564 



queen I was bothered a long time, but 

 finally saw her dead, killed by accident, 

 in front of the hive. As the bees were 

 annoyed by exposure to robbers, I put 

 the new queen in a cage, and next morn- 

 ing another black but smaller queen laid 

 in front of the hive. 



A letter from the northern part of 

 Alabama tells me that there bees use all 

 the honey they get from white clover in 

 brood-rearing ; but gather a surplus of 

 good honey from red clover. Two de- 

 grees south of this I saw hundreds of 

 bees work on common red clover, but 

 here not a single one. There few worked 

 on blackberry ; here many work upon it. 



I removed a black queen ; 24 hours 

 afterwards I put one of Alley's queens 

 in, caged ; after 48 hours I released her, 

 and, though well received, she flew 

 away. As she seemed to mark the hive, 

 my wife and I sat long by it without 

 moving anything, but our bird was in 

 the bush and for good. 



Just where I live frost has killed all 

 but the hardiest flowers, though the sit- 

 uation is high and dry ; but where I 

 have bought, 6 miles east, there is hardly 

 a sign of frost, and even beans and to- 

 matoes are green. This shows how care- 

 ful one should be in selecting a location 

 for an apiary. 



I have just destroyed an old, gentle 

 queen, caught wild in the Ozark Moun- 

 tains in Missouri, thattomy own knowl- 

 edge has laid five seasons, and was still 

 prolific, but this year bred a great num- 

 ber of drones. Her progeny were very 

 gentle, very industrious, and nearly ail 

 showed one or two yellow bands. 



Winchester, 111., Oct. 4, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Chaff Packing on Summer Stands. 



SAMUEL STEVENSON, M. D. 



On this, as on many other subjects, 

 there is still a difference of opinion, 

 which means that we have not yet 

 reached perfection. Much has been said 

 upon this interesting topic, yet I think 

 there is no danger that we shall under- 

 stand the subject too thoroughly. 



I will give the method of wintering 

 which I have pursued successfully for 

 the last six years. I make a box of good, 

 strong, inch lumber, with a bottom of 

 the same thickness. The bottom is 

 placed on the inside of the end and side 

 pieces. I make an opening on the front 

 side 1 inch wide by 2 long, on a level 

 with the floor or bottom. I then remove 

 the top from the hive and place the body 

 containing the frames and bees within 

 the box. I build so as to have a 3-inch 



space on all the sides, between the out- 

 side of the hive and the inside of the 

 box. The box extends 5 inches above 

 the top of the hive when placed in posi- 

 tion. To secure entrance to and exit 

 from the hive at all times when the bees 

 are disposed to lly, I take a thin piece 

 of board 3 inches wide by 6 long, and 

 upon the same near the ends nail a piece 

 of board 2 inches high by 3 wide. This 

 is placed on the inside of the box, so as 

 to cover the opening made there. The 

 hive is then brought up snugly in con- 

 tact with it. Here we have a little ves- 

 tibule or porch completely enclosed, 2 

 inches high, 3 wide and about 5 long. 

 This secures perfect freedom to the bees 

 to pass in and out. The space between 

 the hive and box is now completely filled 

 with finely cut wheat straw and chaff— 

 the dryer the better. The honey boards 

 are now removed, and a piece of good, 

 strong, thick, clean, woolen cloth (not 

 anything that you can pick up here or 

 there) is put down upon the frames and 

 fastened at each corner with a small 

 tack. This is then covered with from 3 

 to 5 inches of straw and chaff. By hav- 

 ing the cloth thick, dust is prevented 

 from passing down. The animal heat 

 is effectually retained, while the moist- 

 ure or perspiration, which is constantly 

 generated, passes up through the cloth 

 freely, and leaves the bees dry and warm. 

 The whole is now covered by a roof, 

 which shuts over the outside of the box 

 and rests on a strip of wood nailed about 

 2 inches from the top of the box. I 

 build the roof of boards and shingles, 

 and allow spaces between the roof 

 boards for the escape of moisture. 



On the approach of winter, I place a 

 quantity of straw around the hives, upon 

 the ground, and push it up snugly 

 against them. This prevents the cold 

 wind from driving under them. Thus 

 prepared, I leave my bees until the 1st 

 of May, or sometimes till the 10th. 



Put up in this way, bees are not apt 

 to leave their home on the first warm 

 day in winter, while those not thus pro- 

 tected, leave by hundreds and perish on 

 the snow or by the cold wind. The 

 warm rays of the sun do not easily pen- 

 etrate the well-covered home and arouse 

 them. 



In the early spring months breeding 

 goes prosperously on within the well- 

 protected hive, indifferent to the sudden 

 and often unfavorable changes peculiar 

 to our spi-ing season. Dryness and 

 warmth seem to be secured by this meth- 

 od— without these conditions, no colony 

 can prosper. By this method of winter- 

 ing, I have succeeded for the past 6 years 

 to my entire satisfaction. 



Morenci, Mich., Oct. 12, 1880. 



