1889 



GLEAJSTNGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



259 



precaution. As second swarms are unprofitable to 

 me, I aim to prevent their issue; and by close at- 

 tention T find they can be prevented. 

 Bristol, Vi., Mar. 12, 1889. A. E. Manum. 



BEE-CAVES, AGAIN. 



THK DOOL1TTLE PLAN A SUCCESS. 



"Ma PTEK reading Doolittle'8 article on bee-caves, 

 ^Ma in Gleanings, I am constrained to give my 



|Nr experience. I wintered, or tried to winter, 

 ■**• bees on summer stands for eight years, and 

 the result was far from being satisfactory. 

 In the fall of 18% I made me a cave 8x16 feet, and 5 

 feet deep at the eaves, in the ground. I put in a 

 3-inch drain-tile 50 feet long. To a suitable frame 

 of studding and rafters I nailed inch lumber. 

 Above and around I banked 3 feet of dirt, and then 

 sowed with sweet clover. I have compartments in 

 the rear end, 8x12 feet, and 4x8 in the front, for veg- 

 etables. There are three doors, including the trap- 

 door, and an ordinary ground floor inside. When 

 winter comes to stay (that is generally about Christ- 

 mas i, I till the hatchway with straw, and shut it up 

 till spring. A 3-inch pipe passes up through the top. 

 In the fall of 1886 I put in 42 colonies of bees. In 

 the spring I took out 42 in fine condition; and what 

 surprised me most was that the cave was dripping 

 wet. I dug a hole in one corner of the cave, and I 

 think I took out ten barrels of water in 15 days, and 

 I could not detect any trace of dysentery about a 

 single colony. In the fall of 1887 1 put in 52 colonies, 

 and next spring I took out 50 in prime condition. 

 This time two died— one of which was queenless, 

 and the other one starved from neglect in the fall. 

 This time the cave was as wet as before, and two 

 nuclei showed some signs of dysentery, and some 

 of the bees were in the cave for just six months, 

 from Oct. 15th to April 15th. This winter has been 

 so warm that I have not filled the hatchway yet, 

 and the cave is dry. I am in the cave almost every 

 day. The bees are wintering well. I am convinced 

 that a good cave is the place to winter bees in this 

 latitude. 



WHEN WE MAY EXPECT A GOOD HONEY CROP. 



I want to tell your readers when to expect a 

 good honey season (and that next year is one in 

 Iowa, at least i. My observation has been, that al- 

 ways, after a plentiful rainfall, the next year will 

 be a good honey year; and a poor honey season al- 

 ways follows a dry season; a wet season gives the 

 trees and herbs a good growth of fibrous roots, and 

 this is what gives us a good supply of nectar. 



Newbern, Iowa, Jan. 22. 1889. Wm. Malone. 



It seems a little singular that somebody 

 else should have almost exactly the same 

 idea you have in your concluding sentence. 

 See the following : 



ESTIMATING the season in advance, in the 



LIGHT OF THE PAST; IS IT A CASE OF COUNT- 

 ING CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE 

 HATCHED? 



Bees have wintered well to date, March 1st. I 

 have 177 hives. I believe every one is all right. 



Why can't some kind of correct estimate be given 

 in advance as to what the honey crop will be for 

 the season? For example, the season of 1889, ac- 

 cording to indications, will give us a good crop. 

 Why do I think so? I will explain. In this locality, 

 during the fall of 1885 we bad frequent rains; white 



clover thrived everywhere. The fall pasturage was 

 excellent. In 1886 we got a good crop of white- 

 clover honey. The fall of 1886 was very dry. The 

 grass and white clover burned out, even to the root. 

 Hardly any white clover made an appearance in 

 1887. The fall of 1S87 was dry, drier, driest, and I 

 got no honey whatever in 1888 from white clover. 

 The summer of W8 was a fine one. White clover 

 sprouted up luxuriously everywhere— little fine 

 stuff, just from the seed. During the fail of that 

 year the weather couldn't be better. The pasture 

 was the very best for stock. Even now the white 

 clover is green and in splendid condition to furnish 

 us a crop of honey. Why is it this subject of a 

 prospect of a honey-yield is never discussed, or is it 

 too much like counting chickens before they are 

 hatched? A. N. Draper. 



Upper Alton, 111. 



LARGE OH SMALL HIVES— WHICH ? 



A NUT FOR THE ADVOCATES OF SMALL BROOD- 

 CHAMBERS TO CRACK. 



§0 much has been said in favor of small brood- 

 chambers, 1 concluded to give them a trial. I 

 commenced the experiment in July, 1S86, put- 

 ting 20 colonies, that season, on ten frames, 

 said frames 6 l 4 inches deep, and same length 

 as L. frames. During the summer of 1887 I put 

 some 35 or 40 colonies more on these shallow 

 frames. This divided my apiary about equally- 

 half on ten L. combs, and the other half on the shal- 

 low frames. The season of 1887 was extremely dry 

 and hot. The nectar from the flowers was, from 

 the nature of the weather, of a very thick consis- 

 tency—so much so that it required constant care on 

 the part of the apiarist, in manipulating hives, to 

 prevent the bees from robbing. Yet I secured 

 nearly 6000 lbs. of honey from 9S colonies, spring 

 count. 



The season of 1888 was just the reverse of that of 

 1887. both as regards the nature of the weather and 

 the nectar in the flowers. For six weeks during 

 July and August. 1888, there was very little disposi- 

 tion on the part of the bees to rob. But I obtained 

 only 4500 lbs. of honey from 108 colonies, spring 

 count. 



Now for the results from the different sizes of 

 brood-chambers. In 1887 there was but little differ- 

 ence, and that was in favor of the large hives. In 

 1888 the large hives not only gave me nearly three- 

 fourths of the surplus obtained, but had an abun- 

 dance for winter stores, while the small hives were 

 quite light when placed in the cellar, and will have 

 to be fed early in spring to carry them through. 



I have for several years entertained a theory in 

 regard to storing and evaporating the moisture 

 from honey, and this theory is substantiated by the 

 past two years' experience. 



The statement that all the honey goes into the 

 surplus receptacles when small brood-chambers 

 are used is quite true, as there is no other place for 

 it. But it is my opinion, that few if any of the ad- 

 vocates of small brood-chambers know how much 

 they lose by not having sufficient room for stor- 

 age and evaporation of nectar, especially when, 

 from the nature of the weather, the nectar is very 

 thin, as is often the case in wet seasons. Notwith- 

 standing the many plausible arguments presented 

 by able writers in favor of small brood-chambers, I 



