424 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Leaking^ Covers to Hives. 



Above all things, keep your colonies 

 dry. Thousands of colonies perish every 

 year by leaking covers. Whenever 

 moisture from without is added to the 

 generated moisture or evaporation from 

 the bees v^ithin, a damp and chilly at- 

 mosphere is the result, vs^hich generally 

 proves fatal in frosty weather to the 

 bees. 



Tin roofs, with ventilated holes in the 

 gable ends, are a sure preventive. A 

 cushion made of cofifee sacks, the size of 

 the top of the hive, and filled with wheat 

 chaflf, is an excellent absorbent of 

 moisture. 



Such hives as will not admit a cushion 

 within, can be aided by having a venti- 

 lating aperture on top, 2 inches square, 

 covered with wire-cloth, and a cushion 

 without. Such a cushion must be made 

 of " duck," impermeable to rain ; or oil- 

 cloth, so cut as to go over the outside of 

 the hive, and with a drawing string of 

 twine run through the edge of the cloth, 

 so that it can be fastened tight to the 

 hive. Chaff is put into it, and then 

 drawn over the hive and tied. — Farm 

 Journal. 



Spring Protection. 



We consider some Spring protection 

 very desirable, especially when the bees 

 are set out so early. We have often 

 noticed on cold mornings, when the 

 hives were covered with frost, that a 

 patch in the center of the cover would 

 begin to melt first, showing that consid- 

 erable heat was escaping from the 

 cluster of bees through the covers. 



Taking a hint from this, we have 

 concluded to put an empty super on each 

 hive, shortly after setting out, and fill 

 them with dry leaves or chatf. As we 

 have a great many combs partly filled 

 with honey, we shall remove the escape 

 covers, and place another hive on top, 

 containing only four combs in the cen- 

 ter, with a division-board on each side. 

 This will leave a space of over three 

 inches on each side to be filled with 

 packing. 



A super will also be put on top to be 

 filled with packing. This will make a 

 warm nest for the bees on the four 

 combs, and they will not be slow to 

 occupy them. There are very few colo- 

 nies that will be able to occupy more 

 than four combs early in the season, 

 and in cold weather the lower hive will 

 be practically deserted. As the weather 

 becomes warmer, they can extend the 

 brood-nest into the lower hive. 



If there is honey enough, they can be 

 left in this shape until the time comes 

 to put on the surplus cases, when the 

 four combs, well filled with brood, 

 should be put in the center of the lower 

 hive, and the colony should then run up 

 as a single-story hive for comb honey. 



If any feeding has to be done, it should 

 be given at the entrance, during warm 

 nights. — C. H. Dibbern^, in the Western 

 Ploivrnan. 



How to Destroy Ants. 



Those who are annoyed with ants 

 about their hives and honey, should re- 

 member that they may be gotten rid of 

 by the free use of salt. In the Spring 

 of the year, especially, ants will often 

 be found in immense numbers above the 

 brood-chambers of the hives, between 

 and over the honey sections. We are 

 not conscious of ever having seen a col- 

 ony of bees that we thought were 

 harmed by the ants, but certainly no 

 one wants them about when it can be 

 prevented. 



If the bees are of any strength, they 

 will keep them away from the honey ; it 

 is the heat coming from the colony of 

 bees that the ants are after, as this is a 

 great help in hatching out their eggs. 

 Although we have never known the idea 

 to be advanced, we are inclined to the 

 belief that the main reason why ants 

 dislike salt, is because it is a preserva- 

 tive, and would prevent the hatching of 

 their eggs. 



Whether this theory is correct or not, 

 it is a fact that salt plentifully used in 

 a hive where they have taken up their 

 residence, will cause them to disappear. 

 Crates of honey may be piled on the 

 floor in a convenient place, and be in no 

 danger from these pests, if salt is first 

 sprinkled freely on the floor. — Indiana 

 Faimer. 



Quietude in Winter. 



It is an undisputed fact that quietude 

 is essential during the Winter season. A 

 changeable temperature in the hives 

 causes restlessness, consumption of 

 honey, old age and death to many of the 

 bees. An even temperature, somewhat 

 below the freezing point, is what is 

 wanted to cause the bees to relapse into 

 that semi-torpid condition of successful 

 wintering. A bee-house comes the near- 

 est, excepting a cellar, to producing this 

 state, anp is therefore to be preferred. — 

 II. Knight, in Farmcru'' Review. 



