FEBRUARY 1, 1915 



that is tnxe during normal wintei's; but it 

 has been eonsiderably colder this winter. 



The fact that bees can lly almost every 

 day brings in an element of danger. While 

 these frequent flights of course eliminate all 

 possibility of dysentery, these same flights 

 have a tendency to wear out the bees; and 

 unless brood-rearing can proceed simulta- 

 neously the colony will grow weaker and 

 weaker. This winter cold weather set in 

 early in December; and it was extremely 

 cold during Christmas and tlie holidays. In 

 the mean time brood-rearing stopped en- 

 tirely. Mr. Pritchard and ourself were a 

 little worried over the outlook. Finally we 

 called in Mr. Edmunds, an old beekeeper of 

 that locality who has carried on beekeeping 

 in a large way for a number of j^ears. He 

 assured us we need have iio apprehension 

 over the sraallness of some of the clusters, 

 saying that they would pull through all 

 right. 



The main cause of the death of some of 

 the colonies was the early winter and rob- 

 bing. Constant flying nearly every day 

 weakened some colonies, with the result that 

 the stronger ones were inclined to worry 

 their weaker neighbors. This was aggi'a- 

 vated somewhat after feeding had begun. 

 We instructed Mr. Jennings not to do any 

 more feeding, but to contract the entrances. 

 This is very important, said Mr. Edmunds, 

 on account of mice, and to conserve the 

 heat of tlie hive. 



^Ir. Pritchard called attention to the fact 

 that the yellorv bees were not holding their 

 own as well as the darker strains of Italians. 

 The fact became more and more apparent 

 as we bent over the bees. The native Vir- 

 ginia brown bees showed up better yet. 



Another thing that we observed was that 

 there was considerable " drifting," as the 

 colonies had been placed in pairs. The 

 numerous flight days would call out the 

 young bees in force. The result was that 

 they would have a tendency to join the 

 entrances of the sti'ongest flyers. Repeat- 

 edly we observed that, where there was one 

 colony that was weak, the one next to it in 

 the pair would be quite strong, indicating 

 that the former had contributed to the 

 strength of the latter. 



This is one objection to putting hives in 

 pairs in the South. Where we found the 

 strong and the weak ones side by side we 

 simply traded place with the hives, allowing 

 the colonies to equalize themselves during 

 the subsequent flight. 



We also observed the importance of top 

 protection. Some colonies had more than 

 others; and it was e\ideiit tliat the latter 

 were the stronger. The two days that we 



were there, there were heavy frosts in the 

 morning, and it was easy to see the relative 

 size of the clusters of bees on the tin covers, 

 for the exact size and location of the cluster 

 would be indicated by the melted frost, 

 while the remaining area of the cover would 

 show white crystals. We instructed Mr. 

 Jeuning-s to put pine leaves between the 

 inner and outer cover, as we used on these 

 hives what is known as the " telescope " 

 cover, with a super cover or a thin boai'd 

 beneath. 



In a few eases the field mice had crowded 

 the entrance cleats into the hive. They did 

 no particular damage except to riddle the 

 combs at one side of the cluster. All cleats 

 have now been securely fastened, with a 

 further contraction of the entrance. 



We asked Mr. Jennings and Mr. Edmunds 

 how long this cold weather might last. The 

 reply was that it might pass off in a day, 

 and stay off, or it might last clear up to 

 the last of Febz'uai*y or first of March. We 

 hope that the early setting-in of winter will 

 be followed by an early spring. 



The Beliavior of that Cliiagter of Bees 



As mentioned on page 49 of our last issue, 

 we have been gone from our office for about 

 ten days. Meanwhile there has been con- 

 siderable cold weather. On the day of our 

 arrival home, on the 21st, we removed the 

 wooden panel to see how the cluster of bees 

 was coming on. It was getting smaller — 

 very much smaller — and the shell of pro- 

 tecting bees was gone. The cluster was 

 broken and scattered, and the bees seemed 

 to be cold or chilled. The next day they 

 were as still as death, and we began to won- 

 der whether they would not, under such con- 

 ditions, assume a state of semi-liibernation. 

 We looked at them intently, but there was 

 very little movement — only a soi't of sus- 

 pended animation — just enough to show 

 that the bees Avere alive, but somehow they 

 did not look good. We left them, however, 

 without disturbance. The next day they 

 were perfectly motionless, and the day fol- 

 lowing there was not a tremor of any kind. 

 Evidently the bees were chilled througli. 

 We took the hive off its pedestal near the 

 window outside, brought it inside, and 

 opened it up. The entire cluster seemed to 

 be stone dead. AVe picked up a few, and 

 warmed them with the breath, but they 

 showed no signs of life. We ])laced the 

 hive on a hot radiator, and at the same 

 time we removed the cushion so that the 

 warmtli of the room could descend into the 



