American Bee Journal, 



DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEE CULTURE. 



Vol. XI. CHICAGO, NOVEMBER, 1875. No. 11. 



Seasonable Hints. 



During the month of November, though 

 we may have some warm pleasant days, 

 bees will remain quiet and fly out very 

 little. All work with them should have 

 been done before now, and they be dis- 

 turbed as little as possible. No feeding of 

 liquids should now be done; it is too late 

 to give syrup. We are certain that much 

 of the fatalit}'^ among bees lias been caused 

 by too mucJi water in tlie food, whetlier it 

 has been fed to them in syrup, or they 

 take it in the honey, which being gath- 

 ered late in the Fall, has not lost the 

 watery particles by evaporation. We 

 have seen honey in hives, often in this 

 state. The bees when not able to fly and 

 discharge the foecal matter, are injured by 

 taking too much water. To avoid this, if 

 it is necessary to feed them, give sugar- 

 candy, instead of syrup. We find this the 

 best way of feeding at all times, when 

 bees are not able to Hy out every da}'-. 



By the middle or last of this month, 

 according to the weather, and time vary- 

 ing of course with the locality, bees must 

 be put into winter quarters or protected 

 on their summer stands. It is not well to 

 house them too early. 



A cold time should be chosen to take 

 them in, and they should be moved easily, 

 so as not to stir them up. We have car- 

 ried fifty hives into a cellar without a 

 buzz from a bee ; and then again by an 

 unlucky jar, a colony has been stirred up 

 so that it did not quiet down for hours. 



Under favorable conditions, bees in the 

 winter remain very quiet. Any noise 

 from the hive is evidence of discomfort. 

 As long as you do not hear from them you 

 may be sure all is well ; but if a constant 

 noise is heard be sure something is wrong. 



Much has been said about ventilation 

 in the winter. We have found that very 

 little is necessary where the bee-quilts are 



kept on. These absorb the moisture as it 

 passes off from the cluster, and yet pre- 

 vents all draughts through the hive. 



After your bees are put away for the 

 winter, let them alone. To those who 

 winter them out of doors, we can only 

 say: be sure that they have plenty of 

 bonej^ in the hive, while at the same time 

 they have empty comb, in which to clus- 

 ter. It will require much more honey 

 for those left out of doors, and they 

 should, by all means, be sheltered from 

 the rays of the sun upon the entrances. 

 This is more dangerous than cold or 

 snow, as it tempts the bees to activity in 

 weather too chilly for them to fly. We 

 have all seen bee-hives covered with a 

 snow bank for weeks, witheut injury. 

 Whether bees are in houses, cellars, or out- 

 of-doors, a quilt, carpet or mat, over the 

 tops of the frames, is a great protection 

 worth many times the cost and trouble. 



E. S. T. 



At this reason of the year, when we are 

 beginning to feel that winter is near and 

 to desire to keep with us, in our homes, 

 some of the bloom of summer, it is well 

 to know just which plants we can best 

 preserve and how to care for them. 

 " Window Gardening," published by H. 

 T. Williams, of the Horticulturist, New 

 York, is valuable authority on the treat- 

 ment of all house plants. We heartily 

 commend it to all lovers of the beautiful. 



Many of our subscribers send a 

 request to Mr. Isham for directions for 

 getting up his boxes. Will he kindly 

 send us such description for the next 

 number of The American Bee Journal ? 



R. Wilkin, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, has 

 removed to San Buenaventura, Ventura 

 Co., California, with two hundred colo- 

 nies of Italian bees. 



