364 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



April 26, 1906 



of heat inside, with the sun pouring right down on the hive, 

 it seems hardly possible that such a thing could be done. 



On such a day as this, I once put a sitting hen under an 

 old bee-hive, till I could fix a permanent place for her, and 

 before I had the place fixed, a neighbor called and hindered 

 me a couple of hours, when, on my return. I found the hen 

 dead, and apparently nearly roasted from the sun shining on 

 the hive; and it did not fit the ground so but what there were 

 more open cracks under it than the entrance to a bee-hive, as 

 ordinarily used. 



All are well aware that through evaporation a lower 

 temperature can be obtained than in a perfectly dry air Dr 

 Miller thinks that on a "broiling hot day" the temperature 

 above the brood-nest might be about the same as in the nest, 

 but 1 found at that time the temperature in the supers was 

 from 110 to 113, with only 98 in the brood-nest, the crust of 

 oees keeping the heat above from going below. 



Haying ascertained that 98 degrees was the highest ever 

 obtained m the brood-nest, I next went about finding out the 

 lowest temperature that could be allowed. To ascertain this 

 point the thermometer was kept hot by putting a heated iron 

 in a box and covering it with a cloth, when the thermometer 

 was placed on the cloth, another cloth tucked down over it 

 and the box closed. In this way I could have the registering 

 bar on the cold side up to 115 when placed in the center 

 of the cluster of bees forming the brood-nest, for it is the 

 cluster or crust" of bees which forms the brood-nest proper 

 not the hive. 



Imagine my surprise to find that the coldest point I ever 

 obtained in the brood-nest of a strong colonv of bees was 

 Vo degrees, and that on a night when the ground was frozen 

 in the morning, and ice formed one-half inch thick I tried 

 the same experiment with weak colonies, and in one case 

 with a colony so weak that it could onlv hold brood in two 

 combs about as large as the hand in "each comb, and the 

 lowest temperature I obtained in this weak colony was 92 

 degrees, and that during a night so cold that the ground was 

 white with frost in the morning. In this there is a mystery 

 almost as great as the keeping of the heat- down, on a hot 



t lu TnT ' S V 055 ' 516 , fo !". a pint of bees ' in th e center of 

 a lull lU-frame Langstroth hive, to keep a temperature of 92 



&9Q I" ™!i r httle br 9° d - ne st, with the temperature at 

 from 28 to 30 degrees outside for hours, and sometimes days 

 at a time? Can any one tell? I can't. 



Yea more: I have seen brood perfected with less than 

 a teacupful of bees between two combs, and this brood onlv 

 on the sides of the comb next to these bees, with the opposite 

 sides of the combs entirely bare of bees; yet by carefully 

 watching I ascertained that said 'brood emerged into bee's 

 within one-half day of the regulation 21 days of time. 



All my experiments go to show that all brood-rearing is 

 done at ^ temperature varying only about 6 degrees, namely, 

 between 92 and 98. When it is colder than this outside, the 

 bees are supposed to warm it up to the needed point bv 

 burning honey as "fuel." and if it is warmer than this out- 

 side, through the rays of the hot sun. thev keep it down to 

 VS, or the needed point, through ventilation and the evapora- 

 lon of water into moisture. Surely they are a wonderful 

 little animal. 



But how about the hive-temperature outside of the brood- 

 nest.'' there is nothing definite about this matter. When the 

 ev're it fw Z . ^ *£• brood -"«t, expand to such an 

 extent that they touch the hive at any or all points, then the 

 temperature of the hive may. and will, be from 92 to 98 

 degrees ; but when the brood-nest is confined within the crust 

 of bees they not touching the hive at anv point, as is very 

 often the case in cold or cool spring weather, then that tem'- 

 perature will vary according to the varying changes outside 

 In one case where I experimented, I found it only 45 degrees 

 at the top of the cluster of bees, and within an inch of them 

 while brood-rearing was going on nicelv only 3 inches below' 

 with a temperature of 96. And how this crust of bees hat 

 seems almost as open as a sieve, to me. can confine the hea 

 so effectually within itself, is another of the mysteries know, 

 only to our pets. 



