1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



175 



Norton. This subject is introduced, because in- 

 quiries have been recently made M'ith regard to the 

 value of coal ashes as a fertilizing: agent. 



Fur the Ketr England Farmer. 



WINTERING BEES. 



My Dear Sir: — Your paper of Feb. 16 con- 

 tained a timel)- caution, "Take care of your Bees," 

 which in the present inclement season, merits more 

 notice than heedless and inexperienced bee-keepers 

 give. The greatest peril of the season with regard 

 to them is yet to come, when the warm days of 

 spring invite them abroad, and the heavy body of 

 snow now upon the gi'ound, by imparting a chilli- 

 ness to the atmosphere, to which they are imac- 

 customed, disenables them, and will, if proper cau- 

 tion is not exercised in their behalf, ruin whole co- 

 lonies in a short time. 



Aside from this unnatural atmosphere, there is 

 another caiise of a fatal etiect attending their going 

 abroad while the snows are dissolving, especially if 

 a warm sunshine invites them from their winter 

 quarters. They become snow-blind, lose their way 

 and fall upon snow never to rise. Hence it is de- 

 sirable to keep them in as dormant a state as pos- 

 sible until the snows have fairly dissolved. To ef- 

 fect this, a cool locality, with Httle if any light, is 

 decidedly the best. The cool may be found in 

 open buildings, where the sun's rays will not fall 

 upon the hive, and if the building is too light, a 

 rug or piece of matting may be thrown over the 

 hive, so as to shut out all the light from the aper- 

 tures, and yet leave a free circulation of air, if that 

 is necessary, though we doubt the utility of giving 

 too free an access of the latter. 



Our views on this matter are established from 

 the experience we once had of burying some light 

 hives in the earth on the approach of cold weather, 

 and allowing them to be buried until frost came 

 out the following spring. Here they lay, froze in, 

 and much of the time covered with snow, yet when 

 they were taken out, they were as fresh and lively 

 as though no winter had' disturbed their dreams ; 

 the loss in number was very small, the quantity of 

 food consumed was trifling, indeed; the air that 

 reached them must have been very small in quanti- 

 ty, yet we never saw bees healthier in spring, or 

 work better in summer, than these. 



We left a few hives standing unprotected the 

 present winter. The consequence was, in one of 

 our earliest severe storms, they were all buried in a 

 heavy drift, which we removed in front in order 

 that the necessary evaporation of moisture arising 

 from the breath of the bees might be going on, and 

 prevent the formation of ice in the hives. But our 

 lalwr in this matter was soon counteracted, for an- 

 other storm came and buried them still deeper, 

 while the rapid succession of storms and blows to 

 which we have been subject deferred our labor in 

 the clearing away process, so that they remained 

 buried in snow some four weeks. Last week, how- 

 ever, the wind stopped blowing long enough for us 

 to take breath, and among our earliest labors we 

 exhumed the hives from the cold tomb that the 

 winds had raised around them. We found they 

 had, l)y their breath probably, melted tiie snow from 

 the immediate front of their hives, and were as Uve- 

 ly as a cool morning would permit them to be. 

 They were removed to a cool, dark room, where 



they are now apparently enjoying their morning 

 nap preparatory to spring labors, with a commend- 

 able and healthful quiet. 



From the facts in the case, so far as they have 

 been presented, I have concluded that the dryer 

 and more dormant bees can be kept until spring 

 has fairly set in, the less will be the loss in winter- 

 ing, both in numbers and food, and, as a matter of 

 course, the more prosperous they will be the fol- 

 lowing summer. Yours truly, 



Elmwood, Feb. 26. William Bacon. 



Remarks. — The above facts and suggestions are 

 valuable. There is more capital invested in bei's 

 in New England than many believe. It is an er- 

 ror to suppose they need the sun in the winter — 

 they want an equable temperature, and that may be 

 a pretty low one, down to the freezing point, or 

 even lower, all winter, if it be regularly so. Hives 

 protected on the north, and open on the south 

 where the sun will strike them freely, will become 

 so warm, even in February, as to set the bees all 

 in motion ; they will then pass out of the hive to 

 relieve the promptings of nature, become chilled or 

 blinded, or both, fall upon the snow and die. They 

 may be safely kept in a cold chamber or attic, in a 

 cool, dry cellar, and Ave have heard it stated, buried 

 in the centre of a hay-mow, the aperture being 

 closed with stout wire gauge. The article of our 

 correspondent is timely and excellent, for which we 

 beg to express our thanks. 



OFFICERS OF SOCIETIES FOR 1856. 



BRISTOL COUNTY SOCIETY. 

 Nathan Durfee, Fall River, President. 

 John Daggett, Attleboro', j y.^^ Presidents. 

 S. L. Crocker, Taunton, \ 

 S. A. Dean, Taunton, Treasurer. 

 L. T. Talbot, Taunton, Secretary. 



HOUSATONIC SOCIETY. 



James H. Rowley, Egremont, President. 



William Dewey, Great Harrington, j yj^.^ presidents. 



Allen S. Yale, Stockbridge, i 



E. P. WooDWoRTH, Great Barrington, Treasurer. 



W. W. hoLLENBEECK, Great Barrington, Collector. 



James Sedgwick, Great Barrington, Secretary. 



VERMONT STATE SOCIETY. 



Frederick Holbrook, Brattleboro", President. 



Edwin Hammond. Middlebury,"! 



H. S. Morse, Shelburne, 1 yj^g Presidents. 



Henry Ketes, Newbury, ( 



J. W. CoLBURN, Springfield, J 



J. A. Beckwitk, Middlebury, Corresponding Secretary. 



A. H. Crosby, Woof'stock, Recording Secretary. 



Edward Seymour, Vergennes, Treasurer. 



WINDSOR COUNTY (\T.) SOCIETY. 



John P. Skinner, Windsor, President. 



John L. Lovering, Hartford. ) yj^^ Presidents. 



Solon Danforth, Barnard, ( 



Lorenzo Richmond, Woodstock, Treasurer. 



Lorenzo Kent, Woodstock, Secretary. 



CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY SOCIETY. 



[This Society will embrace towns on both sides the river in 

 New Hampshire and Vermont.] 



A. R. Closson, Hanover, N. H., President. 

 GEORGE ^'RICHARD | secretary. 

 Alexander McLaine, ) 



