THB fEMERICKrf BE® JOUmffKI^. 



793 



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the bees were olil. and the small colo- 

 nies would get ahead of the strong. 

 but old ones, every time. 



The next point is, we must have 

 good honey for winter stores. I pre- 

 fer nice, sealed basswood honey for 

 winter, although nice, ripe buckwheat 

 will do. I have had success with feed- 

 ing granulated sugar early enough, so 

 that the bees could seal it before much 

 cold weather came. But good bass- 

 wood honey is my preference. We 

 must have good honey. With a colony 

 ■of young workers, about 30 pounds of 

 nice, ripe honey, and a good, dry 

 cellar, well ventilated, are desirable 

 conditions in order to successful win- 

 tering. I can winter a colony of bees 

 just as easily as I can a cow or a 

 horse. 



In this locality I prefer in-door win- 

 tering. A good dry cellar is the best 

 for such purpose, as it keeps the even- 

 est temperature, while a building is 

 more or less subject to changes. We 

 always have a warm spell in February, 

 and the bees in a house would be sure 

 to be arouserl, while those in a cellar 

 would be perfectly dry. 



After this warm spell we generally 

 have more winter, and this is death to 

 the bees out-of-doors, or in a house — 

 while those iu a cellar would know 

 nothing of such changes. In a locality 

 where the winters are steady, I should 

 prefer a bee-house, as I think it could 

 he kept much drier than a cellar. But 

 for this locality, I would take the 

 cellar every time. 



In wintering bees out-of-doors, I 

 have not had much experience ; but in 

 the winter of 1888, I had 10 colonies 

 left over that I did not have room for 

 in the cellar, and so I left them out-of- 

 doors. I set them close together, and 

 put corn-straw around them. In the 

 spring, when I opened them, 3 colonies 

 were dead, and the rest were very 

 weak and diseased. The 3 died of 

 ■diarrhea. Then I began to take those 

 in the cellar out. These were strong, 

 not having had the least bit of diar- 

 rhea. I had 35 colonies in the cellar. 

 and only one was dead, and that died 

 of old age. The rest came out strong, 

 while those wintered out-doors were 

 weak, and dwindled away to almost 

 nothing. 



The same winter I had three Root 

 chafl'-hives. Two of the colonies in 

 them died of diarrhea, and one came 

 out very weak, and about worked up 

 to a full colony by the Fall ; while 

 those wintered in the cellar, iu Sim- 

 plicity hives, gave me 2 swarms each, 

 and about 125 pounds of extracted 

 honey to the colon)'. 



One thing I do not like about the 

 chafi'-hive is, that the bees keep in too 

 long in the morning, while the other 

 colonies would be at work, from 1 to 



1.5 hours sooner than those in the 

 chatt-hives. 



As far as heat is concerned, the 

 chaff-hives do not let it in as quickly 

 as do others. But when the heat does 

 get in, it stays there ; and the bees in 

 them consumed from 20 to 25 pounds 

 more of honey during the winter than 

 those wintered in a cellar. In single- 

 walled hives the cost is about half as 

 much as it would be in a chaff-hive, 

 and j'ou will save enough honey on 50 

 colonies, wintered in a cellar, in one 

 year, to build a good cellar ; while 

 those wintered out-of-doors will con- 

 sume from 15 to 20 pounds more than 

 those in the cellar. 



Quite a sum can be saved on 100 

 colonies wintered in a cellar. Besides, 

 the bees come out in better condition. 

 The winters iu this loealitj' are too 

 cold for out-door wintering. We some- 

 times have three weeks of steady, cold 

 weather, so cold that bees would starve 

 out-doors on account of not having life 

 enough to eat ; while those in the cel- 

 lar would be nice and warm, with lots 

 of life, and not eat very much, either. 



Those out-doors, on the contrary, 

 would have to eat all they could hold, 

 in order to keep up h'eat. This is al- 

 most sure to give them the diarrhea. 

 No out-door wintering for me. iu this 

 locality, and I believe all the bee-keep- 

 ing friends will agree with me. 



Wauzeka, Wis. 



FLORIDA. 



Tlie Hoiiey-Producins Flora of 

 lliat State, etc. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY WM. M. CRUTCHEE. 



and llio woods are yellow with it at 

 that time. After partridge-peas are 

 gone, bees get honey from almost ao}- 

 thing, and the saw-grass I referred to 

 above. As to the queen laying after 

 palmetto has bloomed, she only lays 

 enough eggs to keep the colony 

 strong. 



The bees can get a good living here 

 in the summer and Fall without much 

 or any feeding, in tlie high pine-land. 

 It is much better I suppose in other 

 parts of the State. 



My bees are hybrids, but they are 

 very docile and easy to handle. I can 

 put ray hand on the entrance, and they 

 do not offer to sting at all. 



Bee-keeping would not pay in this 

 part of Florida, unless one had from 

 100 to 200 colonies. Bee-keeping and 

 orange growing would go well to- 

 gether, as a business. My advice to 

 any one that wants to come to Florida 

 to live is, to first come and see if you 

 like the country. A good many people 

 have been badly deceived by -'land 

 sharks " here. 



Zellwood, Fla. 



Since writing, on page 644, we have 

 had a light honey-flow, and the bees 

 have tilled the hives nearly full of 

 honey — enough to winter on, and they 

 are still at work. They are gathering 

 it from the saw-grass marsh of Lake 

 Apopka, about a mile from our place. 

 I do not know from what plant they 

 are gathering the honey; it is thin, and 

 of amber color. 



I was glad to see, on page 695, I\Ir. 

 Fisher defend orange-blossom honey ; 

 it is certainly fine honey. Mr. Fisher 

 said he would like to have me or some 

 other bee-keeper give information on 

 this subject to the readers of the Bee 

 JouKNAL. My experience is limited, 

 and so I cannot tell much. After the 

 palmetto stops blooming, there is no 

 other houey-liow to amount to much. 



Bees make a living from various 

 wild tiowers after palmetto. Partridge- 

 peas are said to produce honey, but I 

 have failed to see any gathered from 

 it yet. It blooms in July and August, 



COMB-HONEY. 



My Hive and Method of Man- 

 agement. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY FR.4NK COVEKDALE. 



The inquiry comes to me, •■Will not 

 the bees carry pollen into the sect- 

 ions ?" If the sections are exposed to 

 the brood-chamber. I answer. Yes. If 

 a small opening, only, is allowed, I 

 say. No. 



Now. that I may try and benefit the 

 reader, as I keep no secrets to myself, 

 because in so doing, I but stand in my 

 own light, I will say that my hives 

 are Root's 8-frame Langstroths, just 

 one foot wide, cleated bottom-board, 

 with one board for top. with cleated 

 ends. The section-holders are of the 

 same dimensions, outside measure, as 

 the hives. 



The Root section-holders are used in 

 the same, only that I nail on an addi- 

 tional top of the same size as the 

 bottom, making a strong and complete 

 one-tier, wide frame. Six frames, 1-;- 

 inches in width, are just right. 



A follower is used. I take a com- 

 mon house-siding for the purpose, 

 because it is just right to tighten this 

 follower. I have used both screws 

 and wedges, and I think a properly- 

 made wedge is to be preferred. Of 

 course, the bees will stick wax around 

 this wedge, to some extent, though it 

 has uot yet given me much ti-ouble. 

 I think that a' wedge in the center is 

 sufficient. 



