THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



175 



AYe cannot lielp thinking tliat Mr. Qninby lias 

 niDre lime at bis disposal than we have. A 

 friend, who' assisted us with our melextractor, 

 could not be persuaded that the Quinby hive 

 would be practicable at all, as we used the Lang- 

 stroth frames. 



We intended to be present at the convention in 

 Cleveland, but a mistake in the date prevented. 

 We were there two days before, and saw a bee- 

 hive that, for a labj'rinth of puzzles, was ahead 

 of Quinby's. The inventor, in trying to please 

 everybody, has introduced everything he proba- 

 bly ever heard of in beehives. From the report 

 of the convention, we should judge that it woukl 

 have done very well for about fifteen years ago. 

 We think the Bee Jouunal, the melextractor, 

 etc., were not mentioned at all. There is some- 

 tliing about the Italian bee, but not much. 



We may have said a great deal, Mr. Editor, in 

 favor of the Langstroth hive, yet we cannot 

 help thinking that a straight line is the only 

 shortest line between two points ; and even if 

 that is covered bv a patent, it is better to use it 

 tiian to go to great expense to avoid it. After 

 tendering our best wishes to all bee-keepers, 

 we will remind them of what they probably 

 already know, that the ideas advanced are, after 

 all, only those of Novice. 



P. S. — Mr. Editor, will you please tell those 

 that do not know us, that we have no interest in 

 Langstroth's patent, or any other, and never 

 expect to have — for which, as for all other bless- 

 ings, may we always be thankful. 



[For the American Bee Joarnal. 



Faults in Wintering Bees. 



In the July number of the Bee Jourxai,, 

 pages 5 and 6, Mr. Dadant tells us of his mishap 

 in wintering bees. I was well aware when I 

 penned the article to which he refers, that I did 

 not give the whole cause, according to my own 

 views, but the great trouble with me is, to con- 

 dense my articles, and still say all that I wish to 

 say on any subject, and not have it too long for 

 one article in the Bee Journai,. Therefore I 

 do not know any better way than just to take 

 Gallup as you find him, and not expect him to 

 be as he ought to have been. 



I tiiink that in one article I said that a large 

 number of swarms had died in this vicinity, and 

 large numbers more would die before spring. 

 Why wix I so positive ? For this very reason, that 

 the bees had gathered considerable quantities of 

 honey in September, while the weather was cool, 

 and also while their numbers were greatly re- 

 duced in accordance with the old age theory. 

 Hence the consequence would be (and was) that 

 said honey would not be sufficiently evaporated 

 for the bees to winter on. Perhaps I cannot better 

 illustrate this, than by giving my own manage- 

 ment and that of one of my neighbors c^nly a 

 fourth of a mile distant — both operating at "the 

 same time, with the same kind of hive, and 

 under the same climatic influence. One of my 

 hives had only seven frames filled with comb and 

 honey and occupied by bees. That stock win- 



tered in excellent condition, and had abundance 

 of honey to last till the 1st of June. By that time 

 they had the hive completely filled with bees, 

 vacant side and all ; but at no time had they 

 gathered suflicieut honey to build comb. My 

 neighbor was managing his colony under my 

 instructions, and I was very careful to exphun to 

 him the reasons, the whys and wherefores of my 

 instructions, and also the consequences. But, 

 instead of following my directions after his hive 

 was half filled with comb, (fori examined it my- 

 self up to that time,) he removea the division 

 board entirely, and gave the bees access to the 

 empty half at once. The consequence was, they 

 built more comb than my colony, and stored 

 honey outside of the cluster ; and that honey was 

 thin and watery, not over half evaporated. I 

 helped him to set them in the cellar in the fall, 

 pronounced them as having abundance of honey 

 to winter on, as they were actually heavier than 

 several of mine ; but I did not open the hive, to 

 examine them. Some time in February two of 

 his colonies starved to death. I then examined 

 them and found, for the first time, that he had 

 removed the division boards, contrary to instruc- 

 tions. I asked him why he did so, and his reply 

 was that he could not see the propriety of fol- 

 lowing my instructions ; or, in other words, he 

 thought he knew better than I did ! When will 

 bee-keepers learn that honey gathered in cool 

 weather must be stored in or directly above the 

 cluster of bees ? Or, in other words, that the hive 

 must be compact and adapted to the quantity of 

 bees in the colony, or the honey stored at such 

 such times will be worthless for wintering. 

 Warmth is indispensably necessary for the due 

 evaporation of nectar. If the weather is warm 

 enough, all right ; if not, the bees must be assisted 

 in keeping up artificial warmth. 



It is a very easy matter to prophecy, that bees 

 are going to winter remarkably well in this 

 locality this season. Although the summer was 

 wet and cold, there was abundance of honey 

 gathered in the fall. But there was plenty of 

 brood, and the bees were strong in numbers ; and 

 unless they were in very badly formed hives, 

 their honey is all of excellent quality and well 

 evaporated, they will not consume over one-third 

 the amount they would if it were only half 

 evaporated. To still further illustrate this, I have 

 seen in July, when the bass-wood was in bloom, 

 and the weather showery and hot, night and day, 

 and the atmosphere moist, (at such times the 

 secretion of nectar is immense, ) strong stocks fill 

 every vacant cell through the day, and even fill a 

 comb placed outside at the entrance ;' and in their 

 eagerness even gather honey while it was raining 

 quite hard. Now, examine them at night — all is 

 full, bees, combs and all ; and all this nectar is 

 so thin and watery, that on turning the comb 

 slightly sideways the least jar will make the 

 liquid drip out like so much water. But examine 

 again next morning, and this then watery 

 stuff is nearly all gone. It is condensed by evap- 

 oration and stored in the surplus boxes ; or a por- 

 tion, perhaps, manufactured into comb. There 

 is now again any quantity of empty cells, and 

 the comb that was filled on the outside of the 

 hive, is once more entirely empty. All through 



