THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



141 



to obtain twice or three times as much as for 

 common sugar. " Where ignorance is 

 bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." 



Successful Wintering. 



To the Editor o/ American Bep: Journal. 



Sir : — I notice an item in your valuable 

 paper, as follows : — "He may be regarded 

 as a master in bee culture, who knows 

 how to winter his stoclv in a healthy con- 

 dition, with the least loss of bees, the 

 smallest consumption of stores, and with 

 the combs unsoiled." 



Well, then, I am a master in bee culture, 

 for I have succeeded in all of the above 

 particulars, combs nice and bright, bees all 

 alive, and my strongest stocks have not 

 consumed more than 15 lbs. apiece. I will 

 tell you how I proceed. I study the "Bee- 

 Keeper's Guide," use the " Thomas " hive, 

 have built a bee-house according to the 

 "Guide," only I make the walls 18 inches 

 thick, tilled with oat straw well packed in, 

 have two doors, one to open inside and the 

 other out, and put newspapers between 

 these two doors. Through the winter I 

 open the bottom ventilator when the 

 weather is warm, and close it again when 

 the weather grows cold. 



I prepare my hives for winter by remov- 

 ing the honey board, and place on a frame 

 of inch stulf covered with wire cloth, then 

 till the cap with wheat straw, by turning it 

 over, and filling it in nicely, so that it will 

 not fall out when placed on the hive. I 

 leave the bottom ventilator of the hive 

 open. My bees are always healthy on 

 natural stores, and I think it too bad to ex- 

 tract all their honey and winter them on 

 sugar syrup. Yesterday my bees were 

 working lively on meal prepared of two 

 parts of buckwheat flour, one of wheat 

 rtour, with a little sorts and bran mixed 

 in. — I am, etc., 



Il.A MlCHENER. 



Low Banks, April 14th, 1874. 



[We congratulate our correspondent on 

 his attainment of the degree of M. B. C. — 

 " Master in Bee Culture." His plan of 

 wintering is undoubtedly a good one, 

 though we should fear, without a large 

 amount of ventilation, the bees would be 

 too warm in an ice-proof house, with the 

 hive cover stuffed full of chaff. Growing 

 experience, however, inclines us to the 

 opinion that bees are oftener hurt by get- 

 ting chilled than by being kept over-warm. 

 To judge by the small amount of honey 

 consumed, we .should be inclined to think 

 Mr. Michener has hit the happy mean 



between the two extremes of heat and 

 cold. We should like to know if his house 

 is regulated by the use of a thermometer, 

 and if so, at what degree of temperature he 

 keeps it. We should also like to know if 

 the past winter is the only one during 

 which his bees have been treated in the 

 manner described, or if he has had several 

 years' experience of the method. We are 

 acquainted with numerous bee-keepers, 

 whose experience has been very variable 

 in wintering their bees in a similar way. 

 We believe that this was the case with Mr. 

 Thomas himself, whose plan, as described 

 in the " Guide," Mr. Michener has substan- 

 tially followed. We can testify that it has 

 been ours. " One swallow does not make 

 a summer," nor does one sea.son's success 

 in wintering a lot of bees constitute an 

 apiarian a " Master in bee culture." What 

 is wanted is a definite method, which has 

 only to be followed to secure uniform and 

 certain success. So far as we know, no 

 such method has yet been demonstrated.] 



Back Volumes. 



Complete sets of back volumes are scarce. 

 But few can be procured at any price. We 

 have a set, consisting of the nine volumes 

 (complete), which we offer for sale, either 

 bound or unbound, for a reasonable sum. 

 Many of the numbers we have paid fifty cents 

 each for, to complete them. 



We have several single volumes (complete) 

 which we will send postpaid for f 2.00 each. 



Several volumes, which lack only a single 

 number ot being complete, we will send post- 

 paid for .'S1..50 each. 



Vol. 1, we can supply in cloth boards, post- 

 paid, for .ffl.2.5. Bound in paper covers, $1.00, 

 postage 10 cents. This volume is worth five 

 times its price to any intelligent bee-keeper. 

 It contains a full elucidation of scientific bee- 

 keeping, including the best statement extant 

 of the celebrated Dzierzon theory. These 

 articles run through eight numbers, and are 

 from the pen of the Baron of Berlepsch. 



'^W' Beginners in bee-culture, who desire 

 to read up in the literature of bee-keeping, 

 are earnestly advised to obtain these back 

 volumes. Many of our best apiarians say 

 they would not sell tlieir back volumes of the 

 American Bee Journat> for ten times the 

 sum they cost, if they could not replace them. 

 They are exceedingly valuable alike to begin- 

 ners and more advanced apiarians. 



