp, for 

 almost invariably the bees get one side 

 started before theother, and this causes 

 the sides or rather edges to curl. This 

 curling will frequently mean that the 

 edges of the comb run into the adjacent 

 section though the center is all right. 

 If one does not care to fasten founda- 

 tion thus, he must use only starters 

 and not full sheets. Starters will pro- 

 duce excellent results in the produc- 

 tion of section honey without separa- 

 tors. I need not here, though, dwell 

 upon the disadvantages in the use of 

 starters only. 



It is not difficult, after one gets used 

 to the process, to put in full sheets 

 fastened to top and sides. It is but 

 little slower than the hot plate method 



