THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



113 



[For tho American Bee Journal.] 



Novice's Ideas on Wintering. 



Mr. Editor : — We are going to put all our 

 bees into the cellar. Does any one care to know 

 why? 



Well, you remember the one "weak swarm (or 

 rather quart of bees) that we kept in the cellar 

 last winter, which consumed less than one 

 frame of honey, and of which so many were 

 lost, after being set out a day or two ? Though 

 they did become very weak, yet, without any 

 assistance in the spring, except the rye and 

 oat meal, they became a strong colony, and 

 have yielded us more than fifty pounds of hou- 

 ey. Now had they been left out with the oth- 

 ers, they would assuredly have died, as did 

 three or lour much stronger ones, and we 

 should have had nothing but empty combs. 

 (By the way, Mr. Editor, we will pay twenty- 

 five cents each for frames of empty worker 

 comb ; so that a Langstroth hive from which 

 the bees have died, is worth $2 50, for comhs 

 alom). Now, if we can save ten pounds of 

 honey from each stock, by carrying them in 

 the cellar, (which we do not doubt), we shall 

 have three hundred and fifty pounds more rea- 

 dy for our honey machine next spring. We 

 shall place a thermometer there, so as to keep 

 the temperature as near 35° or 40 c as we can. 



A great deal is said about keeping bees quiet, 

 yet the weak swarm first mentioned was struck 

 every day for three months, with hardly an 

 omission, to see if they were alive ; and we are 

 going to " look at " and "punch " our bees this 

 winter whenever we feel inclined to do so. 



We cannot help thinking Mr. Langstroth's 

 new plan for wintering is an "awful sight of 

 trouble,' 1 and that it will not answer the same 

 purpose as keeping them in a cellar at a tem- 

 perature of about 40°. Will not the same ob- 

 jection come in that was made to double hives, 

 that the sun cannot warm them through as 

 quick as a thin hive ? 



We have reduced our forty stocks into thirty- 

 five. The fall pasturage was poor ; and we 

 hope to have thirty-five stocks sure next spring. 



Do you not think, Mr. Editor, that our large 

 yield of honey, this poor season, was mainly 

 owing to the large amount of rye and oat meal 

 fed last spring ? That it saved their honey in 

 some way or other, we cannot doubt. We 

 think you should advise, at the proper season, 

 in large letters, the use of RYE AND OAT 

 MEAL ; but then how few would take the 

 trouble to provide it ? 



We hope every bee-keeper will carefully read 

 Mr. Gallup's article, on page 93, of the Novem- 

 ber number of the Bee Journal. It seems as 

 if it was written purposely for our locality. 



Many have called on us to get our " secret " 

 for "luck" in bees; and those that did not know 

 more than we could tell them, were sure to get 

 everything wrong, in spite of books and Bee 

 Journals, given or lent to them. We do not 

 mean to say all ; but, alas, too many, for we 

 have a third class here, though they are only 

 too much like "angel's teeth and hen's visits," 



few and far between. We have little fear that 

 the business w T ill be "run into the ground," by 

 two many engaging in it; for there are few that 

 will take the necessary care and trouble to " do 

 the right thing at the right time," even if they 

 are convinced of the large profit to be realized 

 on time and money invested. 



When equalizing our stocks a few days ago, 

 we found, as we did every season before, our 

 Langstroth hives far heavier than the Ameri- 

 cans ; yet they have furnished more than twice 

 the quantity of honey this seasou, and we must 

 confess that w r e cannot see clearly why either. 

 With the practice w r e have had we do not find 

 j the least trouble in removing frames. 

 I Bushels of rye and oat meal, and rows of jars 

 ! for honey, miles in length, in anticipation of 

 the season of 1869, are already floating before 

 the vision of Novice. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Hives, and Wintering Bees. 



Mr. Editor : — I am often asked by beekeep- 

 ers, as I meet them and by letter, what kind of 

 hive I use, which kind I like best, how I win- 

 ter my bees, and wha* I think of Langstroth's 

 mode of wintering, &c, &c. ; and as your paper 

 is the means of communication to all who care 

 to know anything about these matters, I reply 

 by saying that I use Kidder's Compound Hive. 

 Do I like it ? Of course I do, or I should 

 change it for a better one. But I do not say 

 this is the best for all to use, though I do think 

 that a hive nearly square inside is the best for 

 cold climates like Wisconsin. And I say to all, 

 use movable frames or no liive. 



I gave my method of wintering bees in the 

 Journal some time since, and will now say 

 that I have tried most of the plans recom- 

 mended, and think any temporary arrangement 

 too expensive, with too much time, too much 

 litter with clamps, loose boards, &c. I say, 

 make a suitable permanent house. It need not 

 be expensive, and will last for years. I set my 

 bees into their winter quarters as soon as severe 

 cold sets in ; remove the caps entirely, and put 

 on the straw mats, which are made of soft oat 

 straw, and so constructed that they fit tightly 

 on the top of the hive, with a space of three 

 quarters of an inch between the straw and the 

 frames. This allows a free passage for the bees 

 to all the combs, and a warm place for them 

 to cluster. 



Perhaps ashes, woolen rags, or something of 

 this kind may answer ; but nothing is so cheap 

 and clean to handle as the mat made in a frame 

 with strips of lath. Mr. Gallup has pointed 

 out the three classes of beekeepers to perfec- 

 tion, and I have come to the conclusion that it 

 is time spent in vain to try to educate class No. 

 1, and class No. 2 is not much better. Yet, 

 with all my care, I cannot make bees gather 

 honey where there is none ; and bees in this 

 vicinity have barely gathered enough to winter 

 on, and my own table will go unsupplied this 

 winter. I have many things to write, but time 

 and space forbid now. B. S. Hoxie. 



Cooksville, Wiri., Nov. 10, 1868. 



