56 



'jtmm m^mmmivmm mwrn j&^mmmi^. 



^ * ^ * '^*^*^*^fcAJ 



best bee-books we can get, and the 

 bee-papers that are published, and at 

 the same time study our bees, visit our 

 neighbor bee-keepers, attend the bee- 

 meetings, talk bees and think. 

 Wetumpka, Ala. 



MANIPULATION 



In the Apiary Duritiis^ the Past 

 Season. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY H. BRiMLET. 



My report for 1888 is not verj' 

 flattering. The first part was very 

 poor, so poor that a number of colo- 

 nies were in almost a stai'ving condi- 

 tion right in the height of white clover 

 bloom. 



Bees built up rather slowly early in 

 the season, but flnallj' they became 

 strong and commenced swarming, a 

 portion of which I hived on the old 

 stands in contracted brood-chambers, 

 and thereby succeeded in getting a 

 few crates of comb honey. At the 

 time of swarming the brood-nests were 

 almost destitute of honey, but a nice 

 start had been made in the boxes, and 

 where the crates were removed from 

 the old stand to the swarm, and none 

 put under them, they were fairly fin- 

 ished ; those that were raised, and an 

 empty one put under them, were not 

 so well finished, and but a very little 

 honey was put into the new one, 

 though the foundation was nicely 

 drawn, leaving them in good shape for 

 the fall flow. 



The crates left on the hives of the 

 colonies that had swarmed, were 

 cleaned out and left •" as drj' as a 

 chip," and the honey carried below, 

 where it was badly needed. 



The colonies from which the crates 

 were taken, and hives removed to 

 new stand after swarming, suft'ered 

 severely — lots of brood was carried 

 out. 



On occasional evenings all along up 

 to Aug. 10, the contented hum of the 

 busy workers could be heard ; but 

 oftener there was the " growl of the 

 opossum " (or the moaning of the 

 drones for mercy). 



Although the drones were being 

 killed oft' all the season, brood-rearing 

 was kept up fairly well until Aug. 15 ; 

 from then until the last was the most 

 trj'ing time on bees that I ever saw. 



September 1 found the colonies rea- 

 sonably strong in field workers, but 

 lestitute of brood or hone)'. About 

 this time honey began to come in 

 freely, and the result was a nice sur- 

 plus of combs, honey, and a blocked 

 brood-nest. 



The queens seemed slow to la}-, or 

 the eggs were destroyed, and after the 



loss of the old bees the colonies were 

 mere nuclei. 



[ thought a great deal of uniting, 

 but I could not get the full consent of 

 my mind to do so. I had superseded 

 all the queens that I wished to destroy, 

 with swarm-cell queens. 



At present (Jan. 7) I have 48 colo- 

 nies (or nuclei) packed on the sum- 

 mer stands, with a great plenty of 

 honey. 



The fall flow of honey, to the north 

 and west of here, was better and 

 earlier than here — it was some better 

 only 3 miles distant, and considerably 

 so 15 and 20 miles away. On the south 

 and east it was poorer, which I think 

 is not usually the case. 



Raleigh, Ills. 



WINTERING BEES. 



Successful Winlering of Bees in 

 the Cellar and Out-Doors. 



Written for the New York Convention 



BY R. F. HOLTEKMA.NN. 



This subject is one as diflicult as it 

 is important — one which should re- 

 ceive careful attention and experimen- 

 tation by bee-keepers. 



As 1 understand the subject, it 

 means the way to winter our bees so 

 as to consume the least possible 

 amount of stores, and with the least 

 possible loss of vitality. It may not be 

 out of place to briefly enumerate what 

 maj' effect these desirable ends, and I 

 shall largely leave it to your experi- 

 ence, as to how far they do effect, and 

 how far these conditions are under our 

 control. 



1. Stores, quality, quantity, position 

 in the hive, and if sealed or unsealed. 



2. Temperature, its variations. Tliose 

 variations within a given time, and 

 how regulated. 



3. Moisture and ventilation — their 

 effects at different seasons. 



4. The colonj- : its numerical 

 strength, age of bees when going into 

 winter quarters, their remaiuing vital- 

 ity, and the strain of bees. 



5. Pollen, or no pollen, in the hive. 



6. The time of putting the bees into 

 the cellars, or putting them in clamps. 



7. The time to commence hi-ood- 

 rearing, and the time to take the bees 

 out of winter quarters. 



Proper Stores tov IVinter. 



As to stores : In our climate there 

 is perhaps nothing better as a food 

 than syrup made from the best granu- 

 lated sugar, and yet when we take into 

 consid(.'ration the increased quantity 

 of hone}' tlirown upon the market, the 

 unjust suspicion it gives rise to, that 

 bee-keepers are " making honej' ;" the 



additional labor to the bee-keeper, the 

 loss in weight between the food given 

 and amount stored in the combs, and 

 the certainty that through the excite- 

 ment the bees lose in vitality — experi- 

 ence says to us, " Feed sugar syrup no 

 more !" 



I cannot say if buckwheat and other 

 grades of honey that we know is in- 

 ferior,are as good as the lighter grades 

 for winter stores, or not. This I know, 

 they often appear to be as good. This 

 is a point which might be investigated 

 to advantage. Stores should doubt- 

 less be sealed ; yet in a cellar with a 

 temperature tending to be high, this is 

 probably not essential. The centre of 

 the cluster sliould, I think, not have 

 combs of honej', but the combs be free 

 for the bees to cluster in, the full 

 combs being towards its outside. 



Xeniperataire iu M^inter. 



As to temperature, who will dare to 

 tell us the best temperature at which 

 to keep a cellar, if it should remain 

 stationary all winter, or increase or 

 decrease as the time for taking bees 

 out approaches ? Who will tell us if 

 a rise or fall of the temperature within 

 a few hours is injurious ? Who will 

 tell us this with certainty ? 



I know that bees appear to winter 

 well with a temperature ftom 45^ to 

 50^, and with very gradual changes ; 

 but is it the best ? So many theories 

 have been advanced, so mauj- satis- 

 factory results given under apparently 

 opposite conditions, that we are loth 

 to accept any of them as definite, and 

 the subject must be carefully investi- 

 gated with the conditions otherwise 

 equal. 



moisture and Ventilation. 



Of moisture and ventilation, I know 

 nothing definitely, having seen bees 

 appear to come out equally well with 

 the cellar apparently perfectly dry,and 

 with everything about it saturated with 

 moisture ; with sub-earth ventilation 

 and without, with pro\'ision for venti- 

 lation and without. We must, how- 

 ever, remember that we may be vei"y 

 much deceived in this matter ; at 70° 

 there may, to the ordinary observer, 

 be no inclication of moisture, yet the 

 atmosphere may be almost saturated 

 so much that at 65= everything will 

 become covered with moisture. 



Again, in winter the great difference 

 between the outside and inside tem- 

 perature is very great at times, and 

 the pressure of the cold air frcnn with- 

 out is very great upon the warmer 

 atmosphere within, so much so that a 

 greater or less current of atmosphere 

 must be constantly passing in ; and I 

 often think that this explains why bees 

 so often become very restless towards 

 spring, when the outside and inside 



