148 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



(coarse hay, chaff or straw is not good, 

 for many reasons,) and tread this hay 

 in tightly, and then set it on its place 

 on the hive. This will absorb all 

 moisture as it passes throngh the 

 cloth, and also retain the heat of the 

 bees in their cluster. The little sticks 

 1 mentioned are to give the bees a 

 passageway over the combs. This 

 plan of packing has proved more ef- 

 fectual than any other kind. Chaff 

 cushions, however, for chaff hives are 

 just as good perhaps, and more con- 

 venient. The entrance of the hives 

 should be contracted to about two 

 inches, which is about right for all 

 the winter. Another point, shelter 

 your bees from the cold north and 

 west winds, by a wind-brake of some 

 kind, as this is a great help in bees 

 wintering all safe. Do not put off 

 this fall work with your bees until 

 cold, freezing weather sets in, as your 

 bees should be left severely alone 

 when it is so awful cold. If you have 

 put off feeding up your bees until 

 now, you had better feed them all 

 that they need at once, so as to have 

 them ready to go into winter quarters 

 with plenty of sealed stores if you 

 want them to winter nicely. You 

 must attend to your bees if you want 

 to make bee keeping a business, for 

 the bees require strict attention at all 

 times. 



Sang Run, Garret Co., Md. 



Hints for Beginners. 



BY C. B. HOWARD. 



One thing that those without ex- 

 perience often inquire about is : " How 

 much honey can safely be taken from 

 a hive?" In this matter judgment 

 should be used. It is always safe to 

 take all the honey stored in the boxes. 

 If the hive is no larger than two 

 thousand cubic inches in size it is well 

 to leave all of it for the use of the 

 bees for the winter. If wintered on 



their summer stands it will take on 

 an average about thirty pounds to 

 carry a good colony through from Oc- 

 tober to April. We have wintered 

 them on much less, and have also 

 found it necessary to allow them much 

 more. It is well not to scant them. 

 They will not waste what they do not 

 consume, but if they have seventy or 

 eighty pounds it is entirely too much 

 honey to leave for winter. It will be 

 better for you to uncap the lower two- 

 thirds of each frame and extract. 



When frost comes contract the en- 

 trances so that they are very small, 

 and disturb the bees only when it is 

 absolutely necessary. Put a quilt or 

 piece of carpet, or what is better still, 

 straw matting over the top of the 

 frames when the surplus boxes are re- 

 moved, 



Hayts Corners, N. Y. 



^g> * *t*^ * ^a 



CarnioEans vs. BiaBians. 



BYG. W. MARSHALL. 



I take this opportunity to advise 

 the bee-keepers of a trial test person- 

 ally made with the above races of 

 bees. Owing to the Carnolians being 

 a new race of bees lately introduced 

 into this country, your correspondent 

 has many questions frequently asked 

 with reference to their honey gather- 

 ing qualities, etc., therefore the fol- 

 lowing little experiment : 



Early in the spring of 1891 we had 

 a colony of pure Carnolians, also one 

 of pure Italians of about equal strength 

 standing in our apiary side by side. 

 Both were in Simplicity Laugstroth 

 hives. The queens were of the same 

 age, they both having been reared 

 about the same time the year previ- 

 ous—the former by the noted breeder 

 Mr. E. L. Pratt of Marlboro, Mass., 

 and a magnificent queen she is, too. 