The second question asked by "Wisconsin" is. "If I nlace 

 one hive on top of the other, what would be the temperature 

 in the top hive? Would this make any difference?" I hardly 

 understand what is wanted in this question. If it is asked 

 \l k wllI , make . anv , difference as regards the temperature in 

 the brood-nest in the hive below. I say no. The crust bees 

 will keep that at the 92 to 98 degrees, just the same 



And right here I suppose I shall be considered a "heretic" 

 by the masses, when I say, that from all I can see bv way of 

 my experiments, they will keep that temperature of from 9? 



to 98 degrees in the brood-nest, just as easily as they did, or 

 could, before that upper hive was put on, as the heat is 

 confined within the cluster or crust of bees, not in the hive. 

 The bees are almost independent of the hive (until they touch 

 its walls, by way of the compact cluster), only so far as it 

 gives them protection from their enemies, and the winds and 

 storms. And any one can ascertain about this matter without 

 a thermometer, where the hive used has a quilt, and a cushion 

 above this, at the top. 



On a cold morning in early spring, just put your hand 

 under the cushion, and over the quilt or cloth, immediately 

 on top of the frames, and if the cluster does not come up 

 so as to touch this cloth, you will find it nearly as cold as the 

 outside air; but if the cluster touches the cloth, you will find 

 that just so far as it touches the same it will feel almost like 

 putting your hand in an oven, while outside of this the cloth 

 is cold. I have often located the size of the cluster, and 

 where and how much brood the colony had. where the colonies 

 were strong enough to come up to the cloth above the frames, 

 in just this way. 



No, the heat from the cluster is not allowed to pass up 

 into an upper hive, at any time when that heat is needed for 

 the brood within the cluster of bees, and no one could tell 

 what the temperature in the top hive would be, further than 

 to say that it would vary just in accord to the weather outside. 



"Wisconsin's" third and fourth questions have been an- 

 swered in what has already been said. And by these answers, 

 Dr. Miller will see that either my experiments have been at 

 fault or else his answer to question 4 is incorrect; for in that 

 answer he says that the temperature in a small cluster of bees 

 might be expected to fall somewhat in proportion to that in 

 the surrounding air. This was just my idea until I made the 

 experiments. But those experiments told me that where there 

 was a cluster of bees large enough to cover the spirit bulbs 

 of the thermometer, that in no case was brood-rearing carried 

 on with a less temperature than 92 degrees. 



Borodino. N. Y. 



Management for Big Yields of Honey 



BY T. L. SHAWLER. 



I WILL try to tell how I got those big yields of honey 

 three years in succession without any natural swarming, 

 mentioned on page 46. In the first place, I have a fine , 

 location. I don't see how it could be improved as to honey- 

 yielding plants. I use the 8-frame dovetail hive. The 10- 

 frame hive would be better for extracted honey, but I started 

 with the 8-frame. and it is hard to change. I must always 

 have my colonies 4 and 5 stories high, all full-story depth. 

 The next thing, have a good queen of the leather-colored 

 Italian stock. See that one of them is in every hive in the 

 fall, for you have no time to requeen in the spring, and get 

 a big crop of honey. 



I winter my bees in a cave and they always come out 

 strong. The first thing, when I put them out, is to see that 

 they have enough honey to take them through the cool days : 

 if not. I feed them. Then a little later on I feed granulated 

 sugar made into a syrup, to crowd brood-rearing. Don't let 

 them get scant of stores before the honey-flow ; it will stop 

 brood-rearing. 



When the spring is favorable, we have an early honey- 

 flow from dandelion, willow and fruit-bloom ; then it takes 

 no feeding. The bee-keeper must watch these little things ; 

 he can tell when the bees are in need. 



I forgot to mention that when I take the bees out of the 

 cave in the spring I put a cushion over them. This is a 

 wonderful help in the early spring. When it gets settled 

 warm weather I take a frame of brood from the strongest 

 and give to the weakest colonies. When the honey-flow 

 comes I have all strong and ready to bring in the honey. 

 Then I begin to add stories as fast as they need them. Keep 

 close watch and don't let the bees get out of room the first of 

 the season. 



I begin to extract when the honey is about one-third or 

 less capped over. I keep that up through the season. I put 

 the honey in open tanks, with cheese-cloth over them, in a hot. 

 dry room, and I don't believe anybody has better extracted 

 honey than I have. I get about \y 2 cents more per pound 

 than the market price. I know that some bee-keepers advise 

 letting the bees cap the honey all over, and senile advise wait- 

 ing until the white honey-flow is over. I could not do that. 

 I never could get enough stories to hold the honey and give 

 the bees room. I believe T extract about every 10" days in a 

 good honey-flow. I could never get anything "like the' honey 



