896 



AMERICAN BEE JOURMAi_. 



Transferring— Wintering Bees. 



I have 13 colonies, having increased 

 from 7, that I got through the last v?in- 

 ter with. I have 5 dovetailed hives with 

 8 Hoffman frames, that I got this sum- 

 mer. I have 7 box-hives with 8 frames 

 of my own make, of course being irregu- 

 lar and void of science or system. I 

 took off 25 pounds of honey from each 

 of the box-hives in July. I have M acre 

 of buckwheat, and M acre of horse-mint 

 growing along a spring branch, besides 

 quite a good deal of golden-rod, catnip, 

 etc., all in full bloom now. My bees are 

 working almost as strong as they did in 

 May and June. 



1. Is this a suitable time to transfer 

 to the dovetailed hives ? or should I 

 wait until spring ? 



2. In preparing my bees for winter, I 

 propose to make an outside case of ordi- 

 nary 1-inch plank or boards, large 

 enough to admit of 2 or 3 plies of tarred 

 paper roofing, as a lining. I will put 

 them on by having a small screw at each 

 corner of each board — set them up each 

 in its place, confine them by passing 

 small annealed wire from one screw to 

 the opposite one, around the corner ; 

 and so at each corner, drawing the wire 

 sufficiently tight to bring the case to the 

 hive. This may be made sufBciently 

 warm, and proof against vermin or in- 

 sects, and is quickly taken off or put on 

 without disturbing the bees. What do 

 you sav to this? Will it do? If not, 

 why not ? W. H. H. 



Parkersburg, Ind. 



Answeks. — 1. It's desirable to put as 

 little extra labor as possible on the bees 

 after this time of year, so you'd better 

 postpone transferring till spring. You 

 see they probably have everything in 

 about the shape they want it for winter, 

 and If you go to tinkering with them 

 they may not get it in as good shape be- 

 fore winter catches them. You would 

 not gain much anyway by transferring 

 this fall, unless the comfort of feeling 

 that yo.u had them in hives that will suit 

 better, but it is doubtful if it will suit 

 them as well— that is, if you change 

 them now. 



2. "Very likely it will work all right. 

 If it keeps them dry and warm, with 

 full chance to fly when the weather is 

 favorable, it ought to work. And yet 

 what succeeds in one winter doesn't al- 

 ways do so well another. You can only 

 tell by trying it several winters in com- 

 parison with other methods. Some 

 think that in a mild winter, when bees 

 have frequent chances for flight, it's bet- 



ter not to have much in the way of let- 

 ting the heat of the sun get to the bees, 

 and you must remember that any kind 

 of packing that helps to keep the heat 

 of the bees in will also help to keep the 

 heat of the sun out. But in a severe 

 winter, when the heat of the sun doesn't 

 count for much on a hive, then thick 

 protection counts. 



CONDUCTED BY 



MRS. JENNIE ATCHLEY, 



Beeville, Texas. 



Sending Queens Long Distances. 



Mrs. Atchley : — In conversation with 

 bee-keepers at our late convention, the 

 following ideas respecting importing 

 queens cropped up : 



As the bees die, they choke up the 

 feeding places, so there should be at 

 least three or four of such accessible 

 from the one center. 



Another : Send only a very few bees 

 with the queens. They are less liable 

 to panic and fretting. 



It is presumption for me to think to 

 tell you what you don't know, but as 

 these ideas were spoken of by men like 

 Mr. H. L. Jones, of Goodna, Queensland, 

 and Mr. Mansfield, I thought perhaps it 

 may be some guide to you. 



Our late convention will, I feel satis- 

 fied, lead to good results. I trust things 

 are prospering with you in your South- 

 ern home. E. Tipper, 



Editor Australian Bee Bulletin. 



West Maitland, Australia, July 24. 



Friend Tipper, I am very much 

 obliged to you for the information you 

 give regarding queen-cages. It is by 

 the exchange of ideas that we gain 

 knowledge, and I am glad to know that 

 you have some bee-keepers who are ex- 

 perimenting on shipping queens long 

 distances. I will be very glad indeed 

 when we arrive at plans or ways of put- 

 ting up queens so that they will go 

 safely, as it pains me to learn of the 



