558 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



packing the loss was heavy. Bees had to 

 be kept warm and dry above by the use 

 of proper packing and a tight board or 

 well-prop olized quilt. 



Out of the relies of my Michigan ex- 

 perience I revived the Bartlett packing- 

 case and made some improvement in it. 

 The colonies wintered perfectly. Few 

 stores were consumed and the bees were 

 quiet and bi-ight, instead of being filled 

 by eating heavily. Moreover, the honey 

 was clean and dry. The bees can not clog 

 the entrances, and they will not be tempted 

 to fly on cool bright days, nor will they 

 need a flight. Neither mice, cows, nor hogs 

 can do any damage. These eases will cost 

 about $4.00 or $5.00 each, or from $1.00 

 to $1.25 per hive; but the saving in stores 

 and bee life pays for them in a season 

 or two. Besides, they made an excellent 

 place to store packing material in the 

 summer. 



Strong colonies of young bees having 

 good store room above the frames to pass 

 freely will winter if there is heavy pack- 

 ing above; but it costs honey to do it, 

 as well as bee life in such a severe winter 

 as the past. Therefore I have resolved to 

 pack all colonies generously hereafter, not 

 only above but around the sides, and to 

 use a sealed board or a propolized quilt 

 \vith space above the frames. The en- 

 trance will be %, and liberal in width; 

 and most of the colonies will be in two 

 stories; and I intend to winter the greater 

 share of my colonies in packing-cases such 

 as I will now describe. 



The illustration shows a perspective view 

 of the winter case with a side and end 

 cut away to reveal the floor plan. A 

 framework of 2x4's crosswise, and lx4's 

 endwise on edge forms a four-inch space 

 for dead bees. It will be apparent that 

 the regular bottom-boards are omitted, as 

 the hives rest directly on the framework. 

 The four hives are packed closely except 

 for one inch allowed between ends on the 

 middle 2x4, which makes packing somewhat 

 easier. 



The entrance consti-uction is quite clear. 

 The bees, in leaving the case, must pass 

 through the entrance on the 2x4; thence 

 upward to the entrance in the end of the 

 case. From limited experience I am in- 

 clined to believe this a good feature, both 

 in breaking winds and shading from bright 

 sunlight. The end cleats are on opposite 

 sides — one for the cover to slide on, and 

 one for the liive to rest against and hold 

 the packing away from the entrance. 



The side packing comes clear to the floor, 

 and may be any thickness desired. Ours 



allow three inches on sides, one inch on 

 ends above the cleat, and ten or twelve 

 inches above. The case is made of yg-i^ch 

 hemlock, shiplap, with the roof covered 

 with prepared roofing. The covers have 

 a narrow cleat on edge which telescopes 

 over the case, making it absolutely mouse- 

 proof. 



The bottom is placed in position, then 

 the hives are set on it ; and, lastly, the rest 

 of the case is set up and the packing put 

 in. This is not a small item in favor 

 of this construction over the cases into 

 which the hives have to be lifted. 



Hebron, Ind. 



[This winter case is very similar to the 

 one used by R. F. Holtermann with such 

 satisfaction last winter and the winter be- 

 fore. See Gleanings for Nov. 15 of last 

 year. Other Canadians, including our 

 special correspondent, J. L. Byer are us- 

 ing it, and more, we understand, propose 

 to adopt it. See articles by Mr. Greiner 

 and Mr. France on page 550 and page 

 554 of this issue. 



We note that Mr. Greiner and Mr. 

 Cavanagh seem to prefer sealed covers. 

 Others prefer upward ventilation. Who 

 is right? See editorial. — Ed.] 



HOW TO TAKE THE TEMPERATURE OF A 

 HIVE 



The Varying Rates Between the Outside and Inside 

 Temperature of a Hive 



BY BEN B. EDGERTON 



I tried the temperatures of hives some- 

 what last year and the year before, and 

 I found that one must be careful about 

 the conditions, especially the lag in the 

 temperature. By "lag" is meant the delay 

 that a heavily covered body has in reach- 

 ing outside temperature. Six inches of 

 dirt and a foot of clover chaff ordinarily 

 cause enough lag in temperature to save 

 our potatoes from freezing. On this ac- 

 count it is hardly correct to take the tem- 

 perature of a heavily covered hive after 

 only about twenty-four hours of zero 

 weather following a warm spell. 



My bees are protected by a deep cushion 

 over the sealed covers, most of the colonies 

 being in four-colony boxes. I think it is a 

 little more accurate to slip the thermom- 

 eter under the cushion than to put the in- 

 strument actually inside the top of the 

 hive. If the slight disturbance raises the 

 temperature inside, the heat hardly has 

 time to penetrate the %-inch super cover 

 before the thermometer registers. If the 



