AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



673 



Don't go to dinner and leave that big 

 swarm of Italian bees hanging in the hot 

 sunshine. 



Don't make that common mistake of 

 crating the nice white sections next to 

 the glass, and the dark ones in a 

 "family group" in the center. 



Don't put in too much time talking 

 politics at the village store during 

 swarming time. 



Don't put off that little job of Septem- 

 ber feeding until the following Spring, 

 and then wonder how it comes that some 

 people have such luck with bees ! 



Don't leave your bees out so late in 

 the Fall that you have to chop the ice 

 off the hivos before you can house them. 



Don't ; but I know you will — 



some of you. 



Monroe, Iowa. 



Hive for Winteriiis on Summer Stauls. 



BENJ. E. RICE. 



I wish to offer something to those that 

 are interested in bee-culture, and es- 

 pecially that class of bee-keepers that 

 are always ready to grasp a good thing 

 when it is offered to them. 



How often, when we read about some 

 new hive or convenience used in the 

 apiary, have we wished that we had it, 

 and if it were not for the words at- 

 tached to it — " patent applied for " — we 

 could easily make all we wished our- 

 selves. 



Now let me tell something pertaining 

 to wintering bees on the summer stands, 

 which I have tried myself, and it has 

 proved to be very successful, and also 

 saved a good deal of hard work, and 

 much anxiety during the long Winter 

 months. It is simply to take the hive 

 that one may already be using, and add 

 material to its outside dimensions which 

 makes it as good, if not better, than the 

 celebrated chaff hives to Winter bees in. 



It is constructed as follows : First, 

 take oiled building-paper and cover the 

 outside of the hive, then furrow up with 

 lath, and cover over with oiled paper 

 again ; then one moi'e course of lath, 

 then cover again with oiled paper, and 

 then cover the entire body of the hive 

 with good ceiling, or some other good 

 material. This makes three courses of 

 oiled paper around the hive (or brood- 

 chamber), and one course of ceiling, 

 making two dead-air spaces. 



There is also one course of oiled 

 paper on the bottom of the hive, covered 



over with half-inch material, making a 

 double bottom. 



These hives, made in this way, are 

 pretty heavy to handle, but not nearly 

 so bungling as the chaff hive, if I am 

 not misinformed about them. 



There is another decided advantage 

 about these hives, and it is because they 

 are cool in Summer, and do not need to 

 be shaded. The bees are less inclined 

 to cluster on the outside of them in hot 

 weather, as they do in single-walled 

 hives ; and the cost of this hive com- 

 plete, without inside furniture, is be- 

 tween one-third and one-half cheaper 

 than the chaff hive, and there is no 

 patent on it. This hive can be made 

 from new material for about $2.50 

 each. 



Last Fall I made 14 of them, and 

 transferred the same number of colonies 

 into them ; prepared them for Winter, 

 by giving them enough honey for the 

 purpose, and left them on the summer 

 stands, which are about 16 inches above 

 the ground. During the Winter they 

 had two or three cleansing flights, 

 which, I think, helps them a good deal. 



I did not lose any of the colonies, and 

 they are much the best at the present 

 time (April oO) that I have in my yard. 

 My other bees were wintered in a cellar, 

 which was too damp, and I have fully 

 decided to entirely do away with cellar 

 wintering, and, in fact, all other 

 methods of wintering, only on the sum- 

 mer stands in well-protected hives. 



All of my bees ai'e now in the Winter 

 hives, and I dare say they appreciate it, 

 as the weather remains down to the 

 freezing-point and snow-squalls. 



My bees have wintered fairly well, 

 and I have no reason to complain. I 

 have lost only 5 colonies up to the pres- 

 ent time. 



Boscobel, Wis. 



^^- ■ 



Mm Bees Oiil of Cellars: 



FRANK COVERDALE. 



The time of taking bees out of cellars 

 is a matter of grave importance, second 

 to that of wintering well. He who takes 

 his bees out of winter quarters early in 

 March, or even late in March, is very 

 likely to have great loss of colonics, not 

 only weakened in numbers, but many 

 will die outright. During the first half 

 of April they will dwindle enough. 



As years pass, I become still more 

 convinced that each hive shouldbe faced 

 to the north as soon as taken from the 



