75 t 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Oiv hundred twenty-five colonies wintered almost without loss, at Sabetha, Kans. Many of these had a set 

 oi extracting combs, containing a very little honey, under the brood-chamber. 



being produced by the ton where not even 

 a hundred weight was formerly produced. 

 The opposition to this great change has 

 been infinitesimal. 



It is diflicult for a publication like 

 Gleanings to advocate the compulsory 

 use of frame hives without the cry of " self 

 interest" being raised: but if the beekeep- 



ers themselves study their own interests 

 lliey should, at their meetings and conven- 

 tions, gi\e their approval to the principle 

 that bees m.ust be kept in hives which allow 

 a thorough inspection to be made of the 

 combs. Then with permanent inspectors on 

 the job all the time they will get some value 

 for the monev expended on their behalf. 

 Wainin, N." Z. 



COLONIES SUCCESSFULLY WINTERED OVER A SET OF EMPTY COMBS 



BY FRANK HILL 



T have a neighbor who last fall had eight 

 colonies of bees. Last year was very dry 

 and hot, and the honey crop was an entire 

 failure. By my advice he fed all liis colo- 

 nies, but he did not feed all at once as I 

 advised, but a quart or so at a time at 

 intervals of four or five days. The sirup 

 was made of granulated sugar two parts, 

 and water one part. In making it, water 

 \ias heated and the sugar stirred in after 

 the can had been taken from the stove. The 

 sirup was fed to the bees from a perforated 

 can in a super, aud in the latter part of 

 September and first part of October he did 

 not pack his bees very well, but they had a 

 burlap cover over the frames with a good 

 tight wood cover over that. With no more 

 protection than this he has wintered for 

 years: and always, before, liis loss has been 

 very small. AH his bees died. 



Another neighboi' having liad IS colonic^ 

 lost all but five. This man did not feed till 

 very late; bu! liis bees died the same wav. 



They seem to liave died of dysentery as I lie 

 frames and combs are daubed and are in a 

 filthy condition. 



My bees wintered splendidly, and only 

 one colony died. At no time during the 

 winter was there a longer time between 

 flights than three weeks. We had two cold 

 snaps, mercury going down to — 13 once and 

 - -15 once. We had more snow than we ever 

 liad. My bees were fed in September from 

 ^Miller feeders, the necessary amount being 

 given at one time. As there was absolutely 

 nothing- coming in in the late summer and 

 fall T also fed from outdoor feeders, for a 

 month, thin sirup to get the queens laying 

 to get young bees for the winter. 



When the bees got strong a year ago last 

 spring T put extracting-supers on all of 

 them. The season was a failure, and there 

 was not a super in the lot that had more 

 than 4 oi* 5 lbs. of honey in it. As shown 

 in the photograph T put some of these su- 

 pers uvch'r the colonies. All the colonies 



