October, 1919 



GI. EANTNGS IN BEE CULTURE 



669 



HEADS OF GRAIN ligWOa DIFFERENT FIELDS 



nies are nunierkally weak, and where it is 

 desirable to save nuclei capable of covering 

 the spaces at the tops of three or four 

 combs when stood on end. 



Kenmore, N. Y. O. L. Hershiser. 



«<= 



Screen and Chaff In 1917-1918 I did not 



Cushion Give Up- lose a colony, and the 



ward Ventilation. bees came thru strong 

 in the spring and pro- 

 duced a good crop of honey. The winter 

 was one of the worst we have had in sev- 



New spapeis and 



t.,1.: 



packing. 



eral years and the loss to most beekeepers 

 was very heavy. I have found this to be a 

 very convenient and economical way to win- 

 ter bees. 



The hives are left on the summer stands 

 a few inches above the ground, facing the 

 south. A wire screen, tacked on a frame 

 of % by %-inch lumber, made with the 

 same dimensions as the hive body, with a 

 brace across the middle, is placed directly 

 over the brood-nest, and a super of chaff 

 over that. I like to put the chaff in a bur- 

 lap sack and then pack it in the super; 

 this keeps it from sifting thru and makes it 

 easier to handle. 



I hardly think this sack would be practical 

 for a very large apiary, for it would require 

 a great many bags which would be good 

 for only one season, as the moisture they 

 absorb rots them and makes them unfit for 

 that use again. After the chaff super is put 

 on, about five thicknesses of newspaper are 

 wrapped around the four sides, lapped in 

 such a way that the northerly winds can 't 

 get thru; the top edges of the paper are 

 folded in, and a common metal roofed cover 

 slipped on over the top. 



This method of packing, in itself, is a 

 good winter protection; but a sufficient 

 amount of loose material, such as straw, 

 cornstalks, etc., packed in back and over 

 the top of them, makes it doubly sure. 



This year I used asparagus tops (not tips), 

 that had grown up and died down. Last 

 year I used cornstalks but I think one is as 

 good as the other. 



The screen % of an inch or so above the 

 brood-nest and under the absorbent material 

 makes an ideal clustering place for the bees 

 (if one takes the trouble to look he will 

 always find some there), and it gives them 

 easy access from one frame to another over 

 the top, which I think is quite a feature, 

 especially in cold weather. 



If hives could be arranged so that this 

 plan could be followed, I should think it 

 would be a great deal cheaper and require 

 less labor than with the various winter 

 cases. There will be more or less mice about 

 the hives packed this way, but there is no 

 danger if the entrance is cut down to the 

 proper size. I use an opening for my hives 

 about % by 7 inches. L. C. LeMay. 



West Hartford, Conn. 



One Way of Due to a steep hillside 



Wintering. my bees are placed 



close together — -in fact, 

 are not over six or eight inches apart, yet 

 I find that the virgins seldom miss their 

 hives. I have the hives in straight rows, 

 and close together, so as to accommodate a 

 number of them on each stand. The stands 

 are made of 3 by 8 lumber resting on rock 

 or brick supports. The cut shows a row of 

 them on a rock wall. Another row is placed 

 on the same angle of ground, but with just 



Packing the hives in long rows for winter. 



the necessary few stones under the stand to 

 level the support above the ground. 



Hemlock, 0. John Bieseman. 



Entrance Prevents 

 Direct Draught. 



While there are no 

 beekeepers of the 

 strictly commercial 

 kind in this part of the country a great 

 many people keep some bees, and a few peo- 

 ple have from 30 to 100 colonies. The style 

 in which my colonies of bees come 

 out in the spring has led others to adopt my 

 idea of protection. I found out in the be- 

 ginning that the entrance was the weak 



