DECEMBER 15, 1912 



799 



mal. It is as early as red clover, and lasts 

 all summer if not grazed too close. Mead- 

 ows are mowed before it gets hard, and it 

 makes good hay. It is especially good on 

 land where it is liable to wash. It may be 

 gotten rid of by simply plowing or by be- 

 ing used for grazing purposes. 



As a nectar-producing plant its eqaal is 

 not in this country — not so much on ac- 

 count of the nectar it produces, but coming 

 into bloom so late in the season it causes 

 the bees to breed up, and also supplies win- 

 ter stores. I sometimes get as much as 50 

 lbs. of surj^lus honey from a single colony 

 from this source. A nucleus will also make 

 enough to winter on. It would make you 

 smile to see the golden sheets of honey in 

 my apiary. The honey seems to be good 

 for wintering bees. The honey is of a yel- 

 low color, having a good body with a very 

 pleasant flavor. When bees are storing this 

 honey one can detect the odor several rods 

 awaj'. 



Tliis plant has not been in this country 

 moi"e than fifteen or twenty years. I can 

 remember well when it came here; but to- 

 day it has a firm hold, and seems to have 

 come to stay. 



In the spring of 1911 I had nine colonies 

 of bees — two blacks and seven Italians. 

 The season was good, my bees soon became 

 strong, and I had six swarms. I formed 

 four nuclei. All told, I had fifteen full 

 colonies and four strong nuclei on the first 

 of September. The full colonies had two 

 supers on each one. About Christmas I 

 took one super of honey from each, and 

 left one full super and a full brood-chamber 

 to the bees. Last winter these bees all 

 came through well and were strong in the 

 spring. 



On the first day of May, this year, I had 

 my first swarm from fruit-bloom and locust 

 flower. Now, at this point all of these su- 

 pers had become full of brood, bees, and 

 honey, so I gave each hive another super 

 by lifting the one they had on, and placing 

 the empty one beneath. In a short time 

 these supers wera full of honey and brood, 

 while in the mean time they kept swarming 

 until I had saved 37 swarms, and several 

 good swarms had gone to the woods. I then 

 made some increase by the nucleus plan, 

 which made in all 65 full colonies by the 

 middle of July. 



The flow of nectar then began to slacken 

 somewhat. Each hive was full of bees, 

 brood, and honey. All of these young colo- 

 nies were in single-story Danzenbaker hives. 

 They were all rousing colonies; but at this 

 point each bee became a boarder, and by 

 the middle of August 27 colonies had rsed 



U13 their stores, and were without food. 

 Still these queens kej^t on laying. I fed 

 these bees until the goldenrod began to 

 yield nectar. To-day all of these colonies 

 have about three frames of honey and about 

 one frame of bees. I should be glad if 

 some one would give a plan for managing 

 such swarms in this locality. 



I have had Italian bees for three years. 

 I find that they are more prolific than the 

 blacks. My old hives that had supers of 

 honey left on them are strong in bees. 



SOME FACTS ON WINTERING BEES. 



I find by experience that several things 

 may figure in successful wintering. To start 

 with, I don't believe that bees ever freeze 

 to death when given proper surroundings. 

 Bees, while clustered, can withstand any 

 amount of cold, other conditions being fa- 

 vorable. I will name some of those condi- 

 tions : 



1. They should be kept dry. 



2. They should have an abundance of air. 



3. They should have plenty of good 

 stores. 



The quantity of bees does not matter so 

 much, but there should be young bees with 

 a young vigorous queen. If a colony is to 

 be kept dry, the hive should be well covered 

 by outside protection from rain, snow, and 

 the like. This can be done in several dif- 

 ferent ways. A good cheap way for me is 

 to take clajDhoards about 2^/2 feet long; 

 nail them to lath at each end; use enough 

 to make a cover about 2^/^ x 2^2 ft. square, 

 and lay a brick or stone on top of the hive 

 to give slant to the cover. This will make 

 a good outside cover. Water should never 

 be allowed to fall on the hive, as capillary 

 absorption will take place during snow- 

 melting or rain, and wet the cluster of bees 

 and the packing. This dryness is one of 

 the main essentials. 



The amount of air a colony of bees 

 should have is no longer a question with 

 me. In the summer time bees use their 

 wings for this purpose; but bees in their 

 winter nap breathe slowly, like hibernating 

 animals, and need to have plenty of air. 

 Bees should have a larger entrance in win- 

 ter than in summer. This question ought 

 to have been settled long ago for there has 

 been enough said along this line. I prefer 

 an entrance one inch by 12. This will do, 

 but should be larger. 



I want to refer to Gleanings for Sept. 

 1, p. 561. The way Mr. Albin Platz packed 

 his bees seems to be aU right to me except 

 that, as he used sealed covers, he should 

 have given his bees a larger entrance. He 

 came very near killing them by suffocation. 

 If air is essential io bees thev need all that 



