AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



755 



Cure for Bcc-Diarrliea, Winter- 

 ing; Bees, Ete. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY "MONTREAL, SUBSCRIBER." 



As somebody in the American Bee 

 Journal inquires about a remedy for 

 bee-diarrhea, I beg to state some facts 

 of past experience. 



■ Last year, in February, I noticed that 

 some of my bees in tlie cellar were suf- 

 fering badly from diarrhea ; the weather 

 being not favorable for a cleansing 

 flight (which is the best of all remedies), 

 I simply cleaned the bottom-boards, 

 which are movable, and placed under 

 the frames a piece of brown paper on 

 which a few drops of spirits of pepper-, 

 mint had been previously spilled. That 

 seemed^to stop the disease for two or 

 three weeks, when I had to repeat the 

 same process. I would like to see others 

 try it next winter, and report. I should 

 think that peppermint, which has the 

 effect of helping digestion in human 

 beings, might have the same good result 

 on the bowels of the bees. 



OUTSIDE WINTERING IN LOWER CANADA. 



Last fall, seeing that my cellar is 

 altogether too cold in winter, I resolved 

 to try the "summer stands" system; 

 and notwithstanding the extreme and 

 continuous cold of this past winter, I 

 succeeded to the best ; for, the 10 colo- 

 nies I had in November, 1892, are to- 

 day (April 23rd) all in excellent condi- 

 tion. Of course, I was fully prepared 

 for it, my hives (Simplicity style) being 

 lodged in large, square wooden boxes, 

 well packed with straw some 10 inches 

 all around; the winter stores also were 

 abundant, and the colonies strong. 



The first general cleansing flight took 

 place as late as March 8, 1893, when I 

 closely examined the 10 colonies. Of 

 course the bottom-boards were covered 

 about }4 inch with dead bees, which is 

 not surprising after such a long confine- 

 ment (since Nov. 17th). But 5 colonies 

 were pretty heavy still with stores, the 

 5 others more or less short of stores, and 

 all with plenty bees. To the weaker 

 ones I gave that day two thin cakes of 

 maple sugar between the frames, which 

 I found all gone on April 8th, when the 

 bees had their second general cleansing 

 flight. 



One of the 10 colonies was a nucleus 

 of Italian bees in five Langstroth frames 

 with plenty of stores ; it went through 

 the winter O. K., and to my surprise, on 

 March 8th, it was still heavy with 



stores. I really should think that with 

 outside wintering, bees properly pre- 

 pared, would consume less than in the 

 cellar. Now, last year I had 6 colonies 

 in the cellar, and besides suffering with 

 diarrhea, in the spring they were all 

 short of stores. But the reason is per- 

 haps that my cellar is too cold for win- 

 tering bees. 



VERY EASY AND COMFORTABLE OUTSIDE 

 WINTERING OF BEES. 



Here is my method of wintering bees 

 on the summer stands ; each hive is at 

 all times provided with a large platform, 

 say 3x4 feet, raised from the ground 

 about 4 inches in front, and 6 inches in 

 the rear, so as to make a gentle slope. 

 On this large platform rests the hive on 

 its movable bottom-board, also raised 

 about 8 inches from the platform — a 

 perfect ventilation and neatness, as you 

 may see. 



Now when cold weather is coming on 

 each hive is well packed with chaff or 

 straw in a wooden case made of two 

 stories, with a movable cover made 

 tight against rain or thawing, by gal- 

 vanized or painted iron. 



Mark that the whole case is large 

 enough to allow 6 or 7 inches of straw 

 packing on the sides, and 10 or 12 on 

 top of the hive. (It also receives a coat 

 of coal-tar on the outside only.) Mark 

 also that the same case rests exactly on 

 the edge of the large summer stand 

 platform, so that the underside may be 

 allowed free circulation of air whenever 

 desirable. 



Now, to make it still better rat or 

 mice proof, only a narrow entrance is 

 provided on the outer case, say Kx4 

 inches ; also a sort of wooden bridge is 

 provided for the bees between the two 

 entrances (the entrance of the case and 

 that of the hive). Should any rats 

 make their appearance, "Rough on 

 Rats " will soon get rid of them — it Is 

 the best article I ever saw for the pur- 

 pose. 



But you might think that with such a 

 packing the bees are left very little 

 ventilation ; that they are in danger of 

 smothering if the entrance becomes 

 clogged with dead bees, or shut up with 

 ice. The danger is averted in this way : 

 The bottom-board is at all times pro- 

 vided with two or four holes covered 

 with perforated tin, and the large plat- 

 form underneath is not air-tight, so that 

 bees can get enough ventilation from 

 the holes of the bottom-board. 



But as I had some trouble the past 

 winter in cleaning the bottom-boards, I 

 intend to improve my wintering process 



