1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



245 



ey-board, in order that the young queen may en- 

 ter the chamber and destroy the queen-cells which 

 may have been started. Replace the honey-board 

 later,, and confine the queen to the lower cham- 

 ber as usual; then, as trte brood hatches from the 

 super, honey will take its place. It may be well 

 for me to say that this plan may be used to secure 

 gradual increase without manipulation. I need 

 not point out the saving in labor over some of the 

 plans of increase advocated. It is slow, to be 

 sure, but quite satisfactory in results. 

 Swarthmore, Pa. 



SEALED COVERS PREFERRED. 



Faulty Packing the Cause of Ice Under 

 Mr. Coggshall's Sealed Covers. 



BY G. C. GREINER. 



Mr. Coggshall's description of the quantities 

 of ice he found in his hives was at first a great 

 surprise to me; but since 1 have looked the mat- 

 ter over a little closer it all seems very plain. 

 I do not wish to dispute Mr. C.'s statement in 

 any way. I simply wish to give my experience 

 in that line, and tell what I have seen and what I 

 have not seen 



For about ten years I have wintered my bees 

 on their summer stands. They are packed in 

 what might be called tenement winter cases, or 

 sheds, holding five colonies each, with three 

 inches of chaff on the sides, and six inches above 

 their sealed covers. The cases are all made of 

 matched lumber, and in workmanlike style. Al- 

 though made in sections and hooked together 

 they are practically air-tight. The roof slants 

 back at one-quarter pitch, and is covered with 

 roofing-paper well painted with tar paint, making 

 it positively water-proof. 



Hives protected in 'his way are, in my opinion, 

 not only water-proof from without but they are 

 also frost and ice proof within — at least I have 

 never seen the first sign of either. To be sure, 

 I very seldom disturb the sealed covers of any of 

 my bees for the purpose of investigating the ice 

 question; but during the winter I frequently raise 

 the roof, which can be done without the least 

 jarring, and run my hand through the chaff un- 

 til I reach the covers; and these I find invariably, 

 in spite of all the zero or below zero weather we 

 have in this locality, quite warm This could 

 not be so if any ice had formed on the under side 

 of them. 



In my mind the solution of Mr. C's ice trou- 

 ble is simply this: His hives were not properly 

 protected against the rigor of our winters. I have 

 DO fear of moisture undersealed covers with prop- 

 er protection above them. Any excess of mois- 

 ture inside of a hive that is sufficiently protected 

 to prevent the formation of frost or ice, will grad- 

 ually decrease by entrance ventilation It will, 

 to a certain degree, equalize itself with the dryer 

 outside atmosphere, the same as temperature. If 

 it is warmer outside, the inside temperature will 

 rise; and if colder, the inside will get colder also. 

 This change may be very gradual, but it will 

 certainly take place, and this is one reason, if not 

 the only reason, why these long-continued winters 

 with low temperature prove generally so disastrous 

 to our bees. There is no let-up to this equaliz- 



ing process until our poor bees are frozen out, 

 starved out, or drowned out. No mattter what 

 we call it, all three go hand in hand. 



Mr. Coggshall cites back nearly thirty yeats 

 He tells how his bees with sealed covers died 

 while those with absorbents next to them lived. 

 Not knowing the exact circumstances we can not 

 give a reliable explanation, but we can form some 

 idea. There might have been other factors, not 

 noticed by Mr. C., that caused that difference. 

 We must remember that bee-keeping was at that 

 time in its infancy. We had not had quite as 

 much experience then as we have now, and, con- 

 sequently, could not give our bees the up-to-date 

 care we do now. 



Could it not be possible that, if Mr. C. at that 

 time had given his bees from four to six inches 

 of chaff or dry sawdust above their sealed covers, 

 to prevent the formation of frost and ice, his bees 

 might have li.ed the same as those he did protect 

 in the way he stated.? 



I do not claim that blankets with absorbents 

 next to the bees are not good for wintering them 

 On the contrary, under certain conditions it may 

 be preferable. 1 have a number of single perma- 

 nent chaff hives, and some of a different outside 

 pattern. All of these I winter with absorbents 

 next to the bees, and they generally winter all 

 right But take it one year with another, I think 

 my sealed-cover colonies do fully as well; and, 

 besides, it saves me a little time and labor in 

 packing, handling blankets, mats, etc., when 

 preparing my bees for win'er. 



The fact that moisture rises to the top, and is 

 absorbed by the packing which Mr. C. claims 

 as an advantage, I consider a bad feature Wet 

 packing will form into cakes of ice during severe- 

 ly cold weather, and bees are more liable to suf- 

 fer from ice above them than they are under well- 

 protected sealed covers. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



[Mr. Greiner echoes our experience exactly. — 

 Ed ] 



A GOOD PROSPECT FOR A FOUL- 

 BROOD LAW IN IOWA. 



Next National Convention at Sioux City, 

 Iowa. 



!V EDWARD G. BROWM. 



On p. 115, Feb. 15, I notice an item by T. L. 

 Shawler in regard to a foul-br>^od law for Iowa. 

 There has been need of such a law in this Sta'e 

 for some time; and last January, at the annual 

 convention of the Western Honey producers' 

 Association, there were two bills drafted — one 

 for South Dakota, which I understand has been 

 passed, and one for Iowa, which is at present be- 

 fore the Iowa legislature. 



N. E. France was with us at Sioux City, and 

 had an active part in the drafting of these laws, 

 so we feel that they ought to be in good form, 

 and ought to cover the ground in good shape. 



The Iowa bill is at present under the care of the 

 Hon. Mr. Stoddard (a bee-keeper). State Repre- 

 sentative from Mills Co. ; and the thing most need- 

 ed now is the active support of the bee-keepers of 

 Iowa. We would gladly welcome any support 

 that Gleanings might be able to give us. 



