1894. 



THE AM HI! ICW BEE-KEEPER. 



135 



super lib and dropping it hack in its 

 place again. Tins reminds me of the 

 worst stinging I ever had, by lifting 

 off a super with a brood frame at- 

 tached to it by tho bees. The brood 

 frame broke loose, and falling to the 

 ground, gave me a lively time in get- 

 ting it back in its place and the hive 

 covered. It was ten years ago and I 

 was only a beginner. The above will 

 work all right with fixed frames, but 

 there is a host of others from begin- 

 ners up, using loose hanging frames, 

 and likely they always will be using 

 them, and they might prefer some 

 other method, one of which is as fol- 

 lows : Use along, slim knife, and cut 

 right through between the super and 

 the brood next, cutting lengthwise of 

 the brood frames so as not to move 

 them. This should be done in the 

 afternoon, and the next day the super 

 can be lifted out without any dis- 

 turbance. If taken off as soon as cut 

 or broken loose, the bees will fight 

 like tigers. 



WINTERING BEES. 



The first and all-important thing in- 

 wintering bees, is to have stores 

 enough to carry them through and to 

 have plenty of young bees, and dur- 

 ing August and September the bees 

 should be filling their brood nests with 

 young bees and honey for winter. 

 And when the hive has been contract- 

 ed for getting clover and basswood 

 honey, towards the last of July it 

 should be enlarged and filled with 

 comb for foundation, so the bees can 

 get them filled in their own way, and 

 not have to be fed later. I have no 

 trouble in getting the hives filled for 

 winter in this way. At this writing 

 I think my bees are well supplied 



with stores and are working in supers. 

 They are working hard on buckwheat 



and fall flowers just now. About the 

 tirst of November, or when cold 

 enough to put winter cases on, I place 

 absorbents over the brood nest3, put 

 on the hive covers, and leave the en- 

 entrances open all winter the full 

 width of the hive, three-eights inch 

 high. Then set the winter case over 

 the hive, with no filling of any kind 

 between case and hive. This keeps 

 pure and dry air for the bees. In the 

 front of the winter ea<e I cut out an 

 entrance 2x8 inches, then take a thin 

 board 3x10 inches, with a screw hole 

 through one upper corner to fasten 

 it, and an entrance out of the bot- 

 tom edge |x4 inches, which stands 

 open in the winter. Now, I put this 

 right over the 2x8 inch hole in the 

 case, fastening it with the screw at 

 the corner, leaving the outside en- 

 trance 4x4 inches, so that whenever a 

 warm day comes, and I wish to have 

 my bees fly more freely, I turn the 

 3x10 piece up, leaving the entrance 

 2x8 inches. With this arrangement, 

 with the Falcon or Winter cases, my 

 bees came through last winter without 

 . any loss and in good condition. I 

 never had bees winter so well before. 

 It makes very little work to clean 

 house for them in the spring, and 

 there were no dead bees to speak of, 

 excepting in one hive, in which there 

 was a small handful of them. 



In conclusion I would say contract 

 the brood nest the first half of the 

 season until the white or light honey 

 is obtained, then enlarge it the latter 

 part so the bees can fill it up for win- 

 ter in their own good way, with no 

 bother or feeding. 



1'ours truly, 



S. M. Keelei:. 



Chenango Bridge, N. V. 



