36 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



spread. Also, this season, a few colo- 

 nies have oil-cloths, not quite full size, 

 placed loosely above the cotton sheet, 

 under the blanket and cushion. All col- 

 onies but three have hives full of best 

 sealed white clover honey. Those three 

 have mostly old su.a'ar stores, taken 

 from the brood-chamber last spring, 

 and kept, — through the summer, — ia 

 extracting supers, above the bees. 



One hive was so overflowing with 

 bees, that chafl' division-boards could 

 not be placed at sides. Another, 

 which, on being examined for winter, 

 was found to weigh about seventy 

 pounds, was not interfered with at all, 

 but was allowed the full size brood- 

 chamber of the 10-frame L. Hive, with 

 no packing except in upper story. 

 Shall notice, carefully, how the last- 

 mentioned winters and "springs." It 

 is in the cellar, as are all the colonies 

 except four. These latter have the ad- 

 ditional goods-boxes, mentioned on 

 page 150, Vol. IV. 



Having always, before, wintered on 

 sugar stores, and without the loss of a 

 single colony, I shall watch results with 

 considerable anxiety. The bees are, 

 certainl3% unusually quiet, thus far; 

 but all neighboring beekeepers men- 

 tion this same condition, as regards 

 their bees. Temperature of cellar 

 ranges from 38° to 45°, most of the 

 time. 



Ventilation is secured through the 

 chimney, which extends to tlie cellar 

 floor, and has openings which may be 

 regulated at will. Two coal staves 

 keep the rooms, directly over the bees, 

 Avarm, both night and day. Entrances 

 of colonies in cellar are not contracted ; 

 and covers are raised half an inch, by 

 inserting strips of board. On summer 

 stands, entrances are contracted to 

 one-third, and covers put on as tightly 

 as convenient, though more or less 

 straw from the packing always gets un- 

 der the edges. Hives in cellar are 

 placed on benches, a foot or more from 

 floor and walls. 



REPOKT roil 1886. 



Began the season with sixteen full 

 colonies, and eight three-frame nuclei, 

 two of the latter being rather weak. 

 Sold one colony to "neighbcxr Mattie," 

 of whom, more hereafter. Took off 

 just about 2300 pounds, one-third be- 

 ing comb honey, in three-fourth pound 

 sections, leaving abundance of winter 

 stores on the hives. Increased to forty, 

 and united up to thirty-one. 



Sold all the comlj honey at fifteen 

 cents ; extracted, at from ten to fif- 



teen, according to size and style of 

 package ; mostly taken at our six home 

 groceries, and before cold weather. 

 Sheboygan Falls, Wis. 



THow many of onr old .ind expsrienced 

 bee-keepei's have made hee-keepina: more of 

 a siicce^is tliaii lias Mrs. Hills? This ladv 

 socnis to miike the ■winteriiio: of liees as well 

 as the sale of honey a success. Why canaot 

 others do as well? — Ed.] 



and Answers by Practical Beekeepers. 



IS COMB HOXRY IN.JURED BY Fi^EEZ- 

 ING? REMOVrXG PROPOLIS FROM 

 SECTIONS; CO.AtB IN UNFINISHED 

 SECTIONS; POLLEN IN SEC- 

 TION HONEY, ETC. 



Query No. 5. 1. Have you ever 

 had any of your comb honey frozen? 

 At what temperature will it freeze and 

 what are tlie results? "Will it crack 

 and run? Do you think that exposing 

 comb honey in a glass case on the side- 

 walk in midwinter will injure the honey 

 and hurt the reputation of the producer, 

 if some of it is not sold till spring? 



2. Are you very particular to scrape 

 all the propolis from frames before us- 

 ing them again, say a wide frame of 

 sections with empty combs. Would 

 you again use a number of them with- 

 out disturbing them or scraping the 

 boxes? 



3. Do you again use good clean 

 empty combs in sections when unfin- 

 ished ones have been extracted ? I do. 



4. Did you have more pollen in sec- 

 tions last season (1886) than usual? 

 Are you not troubled in this way much 

 more with side storage, also in top 

 boxes when brood-nest is much con- 

 tracted? S. C. 



ANSWERS BY J. H. MARTIN. 



1. I have never had much experience 

 with frozen comb honej'. I know that 

 when hone^^ is left in my bee house 

 through several days of severe cold, 

 it will sometimes show the efl'ects in the 

 shape of small cracks. I think, how- 

 ever, that a sudden jar may have 

 caused it. I should prefer not to ex- 

 pose honey in a glass case on the side- 

 walk. I think an exhibit that will 

 attract much attention can be made in 

 a window where there will be no dan- 

 ger from frost. 



2. For extracting I do not scrape 

 propolis and bits of wax from the 

 frames for they will be built on again 

 and they might as well remain as to 



