1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



345 



white-felt building-paper for spring protec- 

 tion; and while the journals have oeen rec- 

 ommending tarred paper for spring protec- 

 tion I have been using the white with good 

 results. 



The reason that I have "steered clear'' of 

 black paper for papering hives is that, sev- 

 eral years ago, 1 had experience with hives 

 painted a dark color, some of which were of 

 the chafif pattern, but built with a thin front 

 painted a dark color. The results were that 

 these dark colored hives would absorb the 

 sun heat so ^s to attract the bees out on 

 many cold days, so that they rarely winter- 

 ed a colony in good condition. They were, 

 therefore, abandoned for a better kind. 



Mr. S. D. Chapman, during the spring of 

 1906, wraf)ped every other hive in his home 

 yard, consisting of over two hundred colo- 

 nies, with tarred paper. By having half the 

 colonies in the same apiary wrapped with 

 paper and half not wrapped he was able to 

 give the plan a very fair test. All of the col- 

 onies were wintered in a cellar, and Mr. 

 Chapman is very particular to have all light 

 colonies fed early in the fall for the purpose 

 of having all the covers sealed down so there 

 will be no chance for a draft through the 

 hives after they are set out of the cellar in 

 the spring. The location where this test was 

 carried on is well protected from the pre- 

 vailing winds, especially those from the north 

 and west. 



The ones that were covered with the tarred 

 paper absorbed the heat from the sun to such 

 an extent the bees were lured from the hives 

 on days that were too cold for them to fly. 

 This meant that the colonies in the papered 

 hives at the beginning of the honey-flow in 

 June were not nearly so far advanced as 

 those in hives that were not protected. In 

 view of this, Mr. Chapman has decided that 

 no extra protection is needed if the yard is 

 well sheltered from the winds, and if the 

 hive-covers can be well sealed the previous 

 fall. 



White paper does not cause the hive to be- 

 come so excessively hot when the sun shines 

 as the black paper does; and if it has been 

 well folded down and fastened at the bottom 

 of the hive the bees are kept as warm as is 

 necessary. Colonies so protected went 

 through the severe freeze of May lO, 1906, 

 without the loss of a particle of brood, while 

 many colonies in hives not papered lost heav- 

 ily, and some of these were so greatly re- 

 duced that they were able to gather no sur- 

 plus honey that season. Generally speaking, 

 night is the time when the extra protection 

 is needed, for the air during the day is warm 

 enough. Since white paper at night is just 

 as good in all respects as the black, it is ob- 

 vious that it is the better material to use, 

 since it does not absorb the heat of the sun 

 during the day and make the hive too hot. 



I use white-felt building-paper, and it is so 

 cheap that 1 throw it away and buy new each 

 year. It is true that any sheets that might 

 not be torn could be rolled up and saved; 

 but the new paper folds so much better than 

 the old stiff paper kept over from the year 



before that I do not think it would be much 

 of a saving to try to use the old. This white- 

 felt paper comes in rolls 36 inches wide, and 

 costs about 65 cts. a roll. One roll of paper 

 this width will cover about 35 hives, and it 

 is not hard to see that, if the paper is of any 

 value at all, the expense of less than two 

 cents per hive can not be considered. The 

 tarred paper is usually but 32 inches wide. 

 While this might do for an eight-frame hive 

 it is not wide enough to suit me for the ten- 

 frame size. 



HOW TO WRAP THE HIVES. 



If the hive-cover is sealed down I put the 

 paper over the hive — cover and all; but if the 

 cover has been loosened, or if there are any 

 openings at the top of the hive, I remove the 

 cover and put the paper next to the bees. 

 The paper can be used more advantageously 

 in this way, for it comes down to the oottom 

 of the hive in better shape. Furthermore, it 

 is easier to fold the paper around a hive that 

 has no cover. The best arrangement of all 

 is a hive with a thin super-cover that comes 

 just flush with the outside all around I re- 

 move the outer cover and fold the paper di- 

 rectly over the inner cover, being careful to 

 put it on smooth, so that there are no wrin- 

 kles at the sides. I then fold over the ends 

 in such a manner that the water can not pos- 

 sibly run down between the folds I secure 

 the bottom of the paper with a piece of lath 

 as long as the side of the hive, and fasten it 

 with a nail in the center. These pieces of 

 lath should be tacked at the bottom of the 

 paper, one on each side. 



The lath have the advantage over the string 

 in that the lower edge of the paper is held 

 perfectly tight against the hive at all points, 

 so there is no chance for a circulation of air 

 between the paper and the hive. If nothing 

 is used but a string tied around the bottom 

 of the hive, there is likely to be a loose wrin- 

 kled edge where the wind and cold air can 

 get in. If the work has been done well, 

 there is no chance for the heat from the bees 

 to escape except through the entrance of the 

 hive. I believe this to be a very desirable 

 condition. 



We are wintering 325 colonies of bees in a 

 cellar in Charlevoix Co. Nearly all of the 

 covers are loosened so that there is some 

 ventilation at the top. 



The yard in which these colonies are 

 placed in the summer is well protected; and 

 when the hives are set on the summer stands 

 the propolis is cleaned from the upper edge 

 of the hive and from the under side of the 

 cover. A sheet of felt paper the size of the 

 outside of the hive is put on, held down by 

 the cover. A ten-pound stone is finally 

 placed on top; and it is my opinion that, 

 since the soft paper fills up any small open- 

 ing between the hive and the cover, there is 

 no more chance for draft than in a hive with 

 a sealed cover. However, in all our yards 

 where the wind is likely to be strong the 

 hives will be papered according to the plan 

 given before. 



REMOVING BEES FROM THE CELLAR. 



In removing colonies from the cellar, no 



