1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



179 



The more quiet bees are kept, the smaller will be 

 the loss of bees, and consumption of honey, and in 

 my experience with double walls, I find the bees 

 less affected by sudden changes either of cold or heat, 

 than in single walls. The cluster of bees expands, 

 or contracts, as the temperature in the hive rises or 

 falls. Examine the bottom board after severe freez- 

 ing weather, and you will generally find a good 

 many dead bees, and why ? simply because the bees 

 on the outside of the cluster become chilled, and 

 are unable to contract with cluster, and perish. We 

 lost twelve colonies last winter : of three in double 

 walls, one was lost from dysentery, and two, for 

 want of honey. Of nine in single walls : one was 

 lost from want of honey, and eight perished show- 

 ing no signs of disease, and having abundant stores. 

 An examination of the hives showed plainly that the 

 bees had perished at different times, as I found bees 

 between one and two ranges of combs, separated 

 from main cluster, which showed that they had 

 become chilled, and the main cluster in contracting 

 had drawn away from them. Now the cluster in 

 these hives had become very much reduced by sud- 

 den changes, when the temperature went down sev- 

 eral degrees below zero, putting a quietus on what 

 was left. Place two hives on the same stand, one 

 in double walls properly packed with straw between 

 walls, and top of hive, honey boards having been 

 removed, the other in single walls without any pro- 

 tection, and after severe freezing weather, examine 

 bottom boards of both hives, the difference in 

 number of dead bees found will be sufficent proof 

 of the superiority of double walls when properly 

 managed. 



Bees need occasionally a purifying flight, and 

 after being confined to hive for weeks by severe 

 weather, when the opportunity offers a safe flight, 

 all shade should be removed, and I have removed 

 covers, so as to let sun shine directly on chambers, so 

 as to warm the hive. I think hives should be shaded 

 from the sun after packing for winter, until they 

 commence flying freely in spring, and from that 

 time until boxes are to be put on, or surplus honey 

 is to be taken in some way, I would give them all 

 the sun possible, then shade while surplus honey is 

 being stored. I have made some experiments the 

 past season in feeding, which have proved satisfac- 

 tory and which I may communicate to the Journal 

 at some future time. J. E. Moore. 



Rochester, Pennsylvania. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Chips. 



Mr. Editor: — I don't often see anything in the 

 Journal from this part of Iowa. I will send you 

 a few "chips," that brother bee-keepers in other 

 sections of the country may know what we are 

 doing here in the way of apiculture. 



There are a good many bees in this county, both 

 of Italians and blacks. The Italians were intro- 

 duced into this county in 1867. In 18G8, F. M. 

 Milliken and myself got Italian queens from Mrs. 

 Tupper, which proved to be very good. Other 

 parties subsequently obtained queens from differ- 

 ent queen breeders, and now there are hundreds 

 of Italian colonies in the county. The past season 

 has been a poor one. We have but little white 



~/ 



clover here yet. Buckwheat yielded but little 

 honey, and the linden proved almost a failure. 

 The most of the honey that the bees did gather 

 was from autumn flowers, golden rod, heartsease, 

 &c. Last spring I commenced with twenty-four 

 stocks, and increased them, by artificial swarming, 

 to thirty-two, which gave me only about 1,000 lbs. 

 surplus honey ; the most of that was extracted. 

 I had only a few boxes filled with comb honey. 



In the summer of 1871, I got up an extractor 

 that worked very nicely. I had a tinner to make 

 a tin can 20 inches in diameter, and deep enough 

 to suit the depth of my frames. A light wooden 

 frame inside of the can supports the frames and .,_ 

 combs ; the frame is run by gearing taken from a 

 worn out churn. The inside frame revolves, but 

 the can is stationary. The honey runs out at the 

 center of the bottom of the can, and can be caught 

 in any convenient vessel. The Peabody extractor 

 is the only patent one I have ever seen, I like the 

 one I use best ; it turns much easier. The can of 

 the Peabody revolves which makes it much harder 

 to turn, as the honey does not run out until the 

 operator stops turning. 



As there has been a great deal said in the Jour- • .\ j 

 nal about introducing queens, I will give my 

 method. I use a frame the same size of those 1 

 use in my hives, both sides covered with wire- 

 cloth. 1 bore a hole in the bottom piece of the 

 frame for the purpose of putting in and letting out 

 the queen. I put my queen and a few of her bees 

 into this cage, stop the hole with a cork, and hang 

 the cage in the hive with the other frames. Every 

 bee in the hive will find her and make her acquain- 

 tance. Forty-eight hours from the time she was 

 put into the hive, I take the cork from the hole 

 and allow the queen to come out at her leisure. 1 

 have never lost a queen introduced in this way. 



On page 144, December No. of American Bee 

 Journal, Mr. Furman gives some of the queen 

 breeders some pretty severe "raps across the 

 knuckles," and I think he has hit the nail right 

 slap on the head nearly every time. I have tried 

 some of the modes recommended in the Journal 

 for procuring fertilization in confinement, but have 

 invariably failed to accomplish the object sought. 

 I first tried Mrs. Tupper' s favorite method of con- 

 fining the queen and drones in a wire cage, 6 or 

 8 inches in diameter and 10 or 12 inches high, 

 but never had one fertilized in that way, and some- 

 times lost the queen. 



I next tried N. C. Mitchell's plan, which is to 

 put the queen and drones in a large cage, suspend- 

 ed in the hive among the bees, but failed as before. 

 I now don't believe that a queen has ever been 

 fertilized in any other way than on the wing. If 

 it is so easily done as Herbert A. Burch describes, 

 (see page, 142, Dec. No. of Bee Journal), if it is 

 such an easy matter to have a queen fertilized by 

 any drone desired, why don't some of those who 

 talk so much about it accept Mr. Furman's offer? 

 (Dec. No. of American Bee Journal, page 144). 

 If I could mate a queen and drone by taking them 

 in the hand and mate them, I would work for Mr. 

 Furman all next summer, or at least so long as he 

 had a hundred dollar bill in his "jeans." 



What will we do for a market for extracted 

 honey? I cannot get more than 12£ cents per lb 



