35S 



^11 E AMKRIC'Ai\ BEE KEEPER. 



December 



Ed. Am. Bee Keeper, Dear Sir: — 

 1 do not think that 1 am generally re- 

 garded as a fault-finder, but there 

 are somethings that 1 have observed 

 which 1 think should receive some 

 notice and comment, aad 1 propose 

 to mention them right here. I atn an 

 old hand in the beekeeping business, 

 and have also, in time past, been en- 

 gaged in the manufacturer of supplies 

 and consequently feel that I have 

 some right to speak my mind on the 

 subject. That which 1 have special ref- 

 erence to just now is the proneness of 

 bee keepers, especially beginners and 

 those new in the pursuit, to adopt 

 every 'new-fangled" contrivance that 

 may be projected, many of which are 

 but "a snare and delusion" invented, or 

 more likely stolen, by some grasping 

 manufacturer for the purpose of lin- 

 ing his pockets with the profits on the 

 sales thereof. The latest "novelties" 

 are the slatted or fence seperator and 

 narrow, no-bee-way sections. These 

 are old ideas that have been tried 

 years ago, and if my memory serves 

 me rightl}' they were soon discarded. 

 They have some advantages perhaps, 

 but these are more than offset b}' the 

 disadvantages. My advice is this. 

 Do not adopt anything new in bee- 

 appliances, until it has been proven 

 by experiments to be worthy. You 

 will then save yourself much annoy- 

 ance, disappointment and expense. 

 You will hear further from me on this 

 matter. Yours truly, 



Con. Servative. 

 Nov. 27, 1897. 



(From Bee Keeper; Review.; 



PREPARATION OF OOLOMES FOR 

 WINTER. 



L. A. ASPINWALL. 



" How TO Manage Bees," a 50c 

 book, and the American Bee- Keep- 

 er a year for only 60c. 



Although having been uniformly 

 successful in wintering of bees by spec- 

 ial repositories; still, with properly 

 constructed hives, and the requisite 

 amount of food for each colony; I am 

 persuaded that out door wintering far 

 transcends any or all methods hereto- 

 fore advised. 



Although success may attend our 

 efforts in the beaten paths, still in 

 sone new way a degree of perfection 

 may be reached, which will far over- 

 shadow the past. Such has been the 

 result during forty five years of pro- 

 gress in bee-keeping. Most methods 

 of the ushering in of those years are 

 now almost obsolete. 



With a successful out-door method 

 of wintering, unristricted flight is 

 maintained; the desirableness of which 

 can only be appreciated when con- 

 trasted with the restless roar of bees 

 confined in cellars during war.a win- 

 ters, especially towards spring. Fur- 

 thermore bees wintered in the open 

 air require absolutely no care; and 

 the machinery of its success obviates 

 the necessity of further braiu effort. 

 In this paper I shall endeavor to out- 

 line a simple arrangment favorable to 

 successful out door wintering in ordi- 

 nary singlewall frame hive. It will, 

 however, be imperfect compared with 

 hives made specially for the purpouse, 



