THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



27 



tirely give up the idea although I did 

 not then try it. Had read of Sim- 

 mins' dry sugar feeding ("Api" '84, 

 Vol. 2, page 266) for continuous 

 stimulation ; thought it would be but 

 little trouble and effective, and last 

 spring I followed it with satisfaction. 



I filled wide-frame dummies with 

 damp sugar, an opening in the side 

 at top (Simmins' plan) allowed the 

 bees access : this was hung next to 

 brood-combs. I used the 2-inch 

 wide frames while he recommends i h 

 inch ; the result was long sheets of fine 

 white, drone comb were built inside 

 the dummies, brood-rearing was stim- 

 ulated and sugar lasted so that even 

 weekly attention was unnecessary. 

 This was before the honey harvest. 

 These combs were brittle and the wax 

 when chewed was dry, crumbly and 

 tasteless and less fatty than that from 

 new honey. 



This might be remedied by the 

 addition of a certain proportion of 

 granulated honey. I tried granula- 

 ted honey clear but it was not taken 

 us well. Those who think feeding 

 daily a small quantity of syrup for 

 stimulation too much trouble to pay 

 should try this method. 



Pawtucket, R. I. 



For the American Apimlturist. 



THE WINTERING NUMBER 

 OF APICULTURIST. 



C. C. BIlLLER. 



The editor deserves a hearty vote 

 of thanks for massing in the October 

 number of the Apiculturist, so much 

 valuable information on the subject 

 of wintering. The reading of it was 

 of intense interest to me and I doubt 

 not to many others. It may be in- 

 teresting and possibly useful to sum- 

 marize under appropriate heads the 

 views of the different writers and 



comment somewhat thereon. But 

 first will the editor allow me to pick 

 a good-natured quarrel with him over 

 his remarks on page 237? This sen- 

 tence occurs : "What they say is not 

 mere theory, and any novice or old 

 beekeeper can safely adopt and put 

 into practice, any of the methods 

 herein given for wintering bees." 

 And again : "If any reader of the 

 'Api' loses his bees in wintering 

 after this, it must be from careless- 

 ness or because he did not carefully 

 read this number of the "Apicultu- 

 rist." Now, Mr. Editor, I do not dis- 

 pute your statement that the essays 

 are not mere theory. I consider them 

 valuable and undoubtedly based upon 

 the experience of the writers, but I 

 believe the wintering problem not yet 

 entirely solved, and circumstances 

 and local surroundings change mat- 

 ters so much, that what ma}' be 

 right for one may be wrong for an- 

 other. I venture the guess that if 

 you select the most successful man 

 of the whole eleven writers and let 

 him for ten successive years winter 

 his bees alternately at the location of 

 the other ten writers, not changing 

 his plan of wintering in any respect, 

 he will increase his percentage 

 of losses. Or, if you select any of 

 the eleven, and give him 100 colo- 

 nies, obliging him to follow strictly 

 the instructions of the other ten 

 writers with ten colonies for each, 

 I suspect several of the 100 will suc- 

 cumb. 



Moreo\'er if a novice were to at- 

 tempt to follow the directions given, 

 he would be somewhat confused on 

 several points, where such diverse in- 

 structions are given. I will give you 

 but one illustration. Dr. Tinker 

 says : "I am prepared to say from 

 ample experience that every kind of 

 upward ventilation through free open- 

 ings or loose porous coverings is per- 

 nicious and liable to disaster," and 

 speaks of the "thousands of thou- 

 sands of colonies lost in wintering, 

 largely through the follies of upward 



