Vol. XI 



OCTOBER, 1901 



No. 10 



A FEW OCTOBER ITEMS. 



BY AKTHl'R C. MILLER. 



POSSIBLY to all enthusiastic bee- 

 keepers the most trying work in 

 the apiary is the final shutting up 

 of the bees and packing for Winter. In 

 September, usually by the 25th, I go 

 through all colonies, remove any extra 

 combs and see that each colony has suf- 

 ficient food. In October the packing is 

 put in, or such other protection given as 

 I deem necessary. Last Winter I had 

 two colonies, each in a ten-frame dove- 

 tailed hive with a half-story full of saw- 

 dust over the enameled mat, and the 

 whole hive from the under edge of cover 

 to the ground surrounded by a single 

 thickness of tarred paper. This was 

 secured by strips of wood tacked around 

 the top and bottom, and over the place 

 where the paper lapped. The entrance 

 of course was left open. The results 

 were all that could be desired. The two 

 colonies wintered perfectly, were strong 

 in bees, stores sound and combs dry, and 

 were the first to have supers put on. So 

 well pleased am I with the results that 

 I shall try the experiment on a larger 

 scale this Fall. The tarred paper is 

 virtually air-tight, at least 'tis wind and 

 water proof; but when the sun shines 

 on it its blackness causes it to absorb 

 much heat. I often saw bees at the en- 

 trances of these hives when none could 

 be found stirring in any of the others, 

 and during the late Winter months I 



began to fear that the results would be 

 disastrous, but they were quite the 

 contrary. 



Of course this is only with two hives 

 for one Winter, and it is not >«afe to place 

 too much dependence on the method 

 until it has been more extensively tried. 

 I believe it is worth trial by every bee- 

 keeper who has to consider the winter- 

 ing problem. It certainly is cheaper 

 than a chaflf hive, and if the better con- 

 dition of colonies thus protected proves 

 to be the rule it will be a decided gain. 



Another bit of work for early October 

 is the sorting over of all combs that are 

 out of the hives. The full ones or those 

 partly full and sealed are stored away 

 for future use; those having unsealed 

 honey are placed in hives and stacked 

 so all the bees may have ready access to 

 them. As soon as they have been licked 

 clean they are stored away, and together 

 with the combs of honey before referred 

 to, are fumigated. I do not bother with 

 scraping the frames or fixing combs un- 

 til Winter, at which season I have more 

 time and the work is easier because the 

 propolis is dry and brittle. 



Some cool, dry day in the latter part 

 of the month, I take a pot of thin paint 

 and a wide brush (four to six inches 

 wide) and all hives which need it are 

 given a coat of paint. With such a 

 brush and paint which is mostly oil, it is 

 surprising how few minutes it takes to 

 go over even a big chaff hive, and as for 

 an ordinary dovetailed one it is but the 



