234 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



one he received so much better. Friend L. 

 C. Root has sent us a sample of the leather 

 he is putting into the Quinby of this year. 

 It is very tough and thin, and looks almost 

 like kid. It is tanned in a peculiar manner, 

 making it durable, though very soft and 

 pliable.— Ed.] 



Wintering Bees. 



KEAD BEFOKE THE ILL. ASSOCIATION. 



Four antecedent requisites are necessary 

 to secure at all times successful wintering. 

 Yet they frequently winter quite well when 

 the requisites are not perfect in all respects. 

 They are as follows: 



I. Good wholesome food. 



II. A proper, uniform temperature. 



III. Absorbents above the bees, or what 

 is often called upward ventilation. 



IV. Youthful vigor, or vitality to carry 

 them through winter. 



1.— The health of the bee, like all other 

 animals, largely depends on wholesome 

 food. During extreme drouths and the in- 

 fluence of a parched earth and burning at- 

 mosphere, the sachariue portion of tiie fluid 

 or sap of all vegetation partakes very 

 largely of the acid of the vegetable, the flow 

 is too tardy and the quantity too scant, so it 

 is adulterated before it reaches the floral 

 cup. Under these circumstances, bees will 

 forage largely on fruits, decayed apples, 

 peaches, grapes, and the pumace about 

 cider mills, etc. Such kind of food is no 

 detriment to the health of the bee while 

 upon the wing and in the heat of summer, 

 but it dies from it when long confined to the 

 hive. 



Syrup made of good refined sugar is a fine 

 substitute for honey. 



2.— Notwithstanding bees often winter in 

 a very irregular temperature, uniform suc- 

 cess demands an even temperature, not too 

 hot or too cold, about 45^ In this latitude, 

 this can only be secured by a good warm 

 repository. Wliere all tilings are equal, 

 bees will live in dark confinement 4 or 5 

 months, and come out as active as they 

 went in. 



3.— Absorbents above the bees, in the 

 shape of chaff or straw cushions, or the 

 second story of the hive filled with leaves (a 

 cloth first covering the frames) is almost in- 

 dispensable for out-door wintering; but in 

 a warm repository, they are all superfluous. 

 All that is necessary is to raise or slip the 

 lid of the hive a little to one side and let the 

 moisture from the bees, which arises in the 

 form of vapor, escape, otherwise it will con- 

 dence into drops of water and damage the 

 combs and endanger tlie lives of the bees. 



4.— It was once stated by the late Samuel 

 Wagner (if my memory serves me right) 

 that bees grow no older when in healtliy 

 confinement. I am not inclined to be skep- 

 tical on this point; but it is apparent to all 

 that bees that have lived out two-thirds of 

 their time before they go into winter con- 

 finement will die in early spring before a 

 sufficient number of young bees to generate 

 heat and take charge of the hive are hatch- 

 ed. So bees, queen and all, become discour- 

 aged and decamp— a suicidal act, but with 

 them preferable to a lingering death in their 

 once happy home. 



Where honey gathering is good the latter 

 part of Aug. and first part of Sept. this mat- 

 ter always regulates itself where the queen 

 IS not forestalled, and her brood nest filled 

 with honey— this, however, seldom bccurs 

 with good young queens. Where no honey 

 gathering occurs at the proper season, all 

 difliculties may be overcome by stimulating 

 with sugar syrup. 



During 20 years of close observation these 

 things have passed under my own observa- 

 tion. To winter bees successfully, especial- 

 ly in shallow frames, is to be master of the 

 business; yet it is easily done when correct 

 philosophical principles are observed. 



Last Nov. 1 put 230 standard swarms into 

 my repository, and removed them to their 

 summer stands the end of March, with the 

 loss of 4 swarms. About 100 of them were 

 in 5-in. and the balance in 7 in. frames. 



Camargo, 111. A. Salisbury. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Prevent Increase. 



I wish to communicate the result of my 

 experience on some questions that are of 

 interest to all who are engaged in the busi- 

 ness, and which is very frequently the sub- 

 ject of inquiry from them— llow to prevent 

 the further increase of your colonies after 

 you have obtained as much as you deem 

 advisable to have ? 



Exchange the position of your colonies 

 that give indications of swarming, with 

 such as are weak and need strengthening; 

 selecting such as have hives resembling 

 each other, as much as practicable, After 

 you have made all of the weak ones strong, 

 it some show the indications of swarming, 

 you may, if you desire, make an artificial 

 swarm out of two or more hives; or, if not, 

 you can exchange places with two that in- 

 dicate swarming, giving both abundant 

 room for surplus honey, if they have it not 

 already. The exchange of workers will 

 demoralize them, and they will not get the 

 swarming propensity again for a week or 10 

 days, even if they have queen cells capped 

 over. And you need have no fear of your 

 queens, for strange workers will not molest 

 them in their own hives, in the swarming 

 season. And in a few hours they will all 

 be busy at work in the surplus boxes, if the 

 brood chambers are filled, which I presume 

 to be the case in the last instance I have 

 given; but in the first exchanges you make 

 with the weaker colonies, they will of 

 course fill the lower part of the hive first. 



I have been succesful in the management 

 of my bees on the above plan. I have 

 avoided all trouble with the moth millers 

 by having my colonies strong. My increase 

 was 100 per cent., and I never had as much 

 surplus honey before. My bees all winter- 

 ed well and came out ih fine condition this 

 spring. 



I will mention what I have adopted as an 

 improvement on the frame of the Langs- 

 troth hive. The top bar 1 make the usual 

 thickness, % in. deep, and cut a tongue on 

 the under side, with a matching plane used 

 for matching siding. Before putting bees 

 in the hive, melt some beeswax, and while 

 hot, with a pencil brush give the tongue a 

 light coating of the wax. Set your hive, 

 when you have put the bees in, perfectly 

 level and you will have perfectly straight 

 combs every time, without any other guide 



