272 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUUE. 



Apr. 



wintered. Hu replied tliat he wintel-ed upstairs, 

 witii a stovepipe passing- tlirougli tlic room. I was 

 tlien very busy shipping' bees and queens, and 

 hadn't time to correspond further. His letter was 

 laid by and almost forgotten until I saw friend 

 Hutchinson's article in Jan. No., page 6, where the 

 idea is advanced that the temperature of cellars 

 may be kept even as highas9i)°. Then I thought, 

 "Why not put the bees upstairs where it is warm 

 and dry?" 



I again opened correspondence with friend Perry, 

 and learned that for four winters he has kept bees 

 in an upper room, through which a pipe passed 

 from a stove below, where the family lived. 



He prepares them thus: When cold weather is 

 well settled in, the bees are quietly carried into the 

 chamber; the covers are removed from the hives, 

 and a folded blanket laid over the bees; the en- 

 trances left all open, the room kept absolutely 

 dark, and as cold as possible, for six or eight days, 

 until the bees get used to the jar of the house; 

 then a Are is built below, and the room kept warm 

 all the rest of the winter. Has anybody else ever 

 tried this plan? Is it not much better than cold, 

 damp cellars? S. C. Psituv. 



Portland, Mich., March il, 18F6. 



SUCCESSFUL WINTERING IN BOX HIVES; A FACT 

 AGAINST UPWARD VENTILATION. 



My father kept bees in Washington Co., N. Y., 

 when I was but ten years old. They were kept in 

 box hives. The hives were set up about one foot 

 from the ground. The entrance was at the bottom 

 of the hive, about one-half inch wide' by four long. 

 They stood on- summer stands all winter, with no 

 ventilation except at the entrance, and the top was 

 sealed as tight as the bees could make it. I don't 

 remember of ever losing a swarm in winter. Fath- 

 er moved to Lorain Co., Ohio, when I was 15 years 

 old. I found a swarm on an apple-tree the second 

 year. T put them in a box hive, and carried them 

 home. They swarmed once that season, and both 

 swarms wintered well. The next summer I cut two 

 holes in the top of one of the hives, and put on two 

 boxes of a capacity of about .5 lbs. each. These I 

 took off in the fall, well filled. T laid a board over 

 the top of the hive. In the spring the bees wore 

 dead, although they left a good supply of honey. 

 The bole through the top of the hive was left open 

 during the winter. » A.Allen. 



Tocumseh, Neb. 



" CHAMPIONING " M){. HEDDON. 



Its author may not have intended it, but the arti- 

 cle on page 171 gives the impression that, in my re- 

 view of Mr. Heddon's "separator record," I either 

 read carelessly, or, if I found any thing- upon the 

 (ipljnsitc side, I itupjjycsiscd it. I did neither. My on- 

 ly fault, if fault it can be called, was in not auiiiu 

 /»ac/f/((r ruouf/Zi, although I went back twice as far 

 as the editor said it was necessary. I went back 

 four {not "mimerouft") years, while the quotations 

 given, showing that ]\Ir. Heddon was once opposed 

 to separators, arc from writings five years old. I 

 have never "championed" any man, in the sense 

 in which I have bcenaccused of "championing" 

 Mr. Heddon, and never sliall. 1 have always fearless- 

 ly championed what I believed to be the truth, and 

 shall continue to do so, even if in so doing I am fre- 

 quently compelled to agree with Mr. Heddon, "or 

 any other man." W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville, Genesee Co., Mich., Mar., 1886. 



QUIESCENCE IN WINTERING. 



It has alwaj s been my aim to get the bees, while 

 in their winter (luarters, in that quiescent condition 

 mentioned by friend Doolittle, page 2V2. When I 

 can c'et them into that state, I always have good 

 success, and the amount of honey consumed is re- 

 markably small. With the experience of the past 

 winter I have concluded that I can the most effect- 

 ually accomplish it in the cellar, where, henceforth, 

 I think the major part of my colonies will be win- 

 tered. Christian Weckesser. 



Marshallville, Wayne Co., Ohio, Feb., 1K8(5. 



cedar hedge a good windbreak; HOW to 

 set OUT. 



A cedar hedge makes a good windbreak for bees 

 in winter, and also a nice hedge around the house- 

 j-ard or garden. It is raised as follows: Dig the 

 trees and put them in a tub containing some water 

 and dirt, so that the roots don't get dry, or else they 

 will not grow ; then plant tiiem in a straight row two 

 feet apart. Cultivate them the first two years; 

 trim the new growth back occasionally. When 

 they have the desired height, trim off the top. In 

 four or five years you will have a nice green wall, 

 so thick and tight that a bird could not get through. 

 John F. Hockemayer. 



Campbellton, Mo., Mar. VI, 1888. 



a suitable bee-dress for a woman. 



I think the neatest and mcst convenient bee-dress 

 for a lady consists of a linen ulster, which can be 

 slipped on over any kind cf a dress. For the head, 

 I prefer a light straw hat, with a rim of medium 

 width, to the edge of which is securely attached a 

 veil of brussels net, extending- clear around, in 

 such a manner as to admit of its being drawn down 

 over the face. This, with a handkerchief tied 

 about the neck, completes my bee-dress. As for 

 gloves, I leave them for those mIio can work in 

 them. Sarah E. Duncan. 



Lineville, Iowa. 



FROM ;!r) TO .''/O, and 5000 lbs. of honey; a good 

 report for sweet clover. 



tE commenced the season with 35 colonies, 

 and increased to 50. Wc extracted .5000 lbs. 

 of choice honey, and have been aiid are' 

 now selling at 20 cts. per lb. at retail. We 

 are not selling- much at wholesale. Wtiole- 

 sale prices are about 10 tol2'.> per cent less. Tiie 

 honey was from alfalfa mostly; nearly all Colorado 

 fiowei-s furnish some honey, but nothing seems to 

 yield every year like sweet clover. Alfalfa failed 

 in 1884, but yielded largely in 1883 and in 1885. T use 

 chaft' hives; winter on summer stands, and last 

 year was more profitable than any other business I 

 struck. If 100 colonies would average as v.-ell as 

 50 or less, I guess I would take the 100. 



R. H. Rhodes. 

 Arvada, Jefferson Co., Col., Feb. 10, 1880. 



A FEW FA.CTS OF EXPERIENCE, FROM A LADY. 



Friend Rant:— Wc hereby hand in "our I'oiu-th an- 

 nual report for 18S5. We commenced the season 

 with 37 colonies; and although we worked most of 

 the season against increase, wc closed the season 



