1316 



GLKANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



W. Alexander who 

 said he conducted 

 some experiments 

 along the line of 

 natural shade for a 

 number of years, and 

 generally found that 

 a hive continuously 

 shaded did not do as 

 well as one that had 

 less shade. Others 

 have reported some- 

 thing similar. Still, 

 to settle the question 

 beyond peradven- 

 ture, we wish that all 

 who are in position 

 to know would state 

 their observations. 



The illustration 

 showing three grad- 

 ings of comb honey 

 is certainly very in- 

 teresting. We should 

 say, according to the 

 Eastern grading- 

 rules, published at 

 the head of our 

 Honey Column, 

 that the top case 

 would really rul e 

 extra fancy, while 

 the middle one would 

 run fancy, and the 



lower one No. 1 and 2. The tendency, however, 

 is rather to boost the gradings, putting them in 

 a little higher than they rightfully deserve. A 

 comb is regarded " fancy " nowadays when all 

 the cells are sealed and white, except the rows 

 next to the wood. If all or nearly all the cells 

 are sealed, then the grades would necessarily be 

 " extra fancy ; " but it is very difficult to get 

 sealing clear out to the wood; and it is a ques- 

 tion whether the extra price secured would war- 

 rant the extra cost in proportion. Such forcing 

 to get all the cells sealed is likely to induce 

 swarming. It has been claimed that more money 

 can be secured by producing a strictly No. 1 

 comb honey than by attempting to run for an 

 extra-fancy — that is, combs white and all sealed. 

 We should be pleased to have some discussion 

 on this point. — Ed.] 



-Ik. 



if 



wimt p.<""vi 



i^i£i*i*mSS»ti^ 



FIG. 2. — PROPERLY GRADED HONEY. 

 Honey that is carefully and honestly graded may be sold by the 



A CONCRETE BEE-CELLAR. 

 Good Management Means Good Yields. 



BY J. W. DAVIDSON. 



My bee-cellar is built in a northwest slope. 

 The main room is 7 feet deep, 15 feet long, and 

 10 feet wide. I have a vestibule with double 

 doors at entrance. This cellar is constructed of 

 concrete made of the best Portland cement mixed 

 in the proportion of one part of cement to six 

 parts of sand. The walls are 5 inches thick, and 

 they contain a considerable amount of broken 

 stone. I use a ground floor. For the roof I have 

 two thicknesses of inch oak boards covered four 

 feet deep with clay well tamped to make it abso- 

 lutely weather-proof. That is, it is covered deep 



enough to keep weather changes from affecting 

 the temperature. I have also a ventilator 12X12 

 inches in the center of this cellar, with a shutoff 

 at the bottom, which I keep closed within half 

 an inch during the time I keep the bees in the 

 cellar. Last winter the temperature in the center 

 of this cellar stood 45 degrees all winter. I keep 

 a thermometer hanging in the center of this cel- 

 lar so I can see at a glance what the temperature 

 is. 



Before putting colonies in the cellar I first get 

 them to rear brood as late in the fall as I can so 

 as to have as many young bees as possible to go 

 into winter, then I see that each colony has suffi- 

 cient stores to carry them through. C3n the first 

 day during the last week in November, when it 

 is too cold for bees to fly, I put them in. I pile 

 the hives one above the other with a six-inch 

 stand under them on the ground, nothing between 

 hives excepting lids, bottoms left on with full- 

 width entrance H deep. I examined the bees 

 every two weeks last winter, and found them per- 

 fectly quiet on each visit. I set them on their 

 summer stands April 7, without loss. I locate 

 the hives with the entrance toward the wall, but 

 far enough away so I can pass in front to clean 

 out the dead bees occasionally. 



I keep all of my bees in modern self-spacing 

 movable-frame hives, all swarms hived on frames 

 containing full sheets of wired brood foundation. 

 Each super is provided with full sheets of founda- 

 tion, enabling the bees to build comb quickly, thus 

 giving them more time to store surplus. The 

 swarm shown was cast from a colony that pro- 

 duced 180 pounds of comb honey this season. 



Before I proceed further I shall have to tell you 

 about my experience at the fairs. I procured one 



