1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



339 



If there is one thinR needed in this country more than 

 another it is a greater degree of brotherhood. Each one of 

 us ought to try to elevate our fellowmen, to raise him to a 

 higher standard. We ought to try to better his condition. 

 Let us discard that over-production theory, and fill the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal with the sweetness of honey from the honey- 

 comb. Keeville, Minn. 



Perfection in Wintering Bees. 



BY C. E. MEAD. 



I have written on this subject several times before. 



One man im Minnesota took a colony of bees out of a 

 black-oak root three feet below the ground. A wash-out had 

 exposed and killed that portion in the gully which had rotted 

 off, and the bees had entered the root in the gully, and were 

 a month in advance of bees in hives, their condition always 

 above freezing, and they could fly when the weather would 

 admit. 



Another man found a colony in a woodchuck or skunk hole. 

 The condition is equally good. 



Now, these two colonies had all the advantages of cellar 

 wintering and wintering on the summer stands above freezing, 

 and a flight when the weather permitted. 



I induced a friend, Mr. Crego, of Cook county, Illinois, to 

 make a 3-foot bottom-board with strips extending from the 

 front to the rear. The bees have an exit under the cellar- 

 window, and the hive (which was a 4-frame nucleus) is in the 

 cellar. The strips between the hive and the window are cov- 

 ered with a board 14 inches long, so there is a short tunnel 

 for them to travel to the exit. A drawer under the hive showed 

 when they began to breed, also the amount of dead bees. Mr. 

 Crego says that they began to breed in February, as he found 

 brood-cell cappings at that time. Not a teacupful of dead 

 bees were found during the whole winter. On April 15 there 

 were more bees and honey than in the fall; on May 15, bees 

 and honey in 18 Langstroth frames, and so much honey that 

 it ought to have been extracted. 



Now, paste this in your hat : Winter your Zjecs in the 

 cellar or under ground, well packed, with an out-door exit. 



My packed colonies did not use 5 pounds of honey till 

 brood-rearing began, but they have consumed much since then. 



HOW DO YOU PREVENT SWABMING ? 



Rear, or buy, young queens, as many as you wish to in- 

 crease. With two-story 8 and 10 frame hives, and 4 or 5 cases 

 of sections on top, hives open all around at the bottom, and 

 ?^-inch thick blocks under each corner, and well shaded, they 

 do not often wish to swarm. But if I think they do, I remove 

 the old hive and place an empty hive with frames full of foun- 

 dation. Into this one-story brood-hive I run all but about two 

 quarts of bees from the two-story old hive, including the old 

 queen. Cut out all queen-cells, and if you have a nucleus 

 with your young queen, in 24 hours take out frames of honey 

 and put her and her bees in, after first breaking the cappings 

 on two or three frames, so the bees will be compelled to fill 

 themselves. Smoke them a little, and place all the section- 

 cases on the new hive. Your swarming is done for the season. 

 Your young queen will fill every empty cell, and an immense 

 amount of young bees will soon fill the hive, and as they have 

 no place to store honey, they will fill two or^ three^^cases of 

 sections in a sweet-clover range. 



If you wish to increase fast, divide your two-story colony 

 and introduce a young queen to each, giving cases of sections 

 to each. This practice succeeds because of the known fact — 

 o young queen seldom swarms the first year. You gain just 20 

 days in brood and bees. Ten days is the average time of a 

 queen emerging; ten more before she lays. Now your young 

 laying queen in the other case is laying eggs at the rate of 



2,000 per day— a difference of 38,000 bees in favor of 

 division and a laying queen. 



Now, if you are running single-story 8 or 10 frame hives, 

 and wish to increase double, take the same plan. If but one- 

 half, put two brood-bodies on top of each other, and put in a 

 young queen. If but one-third increase is wanted, place the 

 three brood-bodies on top of each other. If one-fourth in- 

 crease, tier up the four brood-bodies. 



I clip all of my queens' wings, on one side only, about one- 

 half of the two wings. 



GETTING BEES INTO THE SECTIONS EARLY. 



To get your bees into the section-cases early, I find noth- 

 ing like wide frames holding 8 sections 4j<x43^. I takeout 

 three brood-frames of honey, and place the wide frames one 

 on each outside next to the hive sides. Then place a frame 

 next to them of capped brood and capped honey. As soon as 

 the sections are nicely started, I put them in a case above, 

 and replace the 16 sections with fresh ones. I get two cases 

 started thus on each hive, and then I give them back three 

 frames of heavy worker-foundation in the center of the hive, 

 in place of the wide frames taken out. All the sections will 

 be filled that you can get the bees started on by basswood 

 bloom, and often more, if you have a sweet clover range. 



Chicago, 111. 



The Hive Discussion and Other Matters. 



BY W. P. FAYLOR. 



A subject of SO much importance as the hive, or home of 

 the honey-bee, cannot be too thoroughly investigated. If the 

 flowers from which bees gather the most delicious sweets — 

 Nature's secretion — and a hundred and one other items per- 

 taining to bee-keeping are worthy of recognition, even so is 

 the house in which bees must dwell. Much of the time of 

 summer days, and all the days of winter — yes, and every night 

 of the entire year — the hive is the abiding place of man's 

 favorite insect pet — the honey-bee. We build suitable apart- 

 ments for other stock — horses, cows and pigs. How for the 

 bee ? Shall the hive be constructed altogether for the keep- 

 er's special benefit, and the bees have no share or part in the 

 adaptability of its constructed house ? If bees reason, I won- 

 der what they think sometimes of their surroundings. 

 Wouldn't be surprised to occasionally find a swarm seeking a 

 new location ; but oh, me ! when they exchange a nice house 

 for a split and twisted old rotten tree, then where the judg- 

 ment comes in I'd like to know. But, say, if the bees knew 

 what I know, they would know that their masters do some 

 very foolish things, too, at times. 



Early after the honey harvest, a commission merchant of 

 Minneapolis, who had sold my honey to good advantage last 

 year, wrote me that there was not a bit of extracted honey on 

 his market, and thought it would bring 9 cents, and perhaps 

 10 cents, a pound. So I shipped him six 60-pound cans im- 

 mediately. After two months I received a check for the fine 

 basswood and white clover honey sent as a sample. Did I get 

 9 cents a pound? Why, just think of it! He sold it for 4 

 cents a pound, and after deducting 10 per cent, commission, 

 and the freight charges, sent me the balance. Had I sent a 

 pound can as a sample instead of what I did send, it might 

 be an argument in favor of man reasoning. As I could have 

 gotten 8 cents for it at home, I wonder now where the man's 

 judgment came in. Whether bees reason or not, perhaps one 

 bee-keeper will next time. 



I learned recently that my nearest city of note— Dubuque 

 —is practically without any honey— a city of 45,000 inhabi- 

 tants. A paper sent me from Danville, 111., recently quoted 

 honey at 17 to 19 cents a pound. Why should we continue 

 to break down the large city market, and let cities of from 

 20,000 to 40,000 population go empty handed ? Perhaps 



