98 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



currents, catch any dead bees any time they 

 accumulate, and at the same time to a great 

 extent shut out the direct rays of sunlight on 

 a bright day. As mentioned elsewhere, this 

 would be very desirable. Answering the 

 question of our correspondent directly, we 

 would state that, in our opinion, the arrange- 

 ment would prove to be very satisfactory. 

 At all events, will he report the result of the 

 experiment next spring? — Ed.] 



A DOUBLE HIVE- BOTTOM FOR WINTER PRO- 

 TECTION. 



Mr. Editor: — The drawing illustrates a 

 combination of two bottom boards used as a 

 preventive against cold drafts, bees flying on 

 cold sunshiny days, suffocation from having 

 the entrance clogged with dead bees or ice, 

 and spring robbing. This combination is 

 made of my old bottom- board and a new one 

 having its floor loose (both are the standard 

 lOA Danzenbaker style, which can be used 

 singly if this experiment fails). The loose 

 floor is shoved along until it projects about 

 I inch beyond one end of the new bottom. 

 This projection is sawed off and reinserted 

 in the place where it was shoved from, which 

 gives us a plan to make the entrance from 

 the lower bottom. The strip is fastened 

 tight, and the loose floor is shoved forward, 

 making an opening any width, and mouse- 

 proof if desired. The opening between the 

 sawed-off strip and under the back of the 

 hive is closed perfectly by using a piece of 

 one of the cross-sticks left out from an R 

 cover. At the beginning of the swarming 

 season I will remove the upper bottom, leav- 

 ing only the lower one with its wide entrance. 



The benefits that could be derived from 



between the two bottoms (this point is not 

 an experiment). Second, to take away the 

 direct vision of light during cold sunshiny 

 days prevents bees from being lured out to 

 get chilled and die. The vestibule also ans- 

 wers for this purpose. Third, robbing can 

 be prevented by bewildering the robbers; 

 therefore when robbers make a rush past the 

 first opening, and find themselves not in the 

 hive, they act strangely bewildered. The 

 guards notice this strange performance and 

 promptly set upon them. Fourth, a bottom 

 having such a wide opening at the front and 

 a wide narrow entrance to the hive could not 

 very well be clogged with dead bees or ice. 

 I hope you will try one or two of these com- 

 binations so that you will discover, as well 

 as myself, whether there is any benefit gain- 

 ed by using such a board. I am sure there 

 is nothing lost. Joseph F. Rose. 



Washington, D. C. 



[We should consider this arrangement very 

 simple, cheap, and excellent. It possibly 

 might retain all the advantages of the Weber 

 arrangement. It is so simple for one to car- 

 ry that we suggest that a number of our sub- 

 scribers try it and report. We shall certain- 

 ly test it in our own yards with all the ar- 

 rangements here shown. — Ed.] 



FEEDING IN THE FALL. 



Thick Syrup Needs No Add to Prevent 

 Granulation ; No Loss after Years of Ex- 

 perience with a Syrup Made in the 

 Proportion of Two to One. 



BY J. L. BYER. 



On p. 





"m 



double BOTTOM-BOARD TO PREVENT THE ENTRANCE 

 FROM BECOMING CLOGGED IN WINTER. 



such a board are, I think, many — first, cold 

 drafts in early spring prevent the spreading 

 of brood to the lower part of the hive. This 

 is overcome by the large vestibule formed 



1488, of the Dec. 1st issue, both the 

 editor and the genial Dr. Miller 

 seem to think that, because I fail 

 to see any advantage in feeding 

 syrup as thin as equal parts of 

 water and sugar, I occupy a very 

 untenable position. In view of 

 what has been written about the 

 liability of thick sugar syrup gran- 

 ulating, it is not to be wondered 

 at that a statement of that nature 

 should be treated as unorthodox 

 and rank heresy. You will par- 

 don me, and Fassure you there is 

 no intention of being impolite, 

 when I say that all such assertions 

 as far as wintering results are con- 

 cerned (in our locality), are so 

 much " bosh." 



Upon what do I base such a 



broad statement? I answer, from 



practical experience, and result of 



feeding thousands of pounds of 



two to-one syrup to hundreds of 



colonies during different years, 



without the loss of a single colony 



so fed. The only severe winter 



losses we have experienced were 



caused by the presence of honey-dew in the 



hives, and the labor factor is the only thing 



that keeps me from feeding every colony, 



every fall, with this dreadful two-to-one mix- 



