42 



1 H E AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



it with buckwheat chaff and 

 packed it tight. To be sure the 

 enameled cloth was on top of the 

 frames under the chaff. There was 

 enough ventilation between the super 

 and the side of the top of hive or up- 

 per story, as I do not think the caps 

 on the hives were any too light to pre- 

 vent the foul air from escaping. I 

 will tell you in the spring what suc- 

 cess I will have had in wintering. 



Yours truly, Otis Callahan. 



Wellsboro Pa., Jan. 25, 1892. 



Ed, Am. Bee-Keeper, Dear Sir: 

 Bees are wintering well in Michigan ; 

 at least mine are wintering well on 

 their summer stands. Had a good 

 flight February 12th. In looking 

 through them I find they have plenty 

 of stores. My crop of honey last 

 year from seven colonies was very 

 good. I increased to twenty colonies 

 and got 450 lbs. of comb honey be- 

 sides, in one pound sections. This is 

 my third year in the bee business and 

 I like it very well and intend to keep 

 at it. G. W. Franks 



Belzes, Mick: Eeb. 20th, '92. 



Ed. Am. Bee-Keeper, Dear Sir: 

 We have watched every day for my 

 Bee-Keeper because I am anxious 

 to see it. Papa got twenty hives and 

 1,000 sections from your factory last 

 year. He thinks the outside winter 

 case is very nice. He can put a 

 warm brick in under the cushions 

 and feed the bees almost any time in 

 the winter. He has the outside cases 

 painted red on the sides and ends, and 

 the top is white. He faces them to 

 the east so the morning sun will warm 

 them up and get the bees up early in 

 the morning. Yours truly, 



Ollie Jones. 



Cortland, O., Eeb. 14, 1892. 



WINTERING- ON SUMMER STANDS. 



The epiestion of wintering is always 

 of interest and for that reason is al- 

 ways seasonable. In treating the 

 question I do not expect to give any 

 new points to experts, but many of 

 the readers of this magazine are be- 

 ginners, and are looking to this valu- 

 able journal for information on this 

 as well as on all other apicultural mat- 

 ters. Many successful apiarists of 

 large experience claim that all winter- 

 ing should be done in cellars, or other 

 special depositories ; with these I 

 have no quarrel, but never having 

 wintered except on summer stands, I 

 am unable to speak thereof from per- 

 sonal experience. One objection to 

 this plan of wintering I can well im- 

 agine will force itself into the minds 

 of a large majority, viz. : the expense 

 required to fit up as it should be fitted, 

 with regard to ventilation and temper- 

 ature, such a special depository as is 

 necessary in order to guarantee success 

 and the objection of itself will prob- 

 ably prevent that majority from in- 

 curring the required expense 



For the benefit of the same ma- 

 jority I will give in detail the plan of 

 wintering on summer stands, adopted 

 by myself with perfect success, and 

 which I have made use of for eigh- 

 teen years or more, and that too on 

 Langstroth frames, with single walled 

 seventh-eight inch pine hives. 



As theories in regard to matters 

 connected with apiculture are of 



