GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



make them. The metal binding strips Mr. 

 Ames uses are all right, neat, and tasty. I 

 nse wooden half-round strips the whole 

 length of the roofs, which also fill the bill. 



May I ask Mr. Holtermann what becomes 

 of the excess of moisture in hermetically 

 sealed hives, for which he feels so anxious 

 to furnish an exit through porous packing 

 above the bees? I never have any trouble 

 from moldy combs, neither do my bees suf- 

 fer, so far as I know, from this moisture. It 

 seems to be natural instinct of bees to seal 

 their winter quarters as nearly airtight as 

 bee-glue can make them. If this were detri- 

 mental to the welfare of bees nature would 

 dictate otherwise. To be sure, we do not 

 always follow nature!s law in every respect, 

 nor the animal instinct indiscriminately ; but 

 the nearer we comply with either, the less 

 liable we are to make mistakes. If it serves 

 our purpose an}- better, if we can gain any 

 advantages by partly or entirely ignoring 

 nature's rules, it would be shortsightedness 

 not to do so. 



Since I have wintered my bees for many 

 years with sealed covers, it proves that up- 

 ward ventilation is not necessary or desir- 

 able. With about six inches of chaff pack- 

 ing above the cover, the much-dreaded 



formation of frost or ioe under it is next to 

 impossible. Can it not be possible that bees 

 need this moisture for tlieir existence during 

 winter? On the other hand, if Mr. Holter- 

 mann has always wintered his bees with up- 

 ward ventilation through porous packing, 

 and has thereby secured some benefits, it 

 simply proves that neither method can pass 

 as a east-iron rule. Bees will winter, venti- 

 lation or no ventilation, and they may suc- 

 cumb with either. There must be other 

 factors that decide the matter. 



A word about the lumber. I cannot agree 

 with Mr. Holtermann that half-inch lumber 

 is better than one-inch. A winter case built 

 of half-inch stuff is not nearly as strong as 

 when the thicker material is used. Thin 

 lumber does not hold nails or screws as well 

 as that twice its thickness. We have to pay 

 the same for one-half as for one-inch lum- 

 ber, so there is no gain financially by using 

 the thinner kind. To let the sun's heat 

 penetrate more readily is of very Little ac- 

 count. The object of a winter protection is 

 not so much for the atmospheric heat to be 

 absorbed as for the inside animal heat to be 

 retained. Which of the two kinds will do 

 this more effectively? 



La Salle, N. Y. 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY BEEKEEPING LIFE 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE 



When I was about ten years old father 

 bought a colony of bees, much to my delight. 

 Tliis colony increased till at the end of four 

 years we had some fifteen or twenty colonies, 

 all in box hives made of rough lumber as it 

 came from the sawmill, each having a ca- 

 pacity of about 2250 cubic inches, being 

 generally a foot square and 16 to 18 inches 

 high. When I was 14 a second swarm 

 began to issue as father was about to leave 

 home, and I was told if I would save it I 

 could have it as my own. As is the custom 

 with most after-swarms it alighted near the 

 top of a tall apple-tree; but, not to be beat- 

 en, I climbed to the " dizzy height " and 

 secured it in a cracker-box, as all the hives 

 we had made were occupied by earlier prime 

 s^vamls. I watched this colony work with 

 far more interest than I did any of the 

 other colonies in the apiary. The box and 

 contents were left under the tree the swarm 

 alighted on, which was distant from the 

 house and the apiary some twelve or fifteen 

 rods. As fall drew on I often " hefted "the 

 box on cool mornings, finding that a gain 

 in weight, quite perceptible, was made as 

 the buckwheat bloom progressed, till, after 

 a little, I had quite reasonable hopes that 



they would have sufficient stores for winter. 

 A little later, as frosty nights came on, I 

 would go mornings and slightly rap on the 

 box to hear the bees give me a " good morn- 

 ing " salute by their answering buzz. One 

 Monday morning I gave the usual saluta- 

 tion; but, instead of the salute, I got a 

 hollow vacant sound; and on lifting the 

 box I found it empty, with the inside near 

 the bottom smoked and charred in the kill- 

 ing of my pets, which I later found was 

 done in a piece of woods a third of a mile 

 away. 



That ended mj- first experience as a bee- 

 keeper, as in " taking up " an old colony or 

 two a little later on father found that the 

 much-dreaded disease now called American 

 foul brood had gotten a foothold in our 

 yard ; and it progressed so rapidly that the 

 fall of the next year found us without a 

 li\-ing colony, father taking the precaution 

 to " brimstone " all that were li\'ing before 

 robber bees had a chance to carry off the 

 diseased honey. This honey, such as did 

 not have brood mixed with it, was strained, 

 .scalded, and used, and the rest of the combs 

 Avere rendered into wax. 



T was still so much interested in bees. 



