1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



74.5 



With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



All queries sent in lov this departnient should l)e t)rietly 

 stated, and tree t'loni any l)ossil)le anihiunity. The question 

 orque«tions should be written upou a separate slip of paper, 

 ancf marked, " For Our tjuestiuu Box." 



Question ?^o. 7.— Do j'oii consider that the winter- 

 ing' problem is practically .soivoil V If so, by what 

 method — that is, in the cellar or <in the sniunier 

 stands y .I.T. (i. 



Vps. In the collar. I)u. .\. H. M a.«.()n. 



1 do not— in the North. C. C. Mil, i, Kit. 



I do. By use of a good cellar. A. .I.Cook. 



Ves, I think it is practically sdlved by both meth- 

 ods. (».(). POIM'l/K.'roN. 



res. In the celhir, north of the 43dj)arallcl; out- 

 doors south of it, in the Mississi)>i)i Valley. 



Dadant \- 80N. 



Yes. A g-Qod cellar, well ventilated and ke)>t at 

 the propel- temperature. Mks. Fi. Hakuison. 



As we winter our bees on their summer stands 

 without any preparation. I can not answer this 

 i|uestion. Faii, I,. \'iai.i,on. 



The proper food and temperature have solved it. 

 Pure caue sugar is a pr<)i)er food, and the proper 

 temperature'oan be secured in a cellar. 



W. Z. Hut(;hins»)n. 



No, not with me. 1 jtrcfer to use Vjoth methods, 

 that I may win somewhere, as does the man who 

 follows mixed farming. Don't get all your eggs in 

 one basket. O. M. Dooi.ittle. 



I think the slate will have to be covered over on 

 both sides several times more yet with the figures 

 of that problem before it can honestly be called 

 solved. .Tust now the hands are mostly up, snap- 

 ping their fingers, and saying, "Teacher, please 

 help me do this sum." The cellar seems to be a 

 length ahead of the outdoor methods at present. 



E. K. Hasty. 



No, not yet.' From rei>i)rts in the bee-papers, we 

 read of losses every winter, both in doors and out. 

 We winter all on summer stands. For outdoor win- 

 tering, give the bees a good windbreak, plenty of 

 good honey, and a deep hi\"e well packed with chaff, 

 or its e(iual, and there is not much danger. We 

 wintered o\'er 40 last winter in quadruple L. hives, 

 none less than 2 stories, and some of them 8; lost 

 one colony. E. Fkanck. 



I consider the problem of wintering bees with 

 certainty completely solved: but as that solution 

 requires capital and extra special manipulation. I 

 do not consider the problem of iirafticaUu winter- 

 ing bees completely solved. I feel quite positive 

 that the consumption of pollen, either in the form 

 of bee-bread or floating in the honey during a peri- 

 od of continued confinement, is the cause of bee- 

 diarrhea. .Iamks Heodon. 



Let nie try, trieuds. Let's see ; liow shall 

 I word it? Well, I slumld say the winter- 

 ing problem is pretty nearly solved by most 

 of tlie old hands at "the l)iisinesR : luit not- 

 withstanding this, I am rather e.xpecting 

 that GUI' plans and theories will be most of 



them upset by some exceptional winter that 

 is liable to come at almost any time. I have 

 faith, however, to feel pretty sure there art- 

 some among our number who will still come 

 out all right, even through this excei>tional 

 winter that is somewhere in the future. 



QucstiDH Ni>. S. — Is it advisal)le to arrange the 

 hives in the apiary symuietrically, with reference 

 to each other. Wh;it harm results from such ar- 

 rangement y M. 



I think it is. I don't believe any harm results, if 

 the hives are put five or six feet apart. 



1)K. A. B. Mason. 



I think so. There is no liaiiu, and room is econo- 

 mized, to S!iy nothing of appeiiraiu'e. A. .1. Cook. 



Ves, I think so. By a little ingenuitj' there is no 

 need of loss of queens during fertilization. 



fi. M. I)OOI,lTTl,K. 



I don't understand the <iuestion. We aim to ar- 

 range our hives so we can work them handily. 



K. Fkanck. 

 Not too much so, especially if they sit (|uite close 

 together. Harm results mainly from loss of queens. 



.Iames Hkudon. 

 For the looks and eoiivenienee, it is advisable to 

 do so. No harm results, if they are at least -i feet 

 ai>art. Faii, I,. \'!Ai,i-on. 



No harm, if they have some trees (u- landmarks to 

 guide them, and if the hives are painted of <iitt'erent 

 colors. Dadant (.Nc Son. 



For the convenieiLce of the apiarist, I think it de- 

 cidedly ad visal)le; and if rightly done, I think no 

 harm results. ('.(\ Mitir,Ei<. 



I know of no harm Irom such an arrangement, if 

 hives are not too close together, while the advan- 

 tages are many. O. (). Poppi.eton. 



I have almost always kept my bees systematically 

 arranged in the apiary, H feet from center to center, 

 hexagonally, and I think the advantages of speedy 

 manipulation overbalance the disadvantages of con- 

 fusion of bees by various causes. R. Wii,kin. 



The only harm is, that young queens are some- 

 times lost, and a returnitig swarm (when clipping 

 the tiueen's wings is practiced) sometimes attempts 

 to enter adjoining hives. If the newly hived swarm 

 is left ui)on the old stand, and the old hive carried 

 to a new location, let this new location be at th«> 

 enil of n roir. If a swarm tries to enter the wrong 

 hives, cover the hives with sheets. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



There is a wise symmetry and there is also au un- 

 wise and damaging symmetry. The latter results 

 in loss of queens, and in bees getting into the wrong 

 hives. The former may be made to help against 

 these very same evils. My theory is, that the apia- 

 ry should be divided into a number of small groups. 

 It requires no great genius to arrange a dozen hives 

 so the form will help rather than hinder. This be- 

 ing done, place as many similar grouiJS as you re- 

 <iuire, giving each grouii some locating object; as a 

 big tree or a little tree, or an arbor, or a heap of 

 rocks, or a grape-trellis. Put one group by the side 

 of that little building, and another group on the 

 other side of It; and so on till mhi have places 



