184 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



good reason I could not, if I would, go very 

 much beyond the lower figure. But, to re- 

 turn. 



Fig. 3 shows Mr. Summerfield's yard of 

 bees where he liad last spring at least some 

 300 or 400 colonies. As is the custom in 

 that part of the country the hives are up on 

 platforms or hive-stands. The principal 

 reason for this is to get away from the ants 

 that are very destructive there. In addition 

 to this the ground is cleared off even and 

 smooth, for ants are particularly fond of 

 getting under some old boards, old stumps 

 — anywhere that will furnish a safe harbor. 



You will notice how nice Mr. Summerfield 

 keeps his yard. He and his family and 

 helpers, Fig. 4, seem to thrive in this South- 

 land country. He himself is the second man 

 from the right. Mrs. Summerfield is at his 

 left, and his daughter Hester is next to her. 

 The two other men are Sidney Faust and 

 Guy Gallop ; but which is which, my notes 

 fail to reveal. 



Mr. Summerfield said to me that I might 

 be disapi>ointed in the locality. He had 

 come down there for his health and pleasure 

 as well as for business. While this is a 

 wonderful bee country it has its serious 

 drawbacks. When I met him at our field 

 day at Medina last summer (for he comes 

 back with his family every summer) he 

 asked me how our Apalaehicola venture 

 paid out. I had to admit that it cost us 

 more than we got back; but that the expe- 

 rience was worth all it cost. 



" I thought so," said he, with a significant 

 smile. " The only way a man can make 

 bees pay in that part of the country is to go 



hiinsflf and do a large part of the work. To 

 hire it done as you did is quite another 

 proposition." 



He succeeded fairly well, and secured a 

 fair crop of honey, and came back with a 

 carload of two-story colonies. Our boys 

 thought when he started north this would 

 spell disaster, as it did not seem possible 

 to ship such big colonies so far, but Mr. 

 Summerfield assured me at our field-day 

 meet he got through with very little loss. 



In regard to the matter of increase, he 

 differed with Mr. Marchant in regard to the 

 best way of making it. Instead of putting 

 on upper stories and forcing the bees above 

 for increase, he puts the extra story beneath. 

 This is his argument : 



summerfield's plan of increase. 



Heat rises. If a story of empty combs is 

 put beneath instead of on top, the heat will 

 stay with the brood already started. As the 

 strength of the colony increases, the heat will 

 work downward. The queen mil follow no 

 faster than the bees can take care of her 

 brood. On the other hand, if empty combs 

 are placed on top the heat will desert the 

 brood in the lower story, and rise into the 

 upper. This will compel the field forces to 

 stay at home to help hold the heat around 

 the brood in the lower story. Mr. Marchant 

 admitted that this might be true, but thought 

 that with intelligent manipulation more rap- 

 id increase could be made on the other plan. 

 Apparently both men succeeded in making 

 fairly good increase. The Summerfield plan 

 might be the safer one for the average per- 

 son to follow, but perhaps the increase 

 might not be as great. 



WINTERING SUCCESSFULLY ON ASTEM HONEY 



BY HENRY PYATT 



In my location asters are the main fall 

 crop, with goldenrod supplementing. My 

 bees stored some of the whitest-capped and 

 nicest-looking honey of this variety one 

 would want to see last fall. One hive filled 

 a 28-section super in ten days besides the 

 brood-nest. Every cell and the sections were 

 so they could be gx'aded fancy. I depend on 

 it for wintering almost entirely. 



Last winter my loss per hive, by count, 

 amounted to almost 200 bees. This winter 

 it will be somewhat heavier because they 

 have had only one little fiight since Dec. 1. 



I winter in double walls with about IV2 

 inches of ground cork in between ; contract 

 the entrance to % x 4 inches ; take out two 

 or three frames from a ten-frame or one or 



two from an eight-frame, and spread the 

 middle frames apart, or those where the 

 cluster is, so that there can be two or three 

 thicknesses of bees between the two center 

 frames. I leave the rest of the hive open — 

 that is, I don't fill up any inside space with 

 packing. The frames fill the rest. Then a 

 thin super cover sealed but with a place for 

 a Porter escape is tacked over with wire 

 cloth. Lastly I use a burlap bottom tiay 

 Avith four inches of gi'ound cork. This 

 ground cork is ideal. It holds the warmtli 

 of the cluster, and yet lets all moisdire 

 escape. 



I have opened hives when the tempeiature 

 was about 30 degrees, and found the bees 

 spread ovei' five frames. Except in extreme 



