40 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



Mar 



cellar-bottora, and to be lost. To pre- 

 vent this I place a strip about one and 

 a fourih inches wide at the front edge 

 of the portico, and the bees finding 

 tbat they cannot haul their dead com- 

 rades over this obstruction, will leave 

 them in the portico and re-enter the 

 hive. I put no caps on the hives in 

 the cellar; for a cover I make a rim 

 two and one half inches deep, and 

 same outside dimensions as honey 

 rack, covered with two thicknesses of 

 carpet paper, tacked on. These covers 

 keep the bees warm, give plenty of 

 room over the frames, and prevent in- 

 side dampness by absorbing the moist- 

 ure. 



With these covers there will be al- 

 ways be a mass of bees on top of the 

 frames. 1 have used these covers for 

 several seasons, at first using only a 

 few, until now I have them on all of 

 my hives. I think it is my device 

 and would recommend it to all who 

 winter bees in a cellar. To beginners 

 I would say : Keep nothing but bees 

 in your bee-cellar keep it clean and 

 free from any offensive odors by ven- 

 tilation. The bottom should never be 

 of boards or plank, as walking upon it 

 disturbs the bees, and the hives should 

 never be connected with any part of 

 the house except the cellar-bottom. 

 Frequently sweep up all dead bees as 

 they accumulate on the cellar-bottom 

 and carry them out, and in all your 

 work about your bees you will need to 

 exercise intelligent care as tnat is the 

 key to successful bee-keeping. 



Yours truly, Chas. C. Hardy. 



Burrs Mills, N. Y. Feb. 14, 1894. 



A six months trial subscription to 

 the Bee-Keeper for 20 cents, three 

 months Id cents. 



Editor American Bee -Keeper — 

 Dear Sir : — Please find inclosed 50 

 ceuts for renewal of subscription. 



Our bees are wintering very nicely, 

 and in fact this is the case almost 

 everywhere in this country. 



When I was a boy, about 1848, my 

 father used to take me to the woods 

 with him to teach me to hunt bees, 

 and for several years afterwrrd he 

 taught me all of the old fashioned 

 ways of bee-keeping. In those days 

 bees wintered better than now and be- 

 came mora numerous in the woods 

 than at present. My early training 

 was in the east end of this county, 

 (Venango county, Pa.,) although I 

 have lived now nearly 40 years in 

 the western part. I have observed that 

 from year to year when bees are 

 found in the woods they would seem 

 to be in certain spots. Sometimes 

 three or four swarms in one acre of 

 land, than none in two or three hun- 

 dred acres. Our own land is very 

 hilly and was covered with a heavy 

 forest. To my mind the bees in their 

 liberty selected their locality by in- 

 stinct, deciding thus what is the pro- 

 per ground for them to prosper on, 

 both for their health and advantage 

 of gathering honey. 



Yours truly. Jacob Pizer. 



Cooperstoivn, JS\ Y. 



W. T. Falconer Man'f'g., Co.— 

 Gentlemen :— I received the good- in 

 nice order and am well pleased with 

 the hives, both in the quality of lum- 

 ber and in accurate workmanship;also 

 in mode of packiDg. The sections 

 are perfect; the very best I ever saw. 

 Thanking you for your prompt atten- 

 tion, I remain, Yours truly, 



Chas. VV . Egb. 



Woodsville, X. Y., Feb. 2:5, 1894 



