72 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



that Gleanings was first issued as a quar- 

 terly of only eight pages, 6 x 9y2. It was 

 immediately changed to a monthly of fif- 

 teen pages, the last column of which was re- 

 served for advertisements, there being sev- 

 en in all. 



Among the names of beekeepers seen^in 

 this first volume of Gleanings we find the 

 following who are known to the beekeepers 

 of to-day : C. C. Miller, G. M. Doolittle, E. 

 Kretchmer, C. P. Dadant. 



Is it not a significant fact that all four 

 of these writers have made contributions 

 for this special Old Timers' number after a 

 lapse of forty years ? We are proud of the 

 fact that A. I. Root, the founder, while no 

 longer the managing editor, is still, never- 

 theless, editor-in-chief. 



WINTERING DOUBLE-WALLED HIVES IN THE 

 CELLAR. 



Most of our bees we winter out of doors. 

 This was the case unfortunately last win- 

 ter; but there was one yard of Caruiolans, 

 the individual colonies of which were not 

 very strong, as they had been made up of 

 nuclei comparatively late in the season. 

 We had more fears of this yard than of 

 any other that we had. When the severely 

 cold weather came on, we feared that they 

 would not winter, and so we brought them 

 home and put them in the cellar — double- 

 walled hives and all. When we set them 

 out in the spring they were the best and 

 strongest apiary we had; and if we had 

 put our other bees into the cellar we should 

 not have been obliged to buy heavily in the 

 spring; for while our losses outdoors rare- 

 ly exceed 5 per cent, last winter they went 

 up to over ten times that. Hereafter, when 

 a severely cold winter comes on, we shall 

 put our bees all in the cellar, and set them 

 out early the following spring, or as soon 

 as severely cold weather lets up. 



MOVING BEE- YARDS IN THE HEIGHT OF WIN- 

 TER WHEN SNOW IS ON THE GROUND ; SNOW 

 MORE EFFECTIVE THAN SMOKE FOR QUIET- 

 ING BEES IN COLD WEATHER. 



As mentioned in our last issue, we have 

 been moving some of our apiaries, located 

 in exjaosed regions where the windsweep 

 was too strong for best results in wintering, 

 to our mammoth bee-cellar made of con- 

 crete and brick. It has formerly been consid- 

 ered that it was not wise to move bees in 

 midwinter, as the disturbance would cause 

 them to become active, consume their stores, 

 and clog their intestines, with the result 

 that dysentery would set in before spring. 

 Our experience last winter and this leads 



us to believe that this is not so. If the 

 weather is cold enough, the bees will not be 

 greatly disturbed. We prefer a tempera- 

 ture anywhere fi'om 10 to 25 degi-ees above 

 zero. There should be at least fair sleigh- 

 ing in order to get the best results. When 

 possible the time for moving should be se- 

 lected right after a light dry snowfall, 

 for reasons that wiU be presently explained. 



If the roads are uneven, and show bare 

 spots, a common old-fashioned sled with 

 long runners is better than a pair of bobs. 

 Whichever is used should have a large plat- 

 form such as a hayrack, on which the hives 

 may be loaded. The sled is to be pushed 

 clear out into the middle of the apiai-y, and 

 the team detached and blanketed. The hives 

 are then loaded one by one. As many as 

 sixty or seventy colonies can be carried on 

 a sled. As it is low it is easy to load the bees. 

 The entrances should be so arranged that 

 the apiarist who accompanies the driver can 

 easily get at them. The bottom-boards 

 should be most securely fastened if they 

 are of the loose type. Sometimes the sled 

 will sUp sidewise, causing a sliding jolt that 

 may dislodge one or more hives from the 

 bottom unless they are well fastened. If 

 they are piled up two tiers high they should 

 be securely roped to the platform and hay- 

 rack. 



A little way back we stated that the time 

 set for moving should be right after a light 

 snow. The purpose of this is to provide 

 an easy and effective means for closing the 

 entrances of the hives. A wet or soggy 

 snow is too much of a good thing. If it is 

 frozen hard, and breaks up into lumps, it 

 does not make a good entrance-closer; but 

 if it is light and fluffy, it can be picked by 

 handfuls and thrown over the entrances of 

 the hives just before loading. When all 

 are on, the entrances should be examined 

 again, and more snow used if any bees 

 seem to be getting out. A pail or two of 

 light snow should then be put on the sled, 

 to be used in case of emergencies. In cold 

 weather it is far more effective than smoke, 

 and makes an excellent entrance-closer. 

 The bees within can not cluster over the 

 entrance — indeed, they fight shy of it, re- 

 treating back into the combs. If any colo- 

 ny should become very much excited by 

 reason of a closed entrance, the heat will 

 melt the snow automaticallj' and thus give 

 ventilation. But in the dead of winter there 

 will be Uttle or no trouble of this kind. 



On an-ival at the bee-cellar the sled is 

 driven as near as possible to the cellarway. 

 The bees are then taken up, hive by hive, 

 and placed in their permanent location in 

 the ceUar. There is no need of removing 



