AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



483 



that is needed to make the drone and 

 queen-trap a perfect swarmer, is to pro- 

 vide an easy escape for the queen when 

 a swarm issues. To do this, and at the 

 same time prevent the drones from re- 

 turning to the hive, the trap should be 

 provided with Dr. Tinker's perforated 

 metal, which has openings sufficiently 

 large to let a queen through, but not a 

 drone. 



It will be seen that this is a great ad- 

 vantage over the arrangement of the 

 Pratt swarmer, as all the drones will be 

 trapped, thus removing all danger of the 

 colony being destroyed by suffocation. 

 This arrangement will work in an out- 

 apiary, to the satisfaction of any bee- 

 keeper. 



I guarantee that it will hive as many 

 swarms as any automatic swarmer de- 

 vised — in fact, I have no doubt about it 

 hiving every one that issues. 



When a swarm has been hived by this 

 arrangement; it should be at once re- 

 moved to another stand. 



During the past two years I have 

 found a pretty good way to work the 

 drone-trap when a swarm issues. The 

 old directions were to remove the old 

 hive and put the new one in its place to 

 hive the new swarm. The better way 

 is, to place the new hive at the side of 

 the old one, and when the queen is seen 

 in the trap, at once place it at the en- 

 trance of the new hive, when the return- 

 ing bees will hive themselves. If there 

 is room at the side of the parent colony 

 f4>r the new swarm, it can remain there 

 a%gj?iBll as in any other location in the 

 ifipljiry. 

 . Wenham, Mass. 



Tie f liiterini of Bees. 



C. THEILMANN. 



This is one of the most important 

 Questions in bee-keeping in our north- 

 ern climate. Many different ways have 

 been tried and practiced, and much has 

 boen written on how to winter bees suc- 

 cessfully. On the whole, they are win- 

 tered more successfully of late years 

 than they were 10 or 15 years ago. 

 This shows that our industry is progress- 

 ing, though there is still more to be 

 learned, as some bee-keepers occa- 

 sionally meet with heavy losses, and 

 then ask as to the cause ? The answer 

 ^hat I would give is, that they have 

 pmitted doing a number of little things, 

 'vvhich, together, will bring about the 

 desired results ; besides, nearly every 



bee-keeper has a hobby of his own. This 

 I know by experience, as I used to have 

 more than one, and, as a rule, bee- 

 keepers are much alike in this respect. 



Sometimes it makes me smile when I 

 read of some new (?) discoveries ; and, 

 again, a feeling of sadness comes over 

 me, when it reminds me how I punished 

 and manipulated my bees to death, with 

 some of these hobbies. I once killed 70 

 colonies, when I thought Lwas doing my 

 best' for them. 



I have tried to winter my bees in 

 nearly all the different ways and methods 

 we read of now-a-days, such as : Out- 

 door non-protection ; protection with 

 outer cases filled with chaff or leaves ; 

 holes through the combs ; sticks over 

 the brood-frames ; contraction of the 

 brood-nest with dummies ; Once I left 

 the brood-nest bare, not having anything 

 over the frames at all, and the bees 

 wintered excellently. How is that for 

 non-upward ventilation ? Three Win- 

 ters I had my bees in a double-wall, 

 filled in with sawdust. It was a frame 

 building. It was burned by heating 

 artificially, and I lost 87 colonies. 



All of the foregoing methods gave me 

 a great deal of work, expense and loss, 

 also much dissatisfaction ; and now I 

 have abandoned them all, and for the 

 past six years I have wintered my bees 

 under ground. I have come to the con- 

 clusion, after one trial, that an under- 

 ground repository, rightly made, is the 

 safest place to winter bees in Minnesota. 



My losses have been very light since I 

 winter my bees under ground. It also 

 saves me a great deal of time and tink- 

 ering, compared with other methods. 

 All I have to do, the latter part of Sep- 

 tember, or forepart of October, is to see 

 that each colony has from 25 to 35 

 pounds of stores, and no more is done to 

 them until they are put into the cellar. 

 The cap of each hive is left on the sum- 

 mer stand, with the same number on it, 

 as has the brood department, so as to 

 know its respective place, when put on 

 in the Spring. 



Some bee-keepers write that it does 

 not make any difference where the colo- 

 nies are put in the spring. This is a big 

 mistake, and has ruined many colonies 

 of bees, as they have not forgotten their 

 location, while in confinement. 



The cellar should be constructed so 

 that no frost can enter. They should be 

 roomy, and the air should be kept pure, 

 with a temperature of 40^ to 45^ above 

 zero. 



It is seldom that I water my bees in 

 their winter quarters, but sometimes 

 towards Spring they seem to become 



