178 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Fee. 



cause was old age, as we had no young bees raised 

 alter the 15th of September, owing to a frost that 

 killed everything at that time. When we set them 

 out there was not a cell of brood to be found in 

 any of the hives, something which never happened 

 with us before. All old bees and no increase for 

 at least 21 days was no cheering prospect we will 

 assure you. Two weeks from the time we set them 

 out we lost 11 queens in two days. This is the 

 only thing we cannot account for. Some were from 

 the strongest swarms we had and all breeding as 

 well as circumstances would admit, and certainly 

 as well as any of the remainiug thirty stocks. Two 

 or three queens the bees drew out at the entrance, 

 but the others were on the bottom board with a few 

 disconsolate bees around them. These 11 we united 

 with the weakest we had, making 30 very weak 

 swarms to commence the season. The spring was 

 the most backward of any we ever experienced. 

 There was a frost the first six nights in June, one of 

 which froze water as thick as window glass. The 

 first pollen gathered was April 25th, from elm and 

 soft maple. The first honey was from golden wil- 

 low, which lasted three days, commencing May 7th. 

 Some of the best swarms gained 7 pounds, as the 

 weather was fine at that time. First drones hatched 

 May 'lid. Apple trees blossomed May 23d. The 

 bees worked on them but one day on account of 

 rain and high winds. Some seasons bees make a 

 gain of 25 pounds to the swarm on apple blossoms. 

 White clover commenced to bloom June 15th. 

 Basswood blossomed July 11th and lasted just 8 

 days ; last year it lasted 24 days. We took 800 

 pounds of surplus honey, one-half of which was 

 box honey in 2-pound boxes, which sold at 29 cents. 

 Extracted honey sold for 12, cents. We now have 

 42 swarms with plenty of honey and bees and pro- 

 pose to winter them mostly out doors as the cellar 

 is full of apples, &c. We shall winter them accor 

 ding to Gallup with two exceptions, the first of 

 which is, we shall use straw in the chambers instead 

 of chaff or sawdust. We use quilts, like Novice, 

 if the top board is nailed fast put in the straw 

 with the cap bottom up and tread it in with the 

 feet, and then when you wish to take off the cap it 

 will remain in it. Our second exception we con- 

 sider important. We shall sweep or shovel all the 

 show that falls, up around the hives till we get it 

 in- within one inch of the top of the cap where the 

 top ventilation is on each side to carry off moisture. 

 This did not originate with us, but with a bee-keeper 

 whom we became acquainted with last fall. We 

 examined his bees a number of times last winter 

 and concluded it possessed every advantage of the 

 cellar. The warmth of the bees soon thaws a space 

 of about a foot all around the hive at the bottom, 

 narrowing till it reaches the hive at the top. Dig 

 through this bank of snow on the coldest days and 

 water would stand in drops on the snow, yet the 

 hive would be dry. You need not be afraid of 

 smothering the bees with snow piled round the 

 hive, for you cannot do it, especially if you have 

 upward ventilation. This bee-keeper wintered 90 

 swarms as described with the loss of one single 

 swarm, while one-half of all the other bees died 

 around him. He says he has always been successful 

 in wintering in this way. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, Onondaga Co.,N. Y., Nov. 19, 1872. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Improvement Suggested, 



Editor American Bee Journal — Being a careful 

 reader of your paper I could not avoid noticing on 

 page 128 of December number, the wonderful 

 invention shown by Mr. H. Alley, in his plan for 

 making winter holes. I would however suggest an 

 improvement, viz : to use an auger long enough to go 

 clear through and so get rid of one of his tools, the 

 square pointed stick. When an inventor begins, he 

 does not know where to stop, therefore I will make 

 another suggestion which is best of all, viz : to use 

 a small cannon of one inch bore set your hives all 

 in a row, put a drone at the entrance of each hive 

 to entice the queen from the centre, and then fire 

 the ramrod clear through the whole lot, and the job 

 is did. Territory for sale. Apply to, 



Bully Bee Keeper, 



United States Apiary, Ciu. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, Dec. 2 1872. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



" Wintering Bees," 



Having been busily engaged to day, (Oct. 24th,) 

 packing hives, both double and single walls, to win- 

 ter on summer stands, I thought 1 would give you my 

 method as practised for winters of '70 and '71. Up 

 to fall of '69, all the preparation made for wintering, 

 was to see that the hives had plenty of honey, and 

 uncover holes in the honey board. But our bees 

 were in such poor condition in the spring of '69, 

 the hives being very damp, and combs mouldy, that 

 I determined to try some way in future to avoid so 

 much moisture. In the fall of '69 I packed the cov- 

 ers as full of straw as possible, and with double 

 walls packed between hive and case, then removed 

 honey boards, and placed narrow strips half inch 

 thick, cross ways at the ends and middle of frames, 

 laid on some straw and put on covers. In spring of 

 '70, the hives were dry, and combs free from mould. 

 The only objection I have to the above is, that 

 wherever the straw sagged down on frames, the bees 

 stuck it fast, which made considerable work, clean- 

 ing off tops of frames before putting on honey 

 boards in spring. To avoid this, I am using on some 

 hives, the following, made of slats an inch wide and 

 a quarter of an inch thick, I cut two pieces length 

 of honey board, also two pieces width of same, nail 

 together making a frame same dimensions as honey 

 board, then cut pieces as long as honey board, and 

 nail on to frame leaving from quarter to half an 

 inch space between slats. For others I made frame 

 same as above, then cut a piece the width of the 

 honey board, and nail on about middle of the frame 

 I then took coffee sacking (any coarse cloth will do) 

 and cut pieces an inch longer, and same width as 

 frame, laid it on frame, letting it project half an inch 

 over ends, tack sides on, then draw over ends and 

 tack down, driving tacks into narrow edge of end 

 pieces, so as to prevent bees from getting out at ends, 

 the piece across the middle of frame raises cloth 

 quarter of an inch from frames, allowing bees to pass 

 over from one frame to another, at top. This cloth 

 frame will allow moisture to pass off freely, and at 

 same time keep straw off frames. I differ with 

 " Novice" in regard to wintering in double walls. 



