THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



57 



grooved, or one broad board ; 

 then also each colony must have 

 a separate roof, which will keep 

 all water from the bees. If care 

 is not taken about this, the violent 

 rains cannot be kept off, which not 

 only flood it, but dampen the 

 alighting board, which latter board 

 every colony should have. The 

 sun shining upon the damp board 

 warps it and it requires to be re- 

 painted oftener, and in vrinter it 

 easily becomes mouldy ; also the 

 hives and stands cannot last nearly 

 as long as if they were entirely 

 sheltered and always remained dry. 

 Irrespective of these, if the bees 

 stand in the open, they will in the 

 height of the summer, at noon, be 

 hindered in their work ; even if 

 they do not work with full zeal at 

 this time in the field owing to the 

 strong rays of the sun. One can 

 always notice a difference between 

 those sheltered and those not at 

 this time ; the former work with 

 greater energy. Again, the weaker 

 colonies, if on isolated stands in 

 the winter, have less shelter from 

 the extreme cold than as if they 

 were in an enclosed bee-stand. I 

 speak only of colonies somewhat 

 weak (as they are not always alike 

 in strength, the cause for which 

 we cannot always give the reason 

 but can only surmise) for a col- 

 ony strong in bees and with a suf- 

 ficient store of honey can stand 

 the severest cold of our climate 

 without injury. 



Honey is well known to be of a 

 heating nature, for which reason 

 it can also not freeze ; and the bees, 



which cluster more towards the 

 centre of the hive as the tempera- 

 ture falls, make during the sever- 

 est cold, partly through radiation, 

 partly by their hum (for the 

 greater the cold the more a strong 

 colony will hum), such a warmth 

 and moisture that in a glass bee- 

 hive the upper glass, with which it 

 is covered, will be full of large 

 drops of moisture. The four glass 

 walls will have the moisture frozen 

 over like the windows of a dwell- 

 ing house and this will do the 

 bees no injury. 



Yes, I have even in the middle 

 of winter, in January, with various 

 honeys and strength of colonies, 

 found honey running'^ out of un- 

 sealed cells and out of the hives 

 so that I have placed small vessels 

 to gather it. This happened as early 

 as September in the year 1777 

 when a strong honey dew came, 

 from which the bees carried in 

 much but did not seal it over, 

 partly because they could ^not 

 build any more so late in the sea- 

 son, but partly and mainly because 

 the cells were not quite filled. 

 Their custom is to put in the upper 

 cells first and so on downwards 

 putting a little in each and seal- 

 ing only as they fill which they do 

 at the top first. As this honey 

 from the September honey dew 

 was not sealed it fell out in drops 

 as large as pease owing to the heat 

 and moisture from the bees. 



Although the cold affects the 

 honey and strong colony so little, 

 it is important that the weak should 

 be protected from extreme cold. 



