THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



383 



A. J. King. — In my opinion, one promi- 

 nent cause of disease and loss of bees in 

 winter is the fact tliat tliey are frequently 

 put into winter quarters supplied almost en- 

 tirely with honey gathered in autumn, such 

 as buckwheat, aster, etc. Now, nearly all 

 of these fall blossoms secrete nectar con- 

 taining acids and other substances detri- 

 mental to the health of the bees, and I 

 would recommend that in June and July 

 the bee-master I'emove frames of lioney 

 from the hive and keep them to replace 

 those filled in the fall, so that the bees may 

 have summer honey to winter on. 



This fall honey will be found veiy useful 

 in building up stocks in spring, and noth- 

 ing will be lost by this exchange method. 

 Ratiier than use this late tall honey to win- 

 ter on, I advise the feeding of sugar syrup 

 made by uniting by measure two parts of 

 best coffee sugar to one part of pure soft 

 water, and boiling for five minutes to de- 

 stroy the grain, and adding a small quantity 

 of salicylic acid in the manner already fully 

 described in the Bee-Keepers Mayazine 

 and American Bee Journal. I have 

 kept bees somewhat largely for a number of 

 years. I at first wintered in a double walled 

 brick building with dead air space between 

 walls. They uniformly ivintered well, but 

 as uniformly suffered terribly by spring 

 dwindling. The temperature of the build- 

 ing averaged about 40° above zero. The 

 latter part of February they would com- 

 mence to breed, and by the time they were 

 set out they had a good supply of brood in 

 all stages; the difference in tlie temperature 

 no doubt chilled the brood and generated 

 disease which would soon exterminate 

 them. For some years past I winter on the 

 summer stand, leaving the lower part of 

 the combs in the central frames empty for 

 the bees to cluster in, but leave plenty of 

 sealed honey above them;' the warm air 

 ascending from the swarm keeps this honey 

 warm. 1 place three small }4 mch strips of 

 wood on top and crosswise of the frames, 

 over which I spread a piece of thick quilt, 

 allowing the ends to lap over on each side 

 and extend down to the bottom-board; over 

 the quilt 1 place 3 or 4 incher in depth of 

 absorbing material. The bees thus pro- 

 tected can pass from frame to frame over 

 the top-bars and remain in warm air all the 

 time. I keep them packed until warm 

 weather. If the frames are full of honey 

 I extract the lower half of the three center 

 frames. Thus prepared, I seldom lose a 

 stock. 



J. H. Nellis.— It depends largely on the 

 heat in the hive. If bees are comfortably 

 warm they will get the honey if it is moder- 

 ately accessible. 



J. H. Hasbrouck then delivered the fol- 

 lowing address on 



Manageinent of the Apiary. 



I will preface this paper by saying that I 

 propose to collate in it wiiat Is considered by 

 some of the mo8t enterprising bee-keepers as 

 the latest and best system of management, as 

 I understand it. If I do not correctly under- 

 stand, or if there is a "better way" not gener- 

 ally circulated, this is a most excellent opp'>r- 

 tunity to have wrongs righted, or to publish 

 and discuss what has been newly discovered. 



I do not suppose that I will be able to offer 

 a system upon whicli we shall all agree. 

 Some are undoubtedly attached to plans they 

 have long used and are not yet pre^jared to 

 assent to what others consider progress. But 



let us all now for a while lay aside prejudice 

 for our own ways and consider calmly 

 whether there is not something better. 



I cannot claim for what 1 have to offper-ter 

 fection, but, I believe, it is the besownre 

 known ; not originality, for, as far as I on 

 learn, it is the system practised with more al 

 less modiflcation, of course, by men who ae, 

 accustomed to take by far the largest quant - 

 ties of honey, of which I have heard. I sharl 

 attempt only to select and combine what hall 

 been published in parts repeatedly, but stils 

 needs to be repeated. Finally 1 cannot say 

 that the system just as I shall present it, is 

 one which I have tested in every particular. 

 In 'he main I have practised what I recom- 

 mend, but of some things I have but lately 

 been convinced, from the testimony of others 

 or from unsatisfactory results of opposite 

 courses. 



First then let us begin when the season be- 

 gins, when all nature is waking into new life 

 and the bees after tlieir long nap are able to 

 get out to take a sunning pretty frequently. 

 Now is the time to make the good beginning 

 which will ensure success if the year be Javor- 

 able. 



We will now open our hives at noon of a 

 warm day and thoroughly clean them from 

 all the accumulations of winter. We will 

 next introduce a good feeder— made .by cut- 

 ting out 2 or 3 in. of the comb of a frame, and 

 nailing in its place a little trough about as 

 wide as the comb, underneath the top bar. 

 This feeder is to be the outside comb of the 

 hive and to be tilled through an auger hole in 

 the top bar; it is the only thing I have tried 

 that is a success for early spring feeding. At 

 this time all comb that ihe bees will not 

 thoroughly cover is to be taken out of the 

 hive and division boards fitting tightly are to 

 be hung close to the remaining frames. The 

 whole we will now cover snugly, first with a 

 muslin sheet with a hole through it just 

 above the hole in the feeder and then over all 

 a couple thicknesses of woolen blanket which 

 is allowed to hang down by the sides of the 

 brood nest. 



Now we will stimulate the bees by feeding 

 them daily a little sweetened water in the 

 feeder and some unbolted rye meal placed 

 out of the reach of storms. Provide the bees 

 also water outside the hive, in inverted bot- 

 tles, ifyoaare not near a stream. Keep the 

 entrance contracted so that the bees may re- 

 tain all the heat possible and the queen will 

 begin to lay Immediately, if she has not 

 before, and will lay much more rapidly than 

 in a large uncontracted hive, however strong 

 a colony may have been left in it the previous 

 fall. In this latitude the time would gener 

 ally be about the middle of March. In 15 days 

 (Aprinst)you may open your hive and And 

 the inner combs pretty well filled with brood. 

 Spread the combs apart and put an empty 

 comb in the middle. In five days (April 5th ) 

 you may repeat the operation ; and in five 

 days more (April 10th) as the first bees will 

 begin to hatch, and the weather is warm, you 

 may put in two. If you started with four 

 frames you now have eight, and in five days 

 more (April 15th) all will be filled with brood 

 which will be hatching rapidly. 



April 15. In five days cherries will blossom 

 and the first honey harvest begins. Your 

 hives are now strong with young bees, and 

 daily growing stronger, and the first hatched 

 are old enough to begin work outside. Put in 

 more empty comb till your hive is filled. In 

 3 or 4 days every empty cell is filled with 

 honey, if the weather is fine. Now if the bees 

 are left alone they will cap this honey, and 

 after a time make preparation, then swarm 

 and probably go to the woods. Just before 

 they get this honey capped, we must open the 

 hives, set every comb into the extractor and 

 throw out the honey, and return them 

 empty. They will fill them again in 3 or 4 

 days. Cherry blossoms last but a few days, 

 but apples and pears will be coming on, and 

 unless the weather is unfavorable, it will not 



