American Me Journal j^^^ 



placed over the brood-chamber will ab- 

 sorb moisture while keeping the bees 

 warm. 



Some theorists on wintering bees have 

 held that it is not necessary to have ab- 

 sorbents for moisture in the top of the 

 hive, and that the bees will winter as 

 well if the ceiling is absolutely air-tight. 

 This is correct in ordinary winters — 

 when the bees have a chance to fly once 

 in every two or three weeks, or when an 

 occasional day is sufficiently warm to 

 allow the frost to thaw and the hive to 

 become dry — but I have seen winters 

 when the long, protracted cold weather 

 caused such a large amount of moisture 

 to accumulate in a hive where there was 

 no upward escape for moisture or ab- 

 sorbents for this purpose, that the bees 

 were practically soaked with the damp- 

 ness produced by their own breath, ac- 

 cumulated during months of confine- 

 ment. A ceiling which allows the mois- 

 ture to pass into the cover, without per- 

 mitting the escape of heat is positively 

 the best for outdoor wintering. [ be- 

 lieve that our successful cellar-winter- 

 ing bee-keepers also approve of a slight 

 amount of top ventilation or of absorb- 

 ents, even in the cellar, though it is of 

 less importance there. 



Our method is to place forest leaves 

 in the cap over the top of the straw- 

 mat, but this is because we have the for- 

 est leaves handy in most of our apiaries. 

 Anything else, such as chaff, woolen 

 cushions, corncobs, or even dry shav- 

 ings, will answer the same purpose. 

 It is of some importance to have this 

 material arranged so that it will not 

 spill over the combs, when placing it or 

 removing it. 



As to the lower ventilation of the 

 hive, it is of less importance. But if 

 there is no top packing, a much larger 

 amount of lower ventilation should be 

 given, so that the moisture which may 

 gather be enabled to escape or dry out. 

 But with a good, warm packing above, 

 only a small entrance-space need re- 

 main. Of course there should be no 

 chance for mice to crawl in. They 

 would disturb the bees much during 

 cold weather, besides the ravages they 

 might make in the unoccupied combs. 



Weak colonies may be wintered on 

 the summer stands, by covering them 

 entirely with outside cases. An ordi- 

 nary Langstroth hive could be covered 

 with a dry-goods box. This keeps the 

 bees much warmer than outside ex- 

 posure. But the outside cover must be 

 removed or thrown back in warm days 

 so that the bees may be able to take 

 flight. If they were confined during 

 warm days, it would be fatal, as they 

 worry a great deal when the weather is 

 warm, if they cannot get out. 



We aim to have our colonies as 

 sheltered as possible on all sides, but 

 the sunny side, and we want that to 

 be the side of the entrance. So we try 

 to face our hives as nearly south as 

 possible, although a southeastern or 

 southwestern exposure will do nearly 

 a? well. 



When there is snow, we try to keep 

 the bees quiet, especially if they have 

 had a flight shortly before. But if the 

 snow is thawing and the weather 

 warm, it is better to let them fly, even 

 if some are lost on the snow, than to 



try to keep them confined. In very 

 heavy snows, during the coldest months, 

 wc have often found colonics whose 

 hives were entirely buricfl in the snow 

 to go through all right. The only dan- 

 ger from the snow is, if it should thaw, 

 and the water from it should afterwards 

 freeze and close all the openings. 

 When there are absorbents in the cap 

 over a porous cover, there is air enough 

 to be had through this to insure the 

 bees against smothering. But when the 

 snow melts, it should be cleared from 

 the entrance and the alighting - board, 

 for, if it is allowed to remain, it will 

 make a large amount of water, and the 

 bees will often get soaked in trying to 

 go in or out. We want to see the 

 entrance dry at all times when the 

 bees are flying. 



A good colony, of average strength, 

 will usually produce enough warmth 

 to thaw the snow at the entrance be- 

 fore the sun begins to act upon it. If 

 the hive is slanting forward, as it 

 should always be, it will not be diffi- 

 cult to clear the snow away and allow 

 the vvater to run down and off the 

 alighting-board, at the first rays of the 

 sun, on any day when it is likely to 

 be warm enough for the bees to fly. 

 In cold weather, better let it alone. 



