1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



327 



vice, a new muslin sheet, two or three thicknesses of 

 flannels, old pieces of carpet, or old vests, pants, or 

 coats, on top of the flannel, then chaff' cushions— no 

 using- hot iron, nailing-, or wire cloth. 



Do not insult j-our bees by putting- on any of 

 these old cast-off garments without first boiling- 

 them in good strong soapsuds; then re-boil them, 

 and rinse until they smell sweet and look clean. 

 The more you have of these the better. 



I should like to hear from the other sisters who 

 are making a specialty of bee culture, about their 

 method of wintering. Mrs. Jennie Culp. 



Hilliard, Ohio, Mar. 33, 1886. 



My dear friend, I am sure yon are giving 

 me more credit tlian I deserve, and I felt al- 

 most as if I ought not to let such -very 

 kind words go into print •, but on a second 

 thought I think we will let them balance 

 some others not so kind. VV^hen somebody 

 intimates that I am not trying to be fair and 

 honest. I will hunt up your kind letter, and 

 one will balance the other, and then 1 will 

 go on my way, trying still harder to live at 

 peace with all men. — The results of this 

 past winter make me feel again as you do — 

 that I never want to try wintering bees again 

 on any plan that necessitates lugging them 

 about here and there. Perhaps it may be 

 well to say right here, that our bees liave 

 come through this past winter with the loss 

 of only about three colonies out of 200 ; and 

 the surprising part of it to me is, they were 

 all wintered on natural stores. Not a colony 

 needed a pound of feed after we had doub- 

 led them up and utilized the full combs set 

 aside purposely for wintering. 



WILL COLD WEATHER KILL BEES? 



FUIEND NI.MAN GIVES US SOMEJ'ACTS IN REGARD 

 TO THE M.iTTER. 



TN the winter of 1858-'9 I purchased a colony of 

 |P bees in a common box hive, with a honey- 

 ^l drawer in the top, of 30 lbs. capacity. This 

 "■^ hive was all open at the lower end, suspended 

 in the open air, about two feet from the 

 jfround. In the summer, combs were extended 10 

 or 12 inches below the hive. The following winter, 

 by walking past, one could see the bees clustered 

 any day belOAv the mouth of the hive. The first of 

 March, middle combs were filled ^vith brood. In 

 warm days this brood was e.x'posed to view for 

 hours. 



That season it issued seven swarms (last one 

 small), and made 33 lbs. of honey. This hive and 

 bees remained in the same position for a number of 

 years, and it did well. 



In 18.52 I put a colony in a hive made of ;^8-inch 

 boards; these wintered well for 17 years on summer 

 stands without any other protection. I now have a 

 colony in a hive, and this winter will make the ninth 

 it has stood the test. This hive is made of :'i-inch 

 boards, no other protection. It has an open space 

 on one side, -M of an inch wide from bottom, to 

 within 3 or 4 inches of the top. The comb and bees 

 can be seen from the outside, any day in the winter. 



The winter of 1884-'.5 was the hardest I ever kntnv 

 here on bees. One of my neighbors had some ten 

 or twelve colonies in common bo.x hives, no protec- 

 tion, and the mouths of the hives all open; that is, 

 they stood two or three inchps from the bottom- 



boards ; they came through safe, and did well last 

 season, while all in the neighborhood that were 

 tucked in .so very close perished. John W. Niman. 

 Spring Mill, Ohio, Mar. 8, 188H. 



Friend N., we have had facts, such as 

 you give, before us for years past ; but for 

 all that, and in spite of all that has been said 

 and written on the subject, they have never 

 been really satisfactory to my mind. Sever- 

 al times lately this subject has come up, of 

 wintering bees with the bottom of the hive 

 left off, or, at least, a large opening in the 

 bottom-board. Now the question is. Do 

 these cases simply show that a vigorous col- 

 ony will oftentimes get through a severe 

 winter in spiteof such exposure, or do they do 

 better with simply a warm shell above them, 

 and the lower part of the cluster exposed to 

 the outside air? Do you know this comes 

 pretty near to the point we made awhile ago, 

 about wintering bees in an inverted large- 

 mouthed bottle V 



BEE-PASTURAGE. 



SOME VALUABLE ANT TIiMELY HINTS UPON THE 

 SUBJECT OF SOWING ALSIKE. 



§ BEING the subject of bee-pasturage some- 

 times mentioned, I thought I would describe 

 the way I have managed to supplement the 

 natural supply for my bees during the last 

 five or six j'ears. I first tried sweet clover 

 with but poor success, so I took up alsike clover, 

 and this is the way I work. 



About this time of the year, I buy from 200 to 

 400 lbs. of best alsike clover seed in Montreal, at 

 wholesale price. This year I can get it for 12 cts., 

 perhaps less. I expect to buy my supply next 

 week. It will cost me '■/i ct. freight, and I shall 

 probably sell it to the farmers who are within two 

 miles of my apiary, for 10 cts. per lb. At this price 

 it is readily taken up by all who are " seeding down " 

 land suitable for alsike, as the price in the stores 

 here is from 16 to 18 cts. Three pounds mixed with 

 timothy will seed an acre very well, so j-ou see I get 

 pasturag-e which will last from two to five years, of 

 the very best quality of honey, at the small cost of 

 $7.50 for 100 acres. I can not conceive of any plan 

 which, with me, would be cheaper, less trouble, or 

 that would give as quick and reliable returns. I 

 could get a good deal of seed sown by selling it at 

 cost; but I find that taking- off two or three cents 

 per pound makes a great difterence in the amount 

 sown. As white and alv.ike clover are the most relia- 

 ble honey-plants we have here— very rarely failing 

 entirely— the results have been very marked and 

 satisfactory. 



To those who wish to try this plan I would say. 

 Work up the matter personally; canvass every 

 farmer within two miles and more in every direc- 

 tion from your apiary (those living more than two 

 miles should pay cost of seed), showing them a 

 sample of your seed, pointing out its advantages, 

 etc. Although alsike clover hay will not weigh 

 so heavy as red clover, it is far sweeter and better, 

 and all stock far prefer it to eat. One pound of 

 seed, also, will go as far as two pounds of red clover, 

 as the seeds are so much smaller. 



Canvassing the farmers should be done at once, 

 as every g^ood farmer plans his work and buys his 



