arc! manner of doing things, and in- 

 duced me to seek the .National Associa- 

 tion last fall, in New York City, where 

 I was immediately convinced, upon 

 viewing honest, intelligence counte- 

 nances, that the highest attainments 

 in practical and scientific bee culture 

 was paramount, and that it was specifi- 

 cally other than for mutual admiration, 

 or for a species of political place-hunt- 

 ers. Its dignity was so far up, and, 

 too, with becoming propriety, that I 

 dared not " open my mouth for fear of 

 putting my foot in it." But I did ven- 

 ture after a time, while occupying a 

 back seat, to make a statement of what 

 I proposed to do to winter my bees 

 (some 60 colonies), when several mem- 

 bers turning around, looking me square 

 in the face, I hurried nervously into 

 my seat, but their voices came immedi- 

 ately and spontaneously to my relief, 

 saying, " You are sure to winter suc- 

 cessfully ! " This assurance, coupled 

 with my own practical evperience in 

 other ways, by making frost-proof par- 

 titions in barn stables, was the incent- 

 ive to prosecute it diligently. 



The cost per hive for frost-proof pro- 

 tection I adopted was about 10c. Time 

 required to place same in winter condi- 

 tion, on summer stand (say 50 hives), 

 was, for two men, about \% days' labor, 

 and to resume summer garb this spring, 

 took of my own labor about 1% hours 

 in all, with cleaning up all debris in 

 and out of hives — allowing the buck- 

 wheat hulls to scatter over the sward 

 ground, where the bees industriously 

 gathered pollen from the little particles 

 of flour adhering, reveling on the same 

 in sunny early-spring days. 



My mode is substantially as follows, 

 viz : A projection upon hive (which 

 may be permament or temporary) is 

 grooved, wherein to insert a thin board, 

 allowing about 2 in. space to be filled 

 with buckwheat hulls— these are better 

 than chaff, I think, as they settle read- 

 ily into all interstices. This upon four 

 sides, with little slanting roof-boards 

 above to ward off the ram, while the 

 opening to the hive should be guarded 

 by a similar board, to prevent clogging 

 the entrance. About 1 in. up from the 

 bottom board, over the top of the 

 frame I placed a tight box, about the 

 size of a brood-chamber, 2% to 3 in. 

 high (with dove-tailed ends, allowing 

 them readily to be put together) : then 

 place wire-cloth strips, about \% or 2 

 in. wide by 12 to 15 in. long, bent semi- 

 circular like a long trough, over and 

 across the holes in top oars, with a 

 piece of muslin, 18 to 20 in. square, laid 

 carefully over all. This fitted in the 

 depth of the box above, lightly pressed 



into the corners, affords a winter pas- 

 sage underneath for the bees to pass to 

 and fro, without exposure and without 

 currents of air, giving an extended sur- 

 face of buckwheat hulls to absorb the 

 moisture. This runway, upon favor- 

 able weather in winter, reminds one of 

 a busy thoroughfare, and I claim this 

 upper protection of paramount impor- 

 tance, in wintering bees on summer 

 stands, upon any and all hives of what- 

 ever construction. 



After the buckwheat season last fall, 

 I displaced the surplus boxes by put- 

 ting enameled cloth over the holes, till 

 cool weather came, when moisture 

 might be condensed therein, when I 

 replaced the same by fixtures as des- 

 cribed above, without disturbing the 

 frames, or even considering the amount 

 of winter stores. When late in April, 

 relieving them of these fixtures, I found 

 all, with one exception, prosperous, and 

 this one was robbed — not dead; and 

 what is more, the floor of the hives 

 were uniformly clean, except a little in 

 the front corners, where some dry re- 

 fuse with a few dead bees were gath- 

 ered, and no signs of dysentery were 

 discernable anywhere. This I attribute 

 to my leaving the bees severely alone 

 in cold weather, for I did not disturb 

 the snow when hives was drifted un- 

 der them, except upon nearing warm 

 weather, when it was liable to settle 

 down and freeze up the openings ; then 

 I caused the snow to be cleared away 

 from entrances. 



In moving the buckwheat hulls, that 

 upon the outside of the hive falls off 

 without difficulty, while that on the top 

 of the frames, by gathering in the four 

 corners of the muslin cover, is easily 

 lifted off without in the least encum- 

 bering the bees, and the hulls readily 

 drop away upon the ground, or into a 

 convenient receptacle for safe keeping. 

 The muslin cloth is then placed over 

 the frames, till required to be super- 

 seded by surplus boxes, for the sum- 

 mer season. 



I noticed a few peculiarities for last 

 winter, which succeeding winters may 

 demonstrate more fully, viz : That 

 formerly when my bees had no care, 

 but their own, under adverse circum- 

 stances, when taking flight, which 

 would be frequent upon mild, sunny 

 days, they would discharge their feces 

 indiscriminately upon everything— soil- 

 ing, perchance, " a washing " upon the 

 line,— besides perishing in great num- 

 bers on the snow. But this last winter, 

 my bees did not act so ; lost but few on 

 the snow, and I have noticed but little 

 of their feces being discharged any- 

 where ; particularly, their combs all 



