58 



ntmm mm^mMi€-mm' mm,m jowRifMi^. 



the bees to fly, and never when the 

 hives are frozen down to the bottom- 

 boards, or to the ground, if this can 

 possibl_v be helped. When the hives 

 are thus frozen down, the jar and con- 

 fusion which comes from prying them 

 loose, results in great irritation to the 

 bees, and causes them to consume so 

 much honey that it often leads to un- 

 successful wintering afterward. 



After getting them to the cellar, the 

 hives should be set on a bench a foot 

 or more off the cellar bottom, and the 

 hives raised by some means at least 

 two inches oii" the bottom-board or 

 bench. Failing to do this, the hives 

 will not be properly ventilated, and the 

 result will be that the bees may get 

 uneasy from lack of ventilation, which 

 will cause them to consume more 

 stores than is necessary to their exis- 

 tence, thereby needlessly using up the 

 honey, and often leading to disease 

 and death. 



If it is not convenient to thus place 

 them, the hives may be turned bottom 

 side up on the bench, and a light, thin 

 fabric of some cotton goods thrown 

 over the hive ; still the first is much to 

 be preferred, inasmuch as that in the 

 latter case all the debris from the bees 

 will fall down into the top of the hive, 

 which is now at the bottom, and re- 

 main there for the bees to clean out in 

 the spring, if it does not become damp 

 and mold, as it is liable to do, thus 

 souring that part of the honey which it 

 comes in contact with. 



I also believe that the cellar should 

 be dark, or that part of it in which the 

 bees are wintered. Some claim that 

 bees will winter as well in a light cel- 

 lar as a dark one, which may possibly 

 be so, if all of the conditions for suc- 

 cessful wintering are present, but as 

 such conditions are usually not all of 

 them present in manj', if any cellars, it 

 is always best to be on the safe side, 

 hence the advice to have the cellar 

 dai'k. 



If the cellar is lacking in many of 

 the qualities which go to make a good 

 cellar for wintering bees, then it may 

 be best not to try it at all, in which 

 case we must try the next best plan, 

 wintering on the summer stands packed 

 with chaff, fine hay or straw. While a 

 chafl' hive is the preferable thing, yet 

 it is not supposable that any old-fash- 

 ioned box-hive would be made that 

 waj% so we must fix tliem the best way 

 we can, which is to go to the store and 

 procure a dry-goods box of the suitable 

 size, or otherwise make one, in which 

 the hive can be set, and leave room all 

 around it for the packing. 



A space of about four inches is the 

 right amount to leave, for experience 

 has proven that this is better than a 

 larger or smaller amount. The bottom- 

 board should be raised that distance 



above the bottom of the box, and after 

 having packed under it, it should be 

 secured there, and so as to touch the 

 front side of the box also, as the bees 

 must pass over this to get outside of 

 the box. One-half inch above the 

 bottom-board a thinner board should 

 be secured in some waj' to both the 

 hive and box, immediately above the 

 entrance to the hive, so as to keep the 

 packing material from obstructing the 

 passage of the bees, for this is now to 

 become the entrance to the hive. 



Having this fixed, and the hive 

 thoroughly secured to its place, we 

 now put in the packing, pressing it in 

 tightly, so that as even a temperature 

 as possible can be maintained inside of 

 the hive, packing the material in as 

 nearly alike on all sides as possible. 

 When the top of the hive is reached, 

 the holes which give access to the sur- 

 plus honey arrangement, should be 

 opened, and two or three thicknesses 

 of cotton cloth spread over these holes 

 so as to keep the packingfrom rattling 

 down into the hive, and also so that in 

 thus providing for ventilation a direct 

 draft shall not be allowed through the 

 hive. 



If the hive is not provided with any 

 holes in the top of it, two or three 

 should be bored through the top so as 

 to give the needed ventilation. Having 

 the holes open, and the cloth on, fill in 

 the packing to the depth of four inches 

 all over the top of the other packing, 

 as well as over the hive, keeping it as 

 evenlj' distributed as possible, but 

 allowing it to be more loose and open 

 than at the sides. The box should be 

 tall enough so as to come an inch 

 above the packing, so that the cover, 

 which is now to be put on, shall not 

 touch it. This is important, for where 

 the packing touches the cover to the 

 box, it will absorb the moisture which 

 condenses on the cover to such an ex- 

 tent that all will become wet and 

 moldy. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



STRAIGHT COMBS. 



Prevention of Robbing in an 

 Apiary, etc. 



Written Jor the American Bee Journal 

 BY JOHN S. REESE. 



In reading over the answers to 

 Query 600, on page 839 of the Ajieri- 

 CAN Bee Journal for 1888, I do not 

 see that any of them give " B. C." a 

 simple and positive remedy for his 

 trouble with warping and sagging 

 combs. As I understand it, he seems 

 to be in the same "peck of trouble" 

 that I have had, and as my instructor 

 was the very best experience, I will 



oiFer it to the inexperienced, and es- 

 pecially the beginner. 



We will take it for granted that we 

 all use, or can use, a frame with a 

 comb-guide, and with the comb-guide 

 the top-bar can be made lighter, com- 

 paratively stronger, and less liable to 

 sag, which is a serious fault in my 

 apiary. I would suggest the use of 

 flat-bottom comb-foundation, of medium 

 weight, with wire made in it, perpen- 

 dicular of course. I say " flat-bot^ 

 torn," as I 710W think that it is stronger 

 in proportion to its weight per squai'e 

 foot, than any other ; and I say " wire 

 made in the foundation," as it is ob- 

 vious that"B. C," nor any one else, 

 could get it imbedded as well as it is 

 done when made in the start. 



Now, to fasten the foundation on 

 the comb-guide, make a form that will 

 fit into the frame one-half through, 

 being siu-e to have it fit snug and firm 

 under the comb-guide. Lay on the 

 foundation, with small strips of wood, 

 say ^ by 3-lG of an inch, and drive 

 small wire nails | of an inch long, 

 slanting through the strip, foundation, 

 comb-guide, and into the top-bar. This 

 will make all more rigid, and hold the 

 foundation beyond all question. These 

 little strips will not take up much 

 space, and I make them very rapidly 

 on a foot-power circular saw. 



This nailing foundation in frames 

 may seem a little fussj' to the veteran, 

 but I believe that I can rip out the 

 strips and put the foundation in 100 

 frames in cjne-half the time that it 

 would take to wire the same number 

 of frames, to say nothing of imbedding 

 the wires in the foundation. 



The mere fact of wires being fast- 

 ened to the bottom-bar of the frame 

 does not prevent sagging, and the 

 only advantage that I have found in 

 having the frames wired is, to hold 

 the comb more securely to the bottom- 

 bar when handling the brood-frames ; 

 and the day is fast approaching when 

 brood-frames will be handled very 

 little — not enough to justify the ex- 

 pense and trouble of wiring frames. 



Rol>t>iiig- Cliecked Instantly and 

 Positively. 



From the number of inquiries and 

 remedies oftercd, robbing still seems 

 to be quite a bug-bear to many. My 

 apiarj' is crowded into a very limited 

 space, and I was much troubled until 

 I discovered the plan of using wire 

 cones at the hive-entrance, arranged 

 with a small hole in the apex, and 

 ])ointing out from the hive, which 

 would allow the bees and robbers and 

 all to pass out, but would allow none 

 to pass in, until the trap was removed, 

 which should be done at night, when 

 the robbers would be at their respec- 

 tive homes ; and the bees that could 



