THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



79 



course, with some of the worst 

 cracks daubed over with clay. It 

 stood in a deserted nook in the 

 rear of the house. Within, a few 

 resohite bees still seemed to "hold 

 the fort, butit was up-hill work with 

 them and business did not seem to 

 boom very nuicli even in the merry 

 sunshine of that bright and sunny 

 May day when it attracted my at- 

 tention. Every now and then a 

 solitary bee, with dejected looks, 

 would sally forth to forage on the 

 abundant flora all around, but it 

 was slow and discouraging work 

 and "bees did not do well" for that 

 beekeeper that season, and his stock 

 of surplus was very limited that 

 particular year. That storm pelted 

 old beehive with its poverty- 

 stricken inmates seemed to speak 

 volumes to me against wintering 

 bees out-of-doors without packing. 



A chati-hive makes a very good 

 hive to winter in, especially for 

 farmers who are apt to neglect their 

 bees in the fall when work is very 

 urgent in other directions. It is 

 also desirable in early spring-time 

 when brood-rearing is going on 

 and is sometimes seriously inter- 

 fered with by very sudden and de- 

 cided depressions in temperature. 

 But there are some serious objec- 

 tions to chafF-hives, among which 

 are their expensiveness and the fact 

 that the chatf-packing often be- 

 comes moldy anil damp and is then 

 worse than useless. Another ob- 

 jection is their clumsiness, requir- 

 ing several persons to move them. 



After considerable experience 

 with various styles of hives, dur- 

 ing more than twent3'-five years 

 of apiarian experience, I prefer a 

 one-and-a-half story single-walled 

 hive. It makes a cheap hive, eas- 

 il}-' handled, and is equall}' suitable 

 for cellar or outdoor wintering. 

 When left on the summer stand, 

 I use an outside case about four 

 inches larger every way, packing the 

 intervening space with dry forest 



leaves, leaving an opening for the 

 bees to tly out at will. This outer 

 case can be made of cheai) lumber 

 and need not be more than an inch 

 higher than the hive with the roof 

 to shed the water. I use a ten- 

 I'rame hive : but, in wintering, re- 

 move from two to four of the out- 

 side fi'anies, according to strength 

 of colony, and put chaff divisions 

 in their places — with a Hill's de- 

 vice and a chaff cushion on top of 

 the frames — then if the colonies 

 have enough of the right kind of 

 stores and are otherwise in a proper 

 condition, I expect to wintersafely 

 unless some very extraordinary 

 freak in our weather arrangement 

 occurs. 



I leave the packing on until set- 

 tled warm weather has come to 

 stay, or about the time I am get- 

 ting things into readiness for sur- 

 plus arrangements. I find the 

 packing especially useful in si)ring 

 while brood-rearing is being rapid- 

 ly pushed. With good packing at 

 this season of the year there need 

 not be much fear of spring dwind- 

 ling. 



Columbiana, Ohio. 



For the American Apiculturist. 



METHOD FOR GIVING BEES 

 A FLIGHT IN WINTER. 



Mrs. H. Hills. 



I have felt it my duty to give 

 the readers of the Api a long rest ; 

 but now that spring is just upon 

 us, and more particularly, because 

 I have just found out something iu 

 regard to beekeeping, which gives 

 me more pleasure than I can well 

 express, the old "jangle" must 

 again begin. 



One of my colonies left on sum- 

 mer stands has been uneasy all 

 winter, — bees flying out ever}' pos- 

 sible opportunit}', when all others 



