THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



121 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Wintering Bees. 



Much has beeu said on the subject of -winter- 

 ing bees. Many ways have been tested and 

 many plans proposed. So much so, that the in- 

 experienced arc at a loss to decide as to the best 

 mode of getting their bees through the long cold 

 ■winters in good condition. An expensive bee 

 house will not suit the mass of beekeepers ; as 

 many, like myself, have their bees at ditfereut 

 locations, and on premises that belong to other 

 people, and they consequently do not wish to 

 build houses for other persons. 



I will give my plan of wintering bees, which 

 I prefer to any I have tried. First, I aim to pro- 

 vide the colony with sufficient winter stores, if 

 they have not secured a sufficiency for them- 

 selves. Have the hive full of combs if possible, 

 but if that cannot be done, put in a partition 

 board so that the chamber where the bees are is 

 full of comb. I then take off the honey-board, 

 and lay a strip about eight inches long and one 

 inch square across the frames, and cover the 

 whole with pieces of blanket, old clothes, coffee- 

 sacks, or newspaper.-, or something of the kind 

 that will let the moisture pass through, retaining 

 the heat with the bees. If paper is used, strips 

 tacked around are necessary to keep it to its 

 place. The strip crosswise of the frames about 

 the centre of the hive, causes a good winter pas- 

 sage for the bees on each side of it. I then fill 

 the cap full of clear dry hay or straw well packed 

 in, and put it on. Then close the entrance by 

 screwing on a thin strip with two or three 

 notches cut in its lower edge to give passway for 

 the bees to go in and out. I am never afraid of 

 giving too little ventilation, if there is space 

 enough for a dozen bees to pass in and out at the 

 one time. The stronger the colony the more 

 open sjjrico is left. 



1 now put scantling, or something that an- 

 swers the purpose, under my hives (if they have 

 not legs), so as to have them set about sis inches 

 from the ground. Then I drive a few stakes into 

 the ground on each side of the hive and the rear, 

 some eight or ten inclies from the hive, and fill 

 in around the hive with hay or straw well 

 tramped down, as high as the top of the hive, 

 cover the whole with hay, fi jjlder, boards, or 

 something that will keep all dry, and the work 

 is done. In cold climates, where the thermom- 

 eter would frequently range below zero for days 

 in succession, the front end should also be pro- 

 tected, by putting strips on each side of the en- 

 trance, and laying on a board under which "the 

 bees could have a passway ; fill above the board 

 as above directed, and the hive would be com- 

 pletely protected from the cold. 



The advantages of preparing bees in this man- 

 ner for wintering, may be summed up as fol- 

 lows : 



It is cheap, and readily done. The bees re- 

 main on their summer stands. The preparation 

 for wintering can be attended to at any time after 

 the close of the honey season, and remain in such 

 condition until after the cold rains of spring, 

 thereby stimulating early breeding, as the sud- 

 den changes of weather havelittle effect on the 



interior of the hive. The warm rays of the sun 

 in winter do not induce the bees to come out, 

 unless it is warm enough for them to come out 

 with safety. They can be examined at anytime, 

 and supplied with food if necessary. I have 

 never found frost on the inside of a hive so pre- 

 pared. Last winter I had a -weak colony (to 

 which I was feeding honey) build combs in Feb- 

 ruary, which is an evidence that the hive so pre- 

 pared keeps warm. In feeding, I have but to 

 raise the cap, and with a knife cut through the 

 covering that is over the bees, and insert the tube 

 of my bee-feeder, replace the cap, and the work 

 is done. 



Bees prepared as above directed as soon as the 

 honey season closes, are in no danger of being 

 robbed, as the entrance is small ; and it thus also 

 excludes mice, &c. Can any other system of 

 wintering foot up as many advantages ? If so, 

 let us have it through the Bee Journal. I use the 

 Langstroth hive. 



J. S. Flort. 



Fayetteville, West Va. 



[For the American Bcic Journal.] 



Something Strange.— Honey Dew. 



Mr. Editor : — There has been much said in 

 the columns of the Journal about honey dew. 

 Some affirm that this strange phenomenon is 

 caused by insects (aphides) ; while others believe 

 it to be falling vapor, or, in other words, genuine 

 honey dew. I am one of the latter class. I ad- 

 mit the existence of insects which discharge a 

 fluid that bees will work on. But a case in point 

 recently transpired in this city, which more fully 

 convinces me of the falling, at times, of real 

 honey dews. 



A few rods from my residence there are three 

 large cottonwood trees. On the 12th of Septem- 

 ber last, one of my ueighboi's came to me, to 

 inform me tliat my bees were swarming, and that 

 they were trying to alight on one of those cotton- 

 wood trees. On examination I found the bees 

 were working on the leaves on one side of the 

 tree which stood near the street. In a short 

 time quite a crowd of passers-by had congregated. 

 Some wanted to know who had poured honey on 

 that ti-ee ; while others wislied to know if bees 

 made honey from cottonwood leaves? Well, I did 

 not know what to make of it. I climbed the tree 

 and cut branches from all parts of it, to ascertain 

 whether the cause originated from insects. After 

 carefully examing the leaves, one by one, I found 

 no insects, nor any trace of insects of any kind. 

 On the other hand, I found the leaves presenting 

 evidence that looked much as if some power had 

 showered strained honey over the leaves and 

 branches of the tree. Now if this fluid came out 

 of the leaves, why is not the honey found on the 

 lower as well as on the upper side of the leaf ? 

 My opinion is that it came from abeve, in the 

 shape of honey dew. 



I would like to know what your unbelievers 

 think of this case. 



H. Faul. 



CotTNciL Bluffs, Iowa, Oct. 8, 1869. 



