224 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



quantity of stores, consisting chiefly of honey 

 gathered from spring blosoms, is required to 

 tarry a colony prosperously through the winter? 

 And" the striking differences hi the quantity 

 named by experienced bee-keepers, arise from 

 the fact that the disputants have not agreed upon 

 ■ a definite period for which supplies are to be es- 

 timated. Some reckon from the time pasturage 

 fails in the fall to its revival in the spring— a period 

 of ircmi four to six months. Others regard only 

 the time during which the bees do not fly — a 

 period usually of not more than six or eight weeks. 

 Ahuosl every fall we find bees of some colonies 

 occasionally tlying out, long after pasturage as a 

 source of supply has failed. In the comparatively 

 brief term during which they remain altogether 

 secluded in their hives, and before brooding com- 

 mences, even the strongest colony consumes very 

 little honey — hardly a pound in a month. The 

 requisite supply for so short a period is conse- 

 quently not worth mentioning. In estimating 

 for the winter's supply, the first mentioned term 

 is to be regarded as the normal period, and with 

 reference thereto we may very properly say that 

 the bee winter begins at the tiQie ichen the. colony 

 commences drmcing on its hoarded stores, and con- 

 tinues till such time in the spring when tJie daily 

 gathering of honey begins to exceed the daily con- 

 'sumption, for then only may a colony depending 

 exclusively on its own resources be regarded as 

 being safe. To- be provisioned for this period, 

 every colony slunild have at least twenty pounds 

 of honey. Taking long experience as my guide, 

 I have come to the conclusion that it is not sutfi- 

 cieut to allot to a colony just such an amount of 

 stores as will barely though surely suflice to 

 carry it through till spring opens. It must have 

 somciohat more than this, so that it shall not only 

 feel comfortable, but likewise encouragingly rich; 

 for if the bees become conscious that their sup- 

 plies are scant, they will use every drop of honey 

 grudgingly from an instinctive dread of Avant, 

 and brooding will be accordingly restricted or 

 deferred. 



If in consequence of a general failure of pastur- 

 age in any year, we are constrained to resort to 

 substitutes for honey to provision our bees in the 

 fall, good brown sugar candy is to be preferred. 

 Very liquid or much diluted food must be care- 

 fully rejected as injurious. 



For successful wintering perfect, quiet, and 

 protection from driving -winds and extremes of 

 cold, must be provided for, and frequent tempta- 

 tion to fly guarded against. Placing the bees 

 during winter in a dark cool chamber or cellar, or 

 in some special repository, is probably the best 

 mode of securing these ends in northern coun- 

 tries. 



Thirdly. Stiong colonics, having prolific 

 queens, and well supplied with stores, will com- 

 mence brooding eaily ; and such, if other cir- 

 cumstances be favoiable, will early be in a con- 

 dition to swarm. 



As regards the size and form of hives, practical 

 bee-keepers are, I presume, pretty much agreed. 

 Bees in a small hive may swarm earlier than 

 those in a large one, and it is a fact founded on 

 physical principles that a colony in an upright or 

 standard hive icill swarm earlier than one in a 



horizontal or lager hive. Again, certain local or 

 provincial varieties of the bee are popularly re- 

 garded as naturally more prone to early and 

 frequent swarming than others — a prejudice of 

 of which dealers are apt to avail themselves in 

 recommending their stock. The heath bee of 

 Luneburg is usually considered as being at the 

 head of this list ; then follows the Carniolian 

 bee ; whilst the Italian is thought to have this 

 propensity least developed. Tliere may be some 

 truth in these popular notions, but I deem it -of 

 little importance— believing that what there is of 

 it is l)ased on local causes, the influence of pre- 

 vailing weather, peculiarities of climate or pas- 

 turage, or customary management, and hence as 

 certain to j)rove transitory and variable. 1 have 

 in my apiary the pure Italians, the common black 

 bees hybrids, of these, heath bees from Lune- 

 burg, Carniolian bees, and bees from Lower Aus- 

 tria ; J*nd the alleged differences between them, 

 in swarming propensity, has altogether disap- 

 peared, or rather it has in my case become 

 almost entirely reversed, for now among all my 

 bees, the Italians swarm earliest. Still, I have 

 cultivated the others too short a time yet, to 

 speak very positively about this matter, though I 

 feel assured that in the heath and the Carniolian 

 bee this disposition has considerably diminished, 

 and probably m three or four years more there will 

 be no difference perceptible. Hence I am dis- 

 posed to conclude that, with proj^er manage- 

 ment, and with due reference to weather, climate, 

 exposure, and pasturage, the beekeeper has 

 swarming completely under control. If he 

 know s the nature and habits of bees and attends 

 duly and seasonably to their Avants, he will have 

 strong colonies in the spring, because he will 

 winter only such as have young prolific qncens, 

 with ample flupplies, in good substantial hives, 

 well protected from extremes of cold and great 

 variations of temperature, and in a position where 

 they are least liable to disturbance ; and sucli 

 colonies will produce early and good swarms. 



DziERZON.-The chief requisite for early swarm- 

 ing is suitably, warm, humid weather. That 

 bees in some years swarm early and frequently, 

 and in other years late or seldom, is owing prin- 

 cipally to the state of the w^eather. Warm and 

 moist weather is more conducive to early brood- 

 ing, and thus promotes early swarming. If 

 nature herself do not present these conditions, the 

 bee-keeper should endeavor to supply them in 

 part at least. To this end feeding with diluted 

 honej is very serviceable, as it leads to the pro- 

 duction of brood, and thus fosters swarming. It 

 is also advantageous to keep a constant supply of 

 soft water near the apiary and accessible to the 

 bees, that they may readily procure what they 

 need ; because if they are in want of water, 

 brooding will be checked, however much honey 

 there may be in the hive — and it is important 

 that brooding commence early and •proceed unin- 

 terriptedly. A temporary cessation of it, after it 

 has once commenced in the spring, is always 

 injurious, and the utmost care should be used to 

 prevent it. 



Masbauji. — In general early swarming is un- 

 doubtedly desirable ; and the bee-keeper can con- 

 tribute materially to having his colonies in proper 



