484 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



thirsty and uneasy. I then give them 

 a little ice or snow in front of she hive- 

 entrances, which seems to quiet them. 

 For the past eight years I have aban- 

 doned the cushions over the brood-nest, 

 and have not used anything but the 

 honey-board, which I find far better, 

 cheaper, and makes less work than the 

 wet and moldy cushions. 



There are many more things which 

 really belong to wintering bees, but I 

 would say that we must work our bees, 

 in Summer and Autumn, so that they 

 will be ready and in proper condition 

 when the honey season closes ; herein 

 lies the great secret of success in winter- 

 ing bees. 



Properly speaking, to separate "win- 

 tering " bees from " summering " them, 

 to say the least, is a misnomer, and 

 would be like dividing a man into 

 "body " and "spirit;" though if one of 

 them suffers in any wise, the other is 

 affected thereby. 



It is also like grape culture ; we must 

 select and properly prepare the young 

 vines to be prepared for next year's 

 crop, while, in the meantime, we are 

 raising this year's crop of grapes. So 

 with bees, the colonies must be properly 

 worked and prepared in the Summer, 

 for the best results in wintering them. 



The best worker brood-combs should 

 always be put in the center of the brood- 

 nest ; that, with a good prolific queen, 

 will leave the colony strong or populous 

 for Winter, and such colony, as a r\ile, 

 will always have its stores in the right 

 position, around and above them (if not 

 spoiled and racked by their keeper) 

 when Winter sets in. They are also 

 prepared for the early Spring, after suc- 

 cessful wintering, and can be let alone, 

 if they have food enough, until warmer 

 weather sets in. 



I put my bees into the cellar the first 

 cold snap we get, which is quite regular 

 here from Nov. 10 to the 14th. This 

 has not failed the past ten years. 



The time to put them out in the 

 Spring, is not so regular, and good judg- 

 ment should be exercised. We should be 

 very careful not to put them out too 

 early, as that has ruined many colonies. 

 It should be warm enough for them to 

 fly freely — any degree under 56-* above 

 zero iu the shade will be destructive ; at 

 00'-' in the shade there is no danger. 



As a rule here, the weather is warm 

 enough to put out bees from April 1 to 

 the loth. 



Many more things of less importance 

 could be said, and other methods de- 

 scribed, but I have not tried them, nor 

 have I any desire to do so, as I am will- 



ing to let good enough alone. Of late 

 years my bees have wintered almost to 

 perfection. I have lost only one colony 

 in the past three Winters, and have 

 wintered from 145 to 280 colonies each 

 Winter. — Read at the Min7iesota State 

 Convention. 

 Theilmanton, Minn. 



Honey Crop Prelictions. 



SAM WILSON. 



I am somewhat late with my predic- 

 tions this year, for several reasons. I 

 have not as good a chance this year as 

 I had last, to show that I can tell just 

 what the honey-flow will be, as all my 

 predictions of last year were not pub- 

 lished. 



I stated last year that throughout the 

 whole Northwest there would be a fail- 

 ure, and that Kentucky would have a 

 good flow ; that there would be the best 

 honey-flow in Central New York, be- 

 tween Albany and Oswego, of anywhere 

 in the United States. My predictions 

 were made in regard to linden (or bass- 

 wood) and white clover. 



There is one thing to remember, and 

 that is the cause of failure of the linden 

 and white clover. It is long before 

 warm weather, and nothing can change 

 the result; but on the other bandit is 

 different, as bad weather may prevent 

 the bees from working, or dry and hot 

 weather may kill the bloom. 



When I say you will have a goo 

 I mean the flowers will contain nee 

 if you have any flowers ; and cool ui 

 nor thunder will keep it from h 

 there. Thunder, cool nights, a ir,oi>t 

 atmosphere, etc., have nothing u> do 

 with the secretion of nectar ; but when 

 you learn the true cause of flowers faff- 

 ing to secrete nectar, you caJn tell, iri 

 your own location, whether you are,ti>. 

 have a failure or not ; and you 

 long enough before hand to get 

 supplies in plenty time, or move in io a 

 new field, which might be close by. 



When you learn the true cause ui 

 flowers failing to secrete nectar, yo^i 

 can know when all other flowers are 

 fail, as well as linden and white clove 

 There are only two natural causes th 

 prevent flowers from secreting nectar," 

 and I will prove that I know what those 

 are. Any reasonable mind would know 

 that I could not have told what I did, 

 last year, had I not known these causes.? 

 If white clover and linden bloom, and' 

 the weather will permit the bees to- 



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