116 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



hive being manipulated, are curtained 

 quite darlf, otherwise the bees do not 

 leave the room well. Upward ventila- 

 tion is obtained by three shafts, 8 by 

 10, through the ceiling and roof, into 

 a cowl over each on the roof. Both 

 these and the openings below can be 

 closed in the winter. The draft is so 

 strong most of the time that it will draw 

 up a piece of paper, consequently no 

 trouble is experienced by reason of 

 smoke in the room. 



The outside walls are painted in five 

 different colors, of as great a contrast 

 as could be made, 6 feet of each color in 

 rotation. This brings a window of each 

 upper and lower into the center of each 

 color, also three entrances to each color, 

 and works admirably in helping the bees 

 to locate their hives. Each entrance 

 has an alighting-board of the same color 

 as the wall above. 



For wintering, a cleat 53^ feet long is 

 screwed to the edge of the platform and 

 shelf, with a wide board running length- 

 wise on the inside. This makes four 

 troughs 100 feet long, with 50 hives 

 standing in each. Planer shavings are 

 then packed around the hives, both sides 

 and ends, and over the top, and the bees 

 are ready for winter. 



[The foregoing article was written for 

 the American Agriculturist, of New 

 York, in which paper it appeared some 

 time ago. We are also indebted to the 

 same periodical for their kindness in 

 furnishing us the engravings which help 

 so much to get a clear idea of Mr. Lang- 

 don's famous house-apiary. — Editor.] 



How Mffe Winter Our Bees? 



Written Jor the A.merican Bee Journal 

 BY J. E. POND. 



I am led to ask the above question, by 

 the actual results of the last four years, 

 with two colonies of bees that came 

 within ray immediate observation. These 

 two colonies are hived in ordinary 1%- 

 story Langstroth hives, the lower stories 

 being used as brood-chambers, the half 

 stories being used for surplus, they hav- 

 ing had no protection whatever, save 

 what is given by putting them on the 

 south side of an out-building. 



During all those four years, these bees 

 have been in no wise opened or dis- 

 turbed ; they have sent out swarm after 

 swarm, that have gone where they 



pleased, and this very year, on June 

 3rd, one of them sent out a large 

 swarm, and then another on June 16th. 

 The other sent out a swarm in the lat- 

 ter part of May, and another on June 

 12th, and to-day both hives are filled 

 with bees. 



The hives are made of %-inch thick 

 lumber. The seasons have varied, of 

 course, but during each of these four 

 years, the temperature has been as low 

 as 12° to 15° Fahr. below zero. 



Now does the above statement prove 

 anything, or not? To my mind it proves 

 just this, viz.: That these two colonies 

 have wintered and thrived with abso- 

 lutely no protection. We have been 

 taught that we can foretell the future 

 by past experience. This, to a certain — 

 yes, to a very large — extent is true ; and 

 from the statement given above, I de- 

 duce a theory, and that is, that bees 

 need no particular protection to cause 

 them to winter safely ; and further, that 

 no rule for wintering has yet been given 

 that can be said to be absolutely safe. 



As I have stated many times in the 

 past, I have always wintered my bees on 

 the summer stands ; the loss has been 

 extremely small, and I have found it no 

 less in colonies supposed to be well pro- 

 tected, than in those that were allowed 

 " to go as they please." 



The above is not written argumenta- 

 tively, but is merely a matter of my own 

 experience. 



North Attleboro, Mass., June 23. 



Tlie Bee-Facls anl Fancies. 



Head at One of the Regular 3feetingH\ 

 BY " GOOD TEMPLAR," 



What's a bee ? A bee is not a mineral, 

 nor yet a vegetable. Then, of course, it 

 must be an animal. It is a very small 

 animal, being only about % of an inch 

 long, yet at times a boy or a girl will 

 think it nearly as big as an elephant. 

 A man weighing over 200 pounds once 

 said to me that he would rather meet a 

 bear any time than a bee that was com- 

 ing toward him wrong end ahead ! 



Then, a boe is an insect. An insect is 

 an animal divided into three distinct 

 parts, has six legs and four wings, says 

 Webster ; yet many will tell us that the 

 bee has two wings and four legs, and is 

 whole, instead of being divided. Wonder 

 which is right, Webster, or " I told you 

 so." 



Again, Webster says that bees breathe 

 air in tubes by spiracles. Others tell us 



