156 



THE AMERICAN A PICUL TURIS T. 



the combs are as cold as stone. The bees 

 need to be kept from the dampness and 

 cold. That can be done without, any pack- 

 ing around the hive. Place a cushion of 

 finely cut hay over the frames, and if the 

 bees are in a double-walled hive, they will 

 winter nicely if the store of food is whole- 

 some, and in abundance. Then place the 

 hives two feet above the ground and the 

 bees will be pretty sure to winter. 



A hive that needs so much packing as 

 some do for winter are worthless. The 

 Bay State Hive needs no extra labor to 

 prepare it for winter. The sections are 

 removed, a mat is put on the frames and 

 the only other packing is merely a 

 cushion which requires little or no time to 

 place in the cap. These hives are as easily 

 unpacked as packed ; all that is necessary 

 to do is to remove the cushion and place 

 the sections on. (The cushions are not 

 removed till the sections are put on.) I 

 believe in keeping up tlie temperature of 

 the hive until the sections are ready to 

 put on ; then contract the entrance and 

 force the bees to take possession of them 

 at once. When the bees are inclined to 

 *' lay out," then give more room at the en- 

 trance. At niaht, if liable to be cool, the 

 entrance should be contracted again, so 

 that the brood-chamber will not cool off, 

 and thus drive the bees out of the sec- 

 tions. 



There are lots of little things connected 

 with beekeeping which if attended to, 

 would very much increase the production 

 of the apiary. It pays to attend to the 

 little details. 



Best time of day to work on bees. 

 In many of the operations described in 

 the Ai'icuLTUHiST, I have advised doing 

 the work just before dark. I will give 

 some of the reasons why that time of day 

 is best to operate. 1. Tiie bees are not 

 as liable to rob as they are earlier in the 

 day. 2. If the combs are sliglitly broken, 

 or a little lioney is dropped upon the 

 ground, it will not set the bees to robbing 

 as it would earlier in the day, as the dis- 

 turbed colony would be in condition tlie 

 next morning to defend their combs. 3. 

 It is well-known that bees keep very quiet 

 in the dark. A colony made qiieenless in 

 season to miss her Just before dark would 

 keep quiet until dayliglit returns, wlien 

 they will make a search for her. Hut alter 

 being queenless all night they soon be- 

 come reconciled and quickly quiet down. 

 No matter what the operation is, the bees 

 need time to recover from it, and when 

 they have the night before them there is 

 no loss of time. 



Bobber bees. 



Care should be taken in season to pre- 

 vent robbing in the apiary. The most 

 danger is during the first few days after 

 the honey flow ceases. The bees at once 

 commence to look around for the weak 

 colonies, or any exposed sweets. Keep 

 all honey out of reach and smell of the 

 bees. Remember that a " stitch in time 

 saves nine." 



Should the bees get into the bee-house, 

 the best plan is to fasten them in. Let 

 out just before it is too dark for them to 

 find the hive. This will do more towards 

 breaking up robbing than any other plan 

 I know of. A few bees will return in the 

 morning, but they will soon become dis- 

 couraged and give up. 



How to know when robbing is going on in 

 the apiary. 



When robbing is going on in the yard I 

 generally know it without going into the 

 apiary. An occasional stray bee will 

 come into the office wliere I am writing. 

 The hive attacked is closed with a wire- 

 screen to give ample ventilation. If but 

 few bees have got at it, I manage to kill 

 them with a piece of thin wide board. 



After the bees once become engaged in 

 robbing they are of no use in the apiary, 

 as they will continue to steal during the 

 rest of their lives, and the sooner they are 

 disposed of the better. If much robbing 

 is going on in the apiary, the thieving 

 colonies should be found and removed to 

 a new location, at least, a mile away. By 

 sprinkling flour on the robber bees as they 

 leave the hive being robhed, they can be 

 easily traced to the stand where they be- 

 long. I have often broken up a colony 

 which were robbing by blowing tobacco 

 smoke in their hive. When this is done, 

 care must be taken that the other colonies 

 do not turn to and rob the one that has 

 been doing the robbin"-. 



Combs melted down. 

 Several parties have written us con- 

 cerning colonies whose combs have melt- 

 ed and broken down on account of the 

 excessive heat. The best thing to do un- 

 der the circumstances is to move all the 

 bees as quickly as possible to a new hive. 

 When it is hot enough in a hive to cause 

 the combs to break, the temperature is suf- 

 flciently lugli to destroy the capped brood. 

 Therefore, it is a waste of time and trou- 

 ble to undertake to save the combs. If 

 combs break down when the bees are gath- 

 ering no honey, the hives should at once 

 be moved to the bee-honse or cellar, or 

 robber bees will soou get the upper hands. 



