270 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



candied. But, where I fed as directed in 

 this paper, I obtained fine results. I do 

 not apprehend that either of these diseas- 

 es will occur, if prepared for winter ac- 

 cording to these directions, la October. 

 I cannot spare time to further enumerate 

 experiments. 



There are three ways that bees maj^ be 

 successfully wintered, yet none will be 

 likely to succeed unless prepared for it. 

 Time will only permit me to give printed 

 directions, and not experiments and reas- 

 ons. What has succeeded with me for 

 three years, just past, will certainly carry 

 through otliers. 



The first plan is to build a regular 

 jreen-house, leaving out the propagating 

 jeds and warming by one flue at back 

 j^ide; then paint the glass inside with a 

 )at of white paint, so as not to allow the 

 )ees to see out, yet retain plenty of light. 

 On the same plan you can build a house, 

 excavate in the side of a bank (or make 

 |a bank) sufficiently, have your sills and 

 ' )lates 4x10 inches, studding 2x10, front 

 )osts 6 ft. high and back ones 9 ft. high 

 For a building 13 ft. wide. Board up the 

 rails on outside with inch oak plank, in- 

 ide half-inch, fill in between studding 

 riih very dry sawdust, tightly bank up 

 le dirt all around except at the door 

 ind have that double), put glass on same 

 on a green-house, paint the glass to ob- 

 ''struct the sight; build thin shutters so 

 as to cover over all the glass and darken 

 the room; build a small shed by the door, 

 put under it a big stove, pass the pipe in- 

 to the room and have a drum on it to 

 warm the room. Keep the room as near 

 fifty degrees as possible, and on warm 

 days open the shutters and let your bees 

 have a flight, and they may be left open 

 without damage, during mild weather. 

 Have ventilators at the top, and should 

 they become too warm, open the door at 

 night. Inside you can arrange shelves, 

 like steps, to set the hives on. About the 

 first of November divide your colonies 

 into as many as you have queens, and set 

 them in this house. Should they need 

 food before the first of February, give 

 it to them in a comb, and place it in the 

 hive; and in the same way, give water once 

 a week. First of February commence to 

 feed a small amount of syrup made from 

 coffee sugar A. One lb. of sugar to same 

 quantity of water; boil, skim, set away, 

 feed regularly in the evening, continue to 

 feed until blossoms come, then set them 

 out. This is expensive, but cheap in the 

 end, and a safe way to winter. You can 

 increase your colonies forproducing your 

 first honey; you will also save 7«a«y bees 

 that would fly out in winter and spring, 

 and perish. I have seen strong colonies 

 perish in this way. 



The second and third methods require 

 the same preparations. These prepara- 

 tions should begin last of September or 

 first of October. The first thing is, be 



sure your queen is prolific; have plenty 

 of young brood, and, if not already in the 

 hive, stimulate by feeding syrup, as fol- 

 lows: sugar 13^ lbs., water one pint (not 

 tincupful), boil, skim, set aside until cool, 

 add two teaspoonfuls of lemon extract to 

 flavor and attract the bees, and which 

 will often prevent the syrup from granu- 

 lating; warm the syrup and feed in the 

 evening until you have plenty of brood. 

 It is very important to have plenty of 

 young bees for safe wintering; continue 

 breeding until you have sufficient bees to 

 cover five combs on a frosty morning. 

 Feed enough to make 25 lbs. of feed in 

 the hive, and it is important that it is all 

 capped over. 



The first warm day in November take 

 tin tubes ^ths of an inch long and %ths 

 in diameter, which are made as follows: 

 take tin seven-eighths wide by fifteen- 

 eighths long, bend it around a stick until 

 the ends meet; open your hives, take out 

 the frames and cut- holes through the 

 combs to fit the tubes, two and a half inch- 

 es from the top, and at equal distances 

 from the ends and each other, and two 

 tubes to each comb, put in the tubes, and 

 close up the hive. At this time examine 

 the condition of the hives, and see if you 

 have them all right, and if all right, leave 

 them until about the 25th of November, 

 or as soon as freezing begins. See that 

 all is right, take out one frame of honey 

 (if there is one uncapped, take it), and 

 put an empty frame (I mean frame with 

 empty comb) in the center of the hive. 

 Have with you a piece of cofl'ee sack (good 

 thickness) the size of the top of your hive 

 (inside), lay over the frames crossways 

 two strips, a half-inch square, equal dis- 

 tance from ends and each other; now lay 

 on the sack, then put on the second story 

 (if you have one) and, if not, make a sack 

 same size of the hive and fill with chafi" 

 and cut straw, so that when pressed it will 

 be four inches thick, lay it on the hive 

 and put on the lid, and lay on top of 

 lid four bricks to hold it down; but if you 

 have the second story put it on, and put 

 on the second piece of sack and fill in 

 with chaff and cut straw; contract 

 the entrance to one-half the usual 

 size, and see that mice cannot get 

 in. Do not disturb the bees, until there 

 has been a freeze of two or three d<iys, 

 then as soon as the weather moderates, go 

 and take the straw oil", and thaw and dry 

 it, and in the evening put on again. Much 

 ice and dampness will accumulate in the 

 straw and chaff, caused by the respiration 

 of the bees, which is considerable in cold 

 weather. Cover ^-our hives so as to keep 

 ofi" snow and rain, and have boards or 

 corn fodder to protect them from the 

 north and west winds. Repeat, drying the 

 straw as often as there is a thaw ; keep it 

 on until fruit bloom, for they need it most 

 when rearing brood. Do not disturb the 

 bees any more than you can possibly help. 



