1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



407 



they have not consumed half of their stores, and al- 

 so that scarcely a bit of brood has been reared, al- 

 though all colonies have a few eggs when first 

 brought out. One or two had some hatching 

 brood, but so far I have found no larva in a single 

 hive. Some of the colonies first set out now have 

 brood in all stages possible for the length of time 

 they have been out, being fully up to the best colo- 

 nies wintered outdoors along this line; and I sus- 

 pect that those that are in the cellar would have 

 been better off had they been set out when the 

 first were, yet I can tell better about this when the 

 basswood comes to blossom. 



While Prof. Cook reports that he has had to keep 

 an oil-stove in bis cellar to keep it warm enough, I 

 see many reports where the unusually mild winter 

 has caused bees in cellars to become uneasy and 

 winter poorly, besides making the owner a " thou- 

 sand sight "of work opening windows and doors 

 nights to keep the temperature down. The profess- 

 or speaks of my loss when using an oil-stove as if 

 he does not know how to account for it. Well, the 

 difference was, that, while he maintained the tem- 

 perature in his cellar at 40° as near as might be, I 

 kept mine that season at 50° and above. Some 

 have claimed that the oil-stove caused the trouble 

 with me, but I have always claimed that it was the 

 high temperature. 



I now wish to say a word or two in regard to hi- 

 bernation. As all will see by what I have written 

 above, my bees that were in the cellar " hibernat- 

 ed "the past winter, if bees ever do such a thing, 

 and that they are at it yet as much as they have been 

 at any time, in the case of the eight colonies now 

 in the cellar. 



Well, some of the hives placed in the cellar were 

 chaff hives, and in one or two of these hives those 

 large black ants, which have been seen by nearly 

 all in old partially decayed trees had made a home 

 during the past season. One of the hives infested 

 with these ants chanced to go into the cellar, from 

 which I had laken the sawdust cushion, and I look- 

 ed at the bees at least half a dozen times during 

 the winter, I not knowing that there were any ants 

 in the hive, or, rather, in the chaff packing. On the 

 18th of April I noticed that these ants were out 

 around the hives that were outdoors, which were 

 the first I had seen for the season. On the eve- 

 ning of the 30th I went into the cellar to fix for 

 carrying more bees out the next day, and I heard a 

 continual " zeep, zeep, " from the bees in a certain 

 part of the cellar, which was something I had nev- 

 er heard before in that place. By listening I soon 

 found the hive it came from, and upon raising the 

 sawdust cushion I saw twenty or more of those 

 large ants, with their heads under the quilt over 

 the bees, trying to catch hold of the bees which 

 were uttering these notes, and trying to drive the 

 ants away. Now, the question is, as the tempera- 

 ture of the cellar had not changed in the least for 

 several days previous, and but very little during 

 the whole winter, how did these ants know when to 

 wake up at the same time those did which were 

 outdoors, and why were the bees in all of the other 

 hives as quiet as they ever were, being so still in 

 the eight hives which remain? All know that I do 

 not believe that bees hibernate, while I know that 

 this species of ants do; yet it would seem that the 

 temperature has little to do with the hibernation of 

 these insects, while it has all to do with the quiet- 

 ude of the bees. Who can tell us more about this 



strange suspension of life, and the power of taking 

 it up again at will ? G. M. Doolitti,k. 



Borodino, N. Y., Apr. 30, 1889. 



In regard to the ants, friend D., I hav?, 

 seen them frequently in their dormant 

 state ; but they always came out of it when 

 the temperature was raised sufficiently. I 

 do not know whether disturbing ever rous- 

 ed them up without lowering the tempera- 

 ture or not. Perhaps Prof. Cook can tell us. 

 Now, bees at a certain temperature, where 

 they have rest and quiet, assume a state ap- 

 parently much like that of the ants; but 

 they are roused by a jar, or even by breath- 

 ing on them, as you mention, and that, too, 

 without any change in the temperature. 

 Another thing, the ants, while in their dor- 

 mant state, consume no food at all — at least 

 I suppose they do not, and I presume they 

 may remain in that dormant state for six 

 months— may be longer. So far as I know, 

 bees consume food— at least it is my im- 

 pression they go to the stores and till up 

 once in, say, three or four days. To tell the 

 truth, however, I do not know very much 

 about it positively. Who does V When a 

 bee is once tilled with honey, how long can 

 it live if the temperature remains favora- 

 ble ? 



^ ■ -^— 



MRS. HARRISON'S LETTER. 



BEE CULTURE IN DENMARK. 



fOR a fortnight past I have been visiting some 

 nephews and nieces, lately bereft, in the vil- 

 lage of Granville, 111. While there I visited 

 Peter Dahl, a Danish bee-keeper, born on the 

 island of Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea. This 

 island is about thirty miles long, and from sixteen 

 to eighteen miles wide. It furnished us a number 

 of hardy soldiers during the rebellion, among them 

 the subject of this sketch. In answer to my inqui- 

 ries, with reference to bee-keeping on his native 

 heath, he said there were no bees kept in towns and 

 villages when he lived there, but all the farmers 

 had some, with very few exceptions— hardly any 

 but that had bees. The house, stable, and out- 

 buildings were all built around a square, and this 

 yard was paved with stones. These farm-build- 

 ings were so constructed, being built of stone 

 and long rye straw, pounded down and covered 

 with pitch, as to last for hundreds of years. On 

 each side of the door that opened into this paved 

 yard were two benches for bee-hives, right under 

 the windows. There was a stone fence built around 

 these benches. When the bees swarmed they were 

 put into a straw skep and placed upon the bench. 

 Then they were plastered around the bottom with 

 mortar made of clay, leaving only a very small en- 

 trance for the bees. This was done to keep out a 

 beetle with two pincers, and had a tail. Mr. Dahl 

 has never seen any in this country, and does not 

 know what harm these creatures did to the bees or 

 honey; but the plastering was done to keep them 

 out. In the fall the hives were all lifted, and the 

 very heavy and light ones taken up, while the me- 

 dium ones were preserved for another year; never 

 more than four were kept over. There was no ar- 

 rangement for securing surplus, and no comb hon- 

 ey was used. The honey was pressed out; and if 

 any was sold it was by quart measure. 

 Bees gathered honey from the bloom of apples 



