Vol. XV. 



MARCH 15, IS87. 



No. .6 



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A. I. ROOT. MEDINA, OHIO. [^^iSiW.'^h%Td.l':s^l 



DISTURBING BEES IN "WINTER. 



FKIEND nOOLlTTLE PROVES PRETTY CONCIJI 



SIVELY THAT IT DOES NOT ALWAYS 



DO HARM. 



fF late r have been wondering if we as bee-kecp- 

 eis do not talli and write a great deal that we 

 really know nothing about, only as we have 

 accepted it from the thoughts of others. All 

 are aware, that we have been repeatedly told 

 that bees should never be disturbed in winter un- 

 less they could fly at the time such disturbance was 

 made; for, if handled or moved in cold weather, 

 much harm and loss would occur as a result. As 

 my mind goes back over the past, J recall these in- 

 ^•tances which go to prove that the above theory 

 does not always hold true. 



Tn the winter of 1869-'70 I purchased one colony of 

 bees out of a lot of 30, from a neighbor living two 

 miles distant. This was in February, and the bees 

 had had no fly during all the winter previous. The 

 roads were verj' rough at the time, but 1 was not 

 content to leave the purchased colony where it 

 stood, so I brought it home; and after letting it 

 stand a few hours to quiet down ] set it in the cellar. 

 It came through to the working season in the best 

 possible condition, not ha\ing a chance to fly till 

 about the middle of April, while every one of the 

 39 colonies loft died before the first of May. 



Again, in 1875, about the middle of December, I 

 moved my whole apiary from my former place of 

 re.'iideuce to where I now am, a distance of 7.5 rods, 

 placing a part in the cellar, and leaving a iiart out- 

 dooi's; and at no time have I had my bees winttM- 

 better. Then the readers of GLEANiNCiS will re- 

 member the experiments I conducted two winters 

 ago to get the temperature of the center of a clus- 



ter uf bees, during which process the colony experi- 

 mented upon was frequently disturbed, and manj' 

 I'.ees were lost by being pulled out on the ther- 

 mometer and otherwise, tijing out during the dis- 

 turbance consequent upon the manj* experiments; 

 yet this colony, contrary to my expectations, came 

 through in much better condition than many oth- 

 ers not disturbed at all, and was the second one to 

 swarm the next season, being third best of the 

 whole apiary, as to honey-production. 



Again, wishing to know more about the matter 

 of disturbing bees in winter, and to ascertain other 

 facts as well, if possible, I have this winter handled 

 a colony of bees with the mercury at 3° below the 

 freezing-point, taking out all the frames, and exam- 

 ining them the same as I would in summer. About 

 the 35th of January I found I had two colonies that 

 were beginning to get uneasy, and show signs of 

 bec-diarrhca. Knowing that I must lose them I re- 

 solved upon opening one of the hives as soon as a 

 moderate daj' came without wind, to see if 1 could 

 find out the cause of the trouble. Such a day did 

 not occur till the fore part of February, as our win- 

 ter has been remarkable for high winds. I now 

 proceeded to the hive, and, upon raising one corner 

 of the quilt, I found the bees ready to boil out and 

 fly. To overcome this I put the nozzle of the smok- 

 er in under the quilt and gave a few puffs which 

 di-ove them back, and, by keeping smoke upon 

 them I soon had the quilt off, with the loss of very 

 few bees (perhaps half a dozen), for all which took 

 wing were soon on their backs in the snow. Before 

 touching the frames 1 waited a moment or two; 

 and as fast as the bees from the Inside of the clus- 

 ter would come up to see what the trouble was, or 

 to take wing, I would drive them back with smoke. 

 They soon gave up trying to fly, when I proceeded 



