OCTOBER 15, 1913 



A lij;lit i'raniL-'iX'nrk covered with buildin.^" :i:;iil!' ;i 

 the wind in winter. Tlie paper is torn away in I'roiu tc 



a small opening in the front, an inch or 

 two below the main entrance. This gives 

 the bees plenty of ventilation and keeps out 

 the sunlight. The principal object of the 

 outer cover is to break any winds (even 

 chaff hives occasionally will leak wind), and 

 I find it saves the hive considerably against 

 snow and dampness. Of course, a man run- 

 ning two or three hundred hives would not 

 find this advantageous; but for the small 

 beekeeper the slight trouble that he would 

 have making the framework covering it 

 would more than compensate him for the 

 protection given the hives. 

 New York. 



POSITION OF THE CLUSTER OF BEES WINTER- 

 ED OUTDOORS 



BY GEORGE SHIBEf! 



In Dr. Miller's fifth Straw, p. 108, Feb. 

 lo, he says : " While empty combs would be 

 found below the cluster, the bees would 

 never allow honey below the cluster." And, 

 again, " But reasoning is not always safe." 

 Even so. In the footnote, tlie editor says. 



" We feel viM'v sure we 

 have had many casea 

 like this where the 

 combs of honey pro- 

 ject below the cluster." 

 Mr.Editor, j'ou have 

 got the decision. In 

 winter, are not bees 

 always right up to the 

 top of the frames? and 

 if a space is made 

 above the frames and 

 under the Cjuilt, don't 

 they always cover the 

 top of the frames? I 

 do not recall a case 

 where they did not. I 

 will tell you what I 

 observed last Febru- 

 ary. The 19th and 20th 

 of that month were 

 very warm, and the 

 bees flew as in sum- 

 mer, so I took the 

 chance and opened 

 many colonies. I found 

 hive after hive with 

 honey ifi the bottom 

 part of the combs — 

 not only one or two, 

 but a lot of them. In 

 ease of a great many 

 I did not take out a 

 frame if I could see 

 the combs on the out- 

 side of the cluster with 

 sealed honey and the ends of the middle 

 combs sealed. 



One colony I opened and took out eveiy 

 comb. It had one of my choice queens. It 

 was a magnificent stand of bees. Well, the 

 four center combs had empty cells in the 

 upper half, and sealed honey below. The 

 tAvo outside combs were still sealed solid — 

 had not been touched. Yes, honey Avas be- 

 low the cluster, for the bees were at the top 

 of the frames. I opened a number of others 

 that were in the same condition. 



Yes, Dr. Miller, while I have a pretty 

 warm feeling for you I shall have to take 

 the editor's side of the argument, for you 

 see I saw it, and it is still fresh in my mind. 

 I have wintered a good many colonies in 

 the cellar; and, so far as I have observed, 

 your statement will hold true in regard to 

 that mode of wintering — /. e., that honey 

 will never be found below the cluster, but 

 it will be found below the cluster when bees 

 are wintered out of doors. Or let me say it 

 this way — I saw a number of such cases last 

 Februarv. 



Randolph. X. Y. 



i I • _ : iti against 

 show tlie hive inside. 



