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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



bees do not begin brood-rearing too 

 soon, because late cold snaps will com- 

 pel the bees to cluster, and thus expose 

 the brood to death. 



A colony should have no more brood 

 between the division-boards than they 

 can well cover. Equalize the colony by 

 taking from every strong colony a frame 

 of brood, and exchanging it for a frame 

 of empty comb from a weak colony. All 

 spreading of brood is an evil, unless 

 the bees can well cover all the brood 

 during the cold nights. 



It is proper to remember that in no 

 case will bees from a hive having a 

 virgin queen be accepted by a colony 

 that has a laying queen ; nor should a 

 comb with adhering bees from a strong 

 colony be added to a weak colony having 

 a virgin queen, because they would be 

 sure to destroy her at once. 



Another precaution is to observe that 

 the queen shall not be on the side of 

 the comb next to where you place the 

 comb with adhering bees, for by so sud- 

 denly coming in contact with a strange 

 queen, they would probably destroy her. 



This concludes ray say in regard to 

 the winter problem, and if my remarks 

 have not been sufficiently plain, I will 

 willingly answer any questions asked, if 

 I can. J. B. Cattekson. 



The foregoing essay was then dis- 

 cussed as follows : 



Pres. Russell — You have all heard 

 this excellent essay, which is undoubt- 

 edly one of the best ever presented on 

 this subject before this Association ; it 

 is now open for questions and remarks. 



Dr. Hicks — I have no criticism to 

 offer but to say this — which is to say the 

 least — that I have paid close attention 

 to the essay on the winter problem, and 

 without intending any flattery to him, I 

 will say that I have kept bees for over 

 50 years, and I have never heard more 

 common-sense, of the very best quality, 

 presented to any society on this subject 

 than I have to-night. 



Mr. Muth — I also congratulate our 

 riend on his very nice essay ; it is a 

 go d one, indeed. His method is quite 

 different from the way in which I winter 

 my bees. I used to lay strips across the 

 frames, using a blanket or a mat of 

 straw, which forms a good covering, 

 and at the same time absorbs the mois- 

 ture from below. I close up the hive- 

 , entrance to about one inch in the center, 

 and cover the brood-chamber with three 

 boards. The bees easily seal it all 

 around, and make it almost air-tight. 

 On top of these boards I lay a straw mat 

 or blanket, or perhaps both. There is 



no absorption of the moisture in the 

 hive, but I take care of that by leaving 

 the entrance entirely open, and raise 

 the hive about two inches at the end, 

 and for this reason I know that the ex- 

 halations will turn into water, and run 

 down and out from the hive. Sometimes 

 in winter, after the coldest spells, if you 

 raise the hive as I have said, you will be 

 surprised at the amount of water. In 

 this way, the air is admitted, and the 

 bees are kept dry and healthy. It is 

 just as handy, and a little less trouble 

 to cover the brood-chamber up and keep 

 the bees warm, and, to my mind, it is a 

 much simpler way than the way Mr. 

 Catterson speaks of. 



Mr. Kitley — Mr. Muth speaks about 

 three boards on top. Do you have the 

 edges so that they form a perfect joint ? 



Mr. Muth — Yes, I use three boards 

 because I have section boxes, three of 

 which just cover the brood-chamber. 

 The lids to these boxes are what I use. 



Pres. Russell — I winter my bees in the 

 same way. Mr. B. F. Bowers, of Au- 

 gusta, has one of the most successful 

 bee-resorts in Marion county to-day, and 

 he spreads just a cloth over the brood- 

 chamber, and when the cold weather 

 comes, he turns that cloth back half 

 way, leaving this board open (illustrat- 

 ing). By this method he has never yet 

 lost any bees from the cold. He is so 

 successful because he gives them air; 

 he says that they require it. 



Mr. Muth^I think that we should 

 keep the bees dry on top, for the simple 

 reason that if the cold air strikes them, 

 it will kill them surely, and why Mr. 

 Bowers puts his covering half way back, 

 is something I cannot comprehend. If 

 there are those who are more successful 

 in opening the boards and allowing the 

 bees air, than those who keep them 

 warm, I should like to see them. Again, 

 I say that the top should be kept warm 

 and dry, and not allowed to become 

 damp, because then both the honey and 

 the pollen will sour. If he wants to 

 keep his bees nicely, then he must keep 

 them dry. 



Mr. Catterson — Mr. President, do I 

 understand that Mr. Bowers has no 

 board at all ? 



Pres. Russell — No, he has never had 

 one, and still has the quilt raised about 

 one-half the way across his frame. 



Mr. Muth — He covers the brood-cham- 

 ber with this muslin quilt ? 



Pres. Russell — Yes. 



Mr. Muth — How long has he been 

 successful ? 



Pres. Russell — Some 8 or 9 years. 



Dr. Hicks — This is truly an artificial 



