76 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Oct, 



years of age. Her colony, till May last, was 

 strong and active. Suddenly their activity 

 ceased. They were at or.ce examined. I found 

 two queen cells in the hive just closed over, and 

 concluded that my queen was dead. 



1 caged another in the hive to replace her, a id 

 left the cells in the hive. In two days I returned 

 to liberate the queen in cage, but in my opera- 

 tion I disco\e;ed my old queen in full life ; also, 

 the two queen cells, which I removed. I liber 

 ated the imprisoned queen, and took my old 

 queen to another hive, where she was safely in- 

 troduced. She laid a few eggs among her new 

 subjects, the most of which produced drones. In 

 a week's time she disappeared. I suppose' she 

 died of old age : query. Is it a fact that the 

 colony that first had her, discovering her infirmi- 

 ties, and anticipating her death, prepared for 

 that event, even before it happened, or before 

 she disappeared? 



J. Andeuson. 



Ti.erton, county Bruce, Canada. 



[For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Build a Beehouse. 



As some of the readers of the Bee Journal 

 may wish to build a receptacle for their bees to 

 dwell in during the coming winter, I will tell 

 " what I know about " building such a house, so 

 as to secure warmth, darknss, and ventilation, 



In the fall of 1870, I erected a building, 14 

 by 16 feet, from out to out; posts, 11£ feet; 

 walls, 18 inches thick, filled with sawdust ; two 

 floors, 18 inches apart, with sawdust between ; 12 

 inches sawdust above the ceiling ; one doorway 

 in south end facing apiary. 



To secure ventilation, I placed a continuous 

 tube, 6 by 12 inches, on the east, north, and west 

 sides of the room, resting on the fioor and 

 against the walls, with outside sliding doors, 

 same size as the tube, on the no.th and south 

 ends of the building. On the inner side of the 

 tube, I bored one inch holes, six inch.s apart, 

 alternately, near top and bottom, the whole 

 length of it. 



Immediately under the ridgepole I placed a 

 second tube, of the same size, extending the 

 length of the building, with an outside opening 

 at each gable end. A third tube of the same size 

 extends from the centre of the ceiling to the 

 tube under the ridgepole. 



In the doorway are two doors ; the inner is 

 two inches thick (made of inch boards, nailed 

 together transversely), and fits closely, opening 

 inside the room. About 14 inches from the top 

 of this door is a 1| inch hole, which is covered 

 by a piece of glass on the inside, against which 

 is placed a thermometer, so that tho degrees, 

 ranging from 25° to 40", can be seen through 

 the hole. A slide covers this hole, on the outside 

 of this door. The outer door is one inch thick, 

 has a six light, 8 by 10, 6ash in the upper part of 

 it, and swings outside. Four tiers oi' shelves 

 extend around three sides of the room. The top 

 of the lower ventilating tube, being 7 inches 

 above the fioor, will answer for tho first shelf. 



This room will accommodate one hundred colo- 

 nies of bees. 



The sawdust prevents fiost from entering to 

 any extent, the temperature rangiug from 28 to 

 38", during the winter. 



If fifty or more colonies were in the temperature 

 could be kept at any point desired between these 

 figures, by opening or contracting the doors of 

 the ventilating tubes When tho inner door is 

 closed, no light can enter the room. When the 

 wind is in the south, I open the south ventilating 

 door and close the north door ; when the wind 

 is in the north, I open the north door and close 

 the south door, by which means a current of air 

 is caused to pass in at the ventilating door, 

 through the inch holes, into the room ; all im- 

 pure air, in the meantime, will escape through 

 the upper ventilating tube. 



When I wish to use the extractor, I close the 

 outer door and open the inner. 



No bees can get to mo. and the window in the 

 door affords plenty of light. 



The temperature of the room can be known 

 at any time without disturbing the bees, by 

 opening the outer door, and moving the slide 

 from the hole through which the thermometer 

 "may be seen. 



In this room, warmth, darkness and ventilation, 

 are secured to my perfect satisfac ion. 



In the winter oi 1 870 and 1871, twenty colonies 

 were in this house during 102 days. By weigh- 

 ing each hive and contents, when I placed it 

 in the house, and again in tire spring, when I 

 took it out, I found the greatest consumption 

 of honey by any one colony to be 13 lbs. ; the 

 least consumption, 2 lbs. ; general average, 8A 

 lbs. 



Every colony wintered well, save one, which 

 was queenless when placed in the house. 



Last winter I was not as successful. Pea- 

 body's Honey Extractor worked so nicely, that 

 very little honey was left for the bees, when the 

 season closed, and being very busy during the 

 fall, I neglected to examine my bees and furnish 

 them with needed supplies. The consequence 

 was, several colonies died from starvation. 

 Scarcely an ounce of honey was found in any 

 hive in which the bees were dead. Very little 

 sign of dysentery was discovered in any hive, 

 though kept in winter quarters a mouth longer 

 than usual. I attribute my loss to pure unadul- 

 terated carelessness, and nothing else. 



John S. Dewey. 



Spring Lake, Mich., Sept. 2, 1872. 



[Trauslated from the Bieneizeitung.] 



Concerning Wintering Bee3. 



The sad tidings which during the past winter 

 came to us of the loss of thousands of swarms, 

 io proof positive of how dangerous and difficult 

 a business it is, safely to winter our beloved 

 bees. These many and often disheartening 

 complaints of failures ad losses, naturally do 

 not seduce any to undertake bee-keeping, but 

 on the other hand frighten beginners, and cause 

 them to forsake the business. 



