T-H® S;MER1CJEJX WMM J^l^REfKIU. 



357 



r *-^*^*-^*^ 



which he said : "I had 64 colonies last fall 

 on the summer stands, and 1 have lost only 

 one, the rest appearing to be in good con- 

 dition. The ' Queen of Rosendale ' is just 

 as good as the best of them, and is 50 years 

 old the coming summer." If any readers 

 of the Bee Jouunal know any other colony 

 50 years old, in the same hive that they 

 were first put in, and have the same comb 

 that was built by them the first season, I 

 would like to hear from them in the Bee 

 JouuNAi,. J. S. Baku. 



Oakfleld, O., May 9, 1890. 



Winteriii;; Uees. 



Having wintered honey-bees in this cold 

 climate for 1 8 years, I have tried all kinds 

 of schemes to bring them through without 

 loss, or the least loss, and I find that a 

 cellar is the best of all ; keep it dark, so 

 that no light can be seen by the bees. Give 

 upward ventilation to the hive, so that the 

 vapor arising from their breath will not 

 form water, and run down into the bees 

 and combs which will wet and destroy 

 them. Avoid noise overhead, as much as 

 possible, or the bees will be cross in the 

 spring. They consume less stores in the 

 cellar, where it does not freeze, as they do 

 not have to eat to make heat, as out-doors, 

 and do not get so full before spring. I put 

 all into the cellar last fall, and suffered 

 less loss than usual. 



I thought that a chamber was a good 

 place to winter bees, being warm and dry ; 

 so I put in 2 colonies, corked them up with 

 rags, and put wire-cloth over the en- 

 trance; they gnawed out, and the mice 

 probably helped some, too. The bees stung 

 the children in the beds, and behaved so 

 badly that I concluded to move the worst 

 ones. 1 got a neighbor to help one day, and 

 we dug a hole in the snow near a hive out- 

 doors — the snow was 2 feet deep ; 1 went 

 ahead, backed down the stairs, the neigh- 

 bor let go, and bee-hive and I were pUed 

 up, down in the stairway, with the bottom- 

 board oflf, as well as the cap, and about a 

 quart of bees out. I was stung a number 

 of times ; however, we gathered them up 

 as best we could, and buried them in the 

 hole in the snow — hive and all ; they came 

 out all right in the spring, and were as 

 good as any of the others. Those left in the 

 chamber, the moths destroyed in the 

 spring. E. G. Slatton. 



Chetek, Wis. 



and four pins hold it tightly together. Now 

 this hive works as well bottom side up, as 

 right side up. 



When the brood apartment is full enough 

 of bees, and more room is needed, turn 

 another hive bottom side up, on top, a,nd 

 when more room is wanted, split the hive 

 open, and put in what frames are needed. 

 If 5 frames are put in the bottom, and 5 in 

 the top, then it makes a handsome cube. 1 

 use 10 frames to the hive; 80 frames are 

 generally enough to prevent swarming. 

 They seldom fill 40, A frame of sealed 

 honey weighs from 7 to 8 poimds. 



This hive can be made into a long exten- 

 sion hive so easily, if desired. The double- 

 up hive can be opened as easily as the 

 single hive. Another advantage is, no 

 matter how large a swarm you may have, 

 or how many swarms go together, you can 

 make a hive to fit in a minute. Another 

 advantage is, the bee-keeper does not have 

 to watch his ajiiary so closely for fear he 

 will lose some swarms. The apiarist can 

 let extracting go until the end of the sea- 

 son. The hive is readily reduced down to 

 the size of a dwindled colony. 



Now whether other bee-keepers will find 

 so many good things about it, 1 do not 

 know. Using it will prove it. I 'have used 

 it for 15 years, and would not give it for 

 any hive 1 am acquainted with. A similar 

 hive may have been invented a half dozen 

 times, and thrown away as useless, for 

 ought I know ; but for me, it is par excel- 

 lence. Its name is, " Extension, Reversi- 

 ble, Non Swarming Hive," I would like to 

 hear how many have tried a similar hive, 

 and their objections to it. J. Blanchabd, 



Correction— Dry W^eatlier. 



In my reply to Query 706, 1 am made to 

 say, "I think so," It should have been, 

 " I think ?iot," as that is according to my 

 experience. 



Bees came through the winter in fair 

 condition. The weather has not been very 

 favorable for a fine honey-yield — too dry. 

 We had a nice shower to-day — the first rain 

 for a month, Eugene Secor. 



Forest City, Iowa, May 9, 1890. 



[It was a typographical en'or on the part 

 of the printer, and escaped our notice. Mr. 

 Secor had it written as he wanted it, — Ed,] 



An Extension, Rever»iil>le Hi-ve. 



Many bee-keepers think that they can 

 make the best hive, so I have tried it, too. 

 Not being satisfied with the movable frame 

 for extracted honey, I wanted a hive that 

 could be manipulated more easUy, and 

 stand the wear. So I make the hive with 

 a front and back board just alike. Every 

 thing is perfectly interchangeable. The 

 ends of the frames are rabbeted so as to 

 make a tight fit. All are held together by 

 a bar on each side, passed through a loop. 



1%'liat Ailed tlie Bees? 



Mr. Julius J. Petty, on page 884, asks for 

 the symptoms of disease in my bees. In 

 almost every case, the symptoms all came 

 just at the close — death— nothing more. In 

 a few cases of the blacks, I found that the 

 bees presented the wet, greasy appearance 

 that Mr. Petty speaks of. They would 

 crawl over the combs aimlessly, and the 

 combs, tops of the frames, and sides of the 

 hives were badly stained and wet. I think 

 that in every case the honey that the bees 

 had to eat, was nice and clean. There are 

 no cider-mills in the county, and no fruit; 

 the honey is gathered from clover, bass- 

 wood and golden-rod. On some of the 

 bottom-boards I found water and a quantity 

 of dead bees. Over some of them I had 

 burlap, and over others enameled cloth. 

 Those having the burlap were free from 

 moisture. 



At no time during the winter was the 

 mercury below freezing, and it was not 

 damp, but I found some mold. In some of 

 the hives there was over 20 pounds of nice 

 honey. The Italians and hybrids seemed 

 to just die, without any cause. In one case 

 they were clinging to 3 frames of nice 

 honey ; this was a new colony, and the 

 combs were new and white. The bees were 

 clean, and there was apparently no cause 

 for their death. I am puzzled. 



Aked D, Ellingwood. 



Milan, N. H,, May 7, 1890. 



WMM&mm 



Cliapnian Iloney-Plant Seed.— 



This plant has been commended by some of 

 the most experienced beekeepers in 

 America, as being "a most valuable acqui- 

 sition to the list of bee-forage plants." The 

 seed may be scattered in waste places, or 

 it may be sown in drills or hills like onion 

 seed. We can furnish the seed, postpaid, 

 at the following prices: Single ounce, 40 

 cents; 4 ounces, $1,00; 10 ounces, $2,00; 

 or one pound for $3,00, 



AI^FRKW II. NEW]»IAi^, 



BrSINEBS MANAGER. 

 rXXXXXXZXTTZZXXZZXTXXZXXXXXTXXXXZS 



^ttsincss Notices. 



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Its'" Send us one J^EIV subscriber, with 

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1^" Red Labels are nice for Pails which 

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Calvert's No. 1 Phenol, mentioned in 

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