As a matter of course, we must make 

 sure, before winter, that our bees have 

 enough stores for winter, and that the 

 honey is of good quality. The ordi- 

 nary amount considered necessary for 

 wintering is 25 pounds. We would pre- 

 fer 40 pounds, and in large hives we 

 have nearer to this last quantity than 

 to the first-named. If there is fruit- 

 juice or honey-dew in the combs, it 

 should be extracted. We have at times 

 failed to comply with this requirement, 

 but have always regretted it. It will 

 always pay to remove fruit-juices, hon- 

 ey-dew or unsealed honey from the 

 combs. The last, however, will not 

 be injurious if the colony is not over- 

 rich, as this unsealed honey will be 

 consumed first. But we have seen win- 

 ters, after extraordinary productive 

 seasons, when unsealed honey at the 

 lower edge of the outside combs re- 

 mained late enough to absorb moisture 

 and fill the cells to overflowing. This 

 watery ho4iey was death to the bees 

 that consumed it during cold weather. 



If the bees are in proper condition, 

 a very ordinary colony will be able to 

 withstand a very cold winter. 



Hamilton. 111. 



Where Do the Field-Bees 

 Deposit Their Loads ? 



BV G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Under the above heading, on page 614, 

 the Editor finishes up his little "ser- 

 mon" in a way pointing toward a "scrap" 

 between Macdonald and Doolittle. Now 

 Doolittle wants no battle with any one, 

 and he would not step in to interfere 

 with this Macdonald- York matter at all, 

 were it not that Doolittle is apparently 

 misunderstood by one or both of them. 

 .\nd in order that I may be the better 

 understood I will simply give the read- 

 ers a brief account of how I find things 



along the line of this controversy, "and 

 leave it to each of the two gentlemen 

 to convince the other that he is mis- 

 taken." 



Up to the honey-rtow, I work as far 

 as may be to get all the brood possible 

 in the combs. With a really good queen, 

 I succeed in having 8 out of the 10 

 frames (of Langstroth size; used in a 

 hive, filled with brood, and the other 2 

 from half to three-fourths full. With 

 queens not up to this ''good" standard, 

 some have 6 combs full, 2 others from 

 half to two-thirds full, and the remain- 

 ing 2 with no brood in. If any queen, 

 having a fairly good chance, does not 

 come up to this latter standard, the 

 hive containing her is marked, and she 

 is superseded as soon as the harvest 

 is over, unless I find out the condition 

 of things so that she can be more profit- 

 ably superseded before the flow of nec- 

 tar commences. 



With the first standard, all of the 10 

 frames are allowed to remain in the hive 

 when the supers are put on; but with 

 the second standard, and all colonics 

 not coming up to it. dunmiies are put in 

 to take the place of all frames not hav- 

 ing brood in them, and in this way each 

 colony is compelled to labor in the sec- 

 tions according to the populatiort they 

 may have. In this the reader has one of 

 the "kinks" Mr. Macdonald speaks 

 about. 



If all of the combs was left in the 

 hive, where a colony did not have brood 

 to an amount greater than 6 combs full, 

 little or no section honey could be se- 

 cured, for the first deposit of honey (not 

 iicc/nc) would go into the combs in the 

 brood-chamber, and with this "start-out" 

 the combs would contain the "bank ac- 

 count" and the sections little or nothing. 

 But with only brood in the combs of 

 the brood-chamber at the commencement 

 of the honey harvest, the bank account 

 is sure to be in the sections. Here I 

 say "only brood." Mr. Macdonald quotes 

 me as saying combs "literally filled with 

 brood." Without taking time to look 

 up the matter. I will say that I doubt 

 not that he quotes me corectly, for. 

 as the editorial hints. I am given to em- 

 phatic statements. 



Now, just what do I mean by combs 

 or frames containing only brood, or 

 literally filled with brood? In general 

 terms, just what is needed for the brood. 

 I very much doubt whether a square 

 foot of comb was ever seen not having 

 a single cell in it unoccupied with brood. 

 In other words, the best frames of brood 

 will have, here and there, scattered 

 about among the cells, one or more 

 which do not have an egg, larva or 

 pupa in them, while the average frame 

 of brood, at the time of the comence- 

 ment of the flow of nectar, will contain 

 cells to the number of several hundred 

 with pollen and thin honey, scattered 

 all about among the brood, needed for 

 the immediate demands of that brood, 

 and the every-day use of the colony. 

 This they must have. If they do not, no 

 bank account will ever find the credit 

 page for that colony, either in the 

 combs or in the sections. 



There is a great difference between 

 a brood-nest and a brood-chamber. What 

 I want you all to see is that, if we 



