56 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Double-walled hives containing live bees buried in snow. 



windbreaks 1 bought a lot of binder can- 

 vas, nailing it on posts, taking two strips 

 Mgh, thus affording a height of six or seven 

 feet, and placed the hives to the east of the 

 windbreak. This, with a shield of large 

 apple-trees, seemed a good protection ex- 

 cept in case of a few end colonies wliich 

 were a little weak the following spring. 

 The next season a strip to the south side 

 was added, forming an L, and the bees 

 wintered well, for there was scarcely an air 

 current back of this tight windbreak. Only 

 an eastern or southeasterly wind could 

 reach the entrance of the hives (all hives 

 faced in a southerly direction), and I felt 

 that I had some assurance of successful 

 wintering so far as windbreaks were con- 

 cerned. 



The next fall windbreaks were again put 

 in proper position as last stated, every 

 thing progi-essing favorably, there being 

 plenty of snow, and the bees were in fine 

 order. About the same time I built a ten- 

 foot tight board fence on the north side of 

 an outyard — there being buildings to the 

 east, and woods and elderberry bushes to 

 the west of the apiai-y. 



The bees did not have a flight for some 

 time; and during the latter part of Febru- 

 ary there was about a foot of snow. The 

 temperature suddenly rose to about 50 de- 

 gress by this time, with a bright sunshine 

 mingled with a light breeze which was melt- 

 ing the snow very rapidly. That evening 

 a neighbor who had passed the yard a short 

 time before informed me of what had hap- 

 pened. The next morning I went to inves- 

 tigate; and, to my astonishment, I found 

 thousands upon thousands of bees scattered 

 all over the snow outside of the windbreak 



for a radius of 300 or 

 400 feet in a westerly 

 and southwesterly di- 

 rection, and one could 

 scarcely step without 

 treading on bees. The 

 ground was still cov- 

 ered with plenty of 

 snow, even around the 

 hives, where great 

 numbers had also fall- 

 en in tlie melting snow 

 and were lost. There 

 were over a hundred 

 colonies in this yard ; 

 and when spring came, 

 several colonies were 

 dead. The rest were 

 very weak. There were, 

 perhaps, ten colonies 

 all told that built up 

 strong enough to store 

 sur^jlus at the beginning of the honey-liow. 

 After having viewed the situation I pro- 

 ceeded to visit the outyard which was pro- 

 tected by a tight board fence on the north 

 side only, and arrived there about noon. 

 The snow had a very thick crust, caused by 

 a heavy freeze directly after the thaw. 

 What a relief to find only a few bees im- 

 bedded in this crust of snow ! I began to 

 study the situation, for the bees had not 

 come out for a flight at the outyard except 

 from several scattering colonies from which 

 a few had emerged. This is how 1 summed 

 up the situation : At the yard Avhere the 

 windbreak was on the west and north, the 

 sun heated up the hives and immediate 

 surroundings, as the air currents were al- 

 most entirely shut off by the windbreaks 

 at the stated time, and it became warm 

 enough for bees to fly out in great num- 

 bers. But when they came in contact with 

 air cui'rents they became chilled, and drop- 

 ped on the snow outside of the windbreak, 

 never to return. At the other yard, the 

 air or breeze came in among the hives and 

 did not warm up enough for the bees to 

 venture out. 



Since that I have not put up canvas, but 

 just pile up hive stands or boxes about five 

 feet high where light air currents pass 

 through, and have not had any loss by bees 

 flying out. They seem to winter as well as 

 those at the outyard where the ten-foot 

 fence is still retained and where the hives 

 are placed in five or six rows, about twenty 

 in a row facing south. 



Last vnnter the mortality was mostly in 

 liives in the center rows, being about 35 

 feet south of the high board fence. What 

 explanation can be given? Possibly the 



