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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Feb. 



With Replies from our best Autliorities on Bees. 



All iiui'iies sfiit in fur this department should be briefly 

 stated, and tree from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions shonld be writlen upon a separate slip of paper, 

 and marked, ■ Kor Oui- Question-box." 



Question No. 34 — TI7ie7i aiiow is hanhed around 

 the fnint (if the hive, is there danger of the entrance he- 

 irm cliised hy ice, and «() smather the bees! Do you, as 

 a rule, think it advisable to sweep the snow away? 



No. 

 Yes. 

 No, no. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Geo. Grimm. 



James Heddon. 



Not unless there comes a thaw followed by a 

 freeze. I do not. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Not much dangei-, if the bottom-board is pretty 

 slanting-. No; but it' there is a crust on the snow I 

 would break it. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



Yes; but it is easy to guard against it by leaning a 

 board over the entrance, else we should keep the 

 opening free. A. J. Cook. 



There would be danger if there were no other 

 crevices through which air could pass. We always 

 sweep the snow away from the apron-board, be- 

 cause we want a clean place for the bees as soon as 

 mild weather comes. We leave the other sides 

 banked up. Dadant & Son. 



1. No danger of smothering the bees, if they have 

 ventilation from above through chaff cushions, etc. 

 The main danger comes from the bees getting too 

 warm where sitting near the ground, if covered 

 with snow for too long a time. 



3. I never sweep the snow away, but keep it off 

 the hive by leaning a wide board, slanting, up 

 against the front of the hive. G. M. Doolittle. 



During a long-continued cold spell, snow forms a 

 good blanket; and at such times it is not likely to 

 make any trouble at the entrance. I would keep 

 watch, and see that the wet snow did not clog the 

 entrance after a warmish spell; but so long as the 

 snow is unthawed, I would hardly sweep it away. 

 My experience, however, is very limited. 



C. C. Miller. 



No danger with the hives we use. We have an 

 entrance even with the bottom of the hive, and also 

 an entrance one-third of the way up the hive. 

 This upper entrance never gels closed up from any 

 cause. We never sweep away the snow; in fact, 

 we never see our out-apiaries after we fix them up 

 for winter until a warm spell in March or April. 



E. France. 



My practice has been to keep the entrances open; 

 but if the entrances are large, I doubt whether it 

 does any harm to have them covered with light 

 snow. When the entrances get plugged with ice it 

 is usually by the freezing of water that comes from 

 the inside. 1 should not want luves entirely cover- 

 ed with light snow ditriuu ilic first lialf of the winter, 

 lest it might start them to breeding too early. 



E. E. Hasty. 



Perhaps inaiiy of the fiieiids will remem- 

 ber that this matter of snow over the en- 

 trance has been discussed a ^reat deal in 

 our back vohmies. Well. 1 have watched 

 the matter pretty carefully, and I am siire 

 that our bees have never sustained any in- 

 jury from having the hives covered with 

 snow. In fact, I always feel a great deal 



better about them when I see the snow is 

 drifted all around them ; and I prefer to 

 have them covered up entirely, rather than 

 any other way. I do not well see how the 

 hives could be too warm when snoio is all 

 around about them. We have had reports 

 from those who took pains to sweep the 

 snow away from part of the hives, and leave 

 the other part undisturbed. In every such 

 experiment that 1 remember of, the bees 

 undisturbed did the best, and I should be 

 pretty sure they would too. Scratching 

 around a hive with a broom so as to disturb 

 the bees, and make them think some enemy 

 is about when they are in their winter sleep, 

 I feel sure is not a good thing to do. As 

 Prof. Cook once failed in trying to smother 

 the bees by throwing water on the en- 

 trances, so as to freeze every thing up solid, 

 I do not see why he should not fail if he tried 

 to smother them by banking them up with 

 snow. Think of advising a bee-keeper with 

 200 or 300 hives to go around with a broom 

 every time we have a snowstorm ! I am a 

 little surprised at our good friend Grimm. 

 Didn't he mean to write no when he made 

 that yesf We should be very glad indeed to 

 havehim give us a few more particulars. 



Question No. ;i5— Do you think liees are able to 

 distinguish color? Have you foutid it advisable in 

 your experience, as an additional "landmark," to 

 paint the hives or entrances different colors/ 



Yes. 



Dadant «& Son. 

 Dr. a. B. Mason. 



1. Yes; 3. No. 



Yes, but I think they pay little attention to it. No. 



James.'A. Green. 

 I don't think they observe color. Locality more 

 than color. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Their ability to distinguish color, if existing at all, 

 is very limited. No. Geo. Grimm. 



I think they distinguish colors; but I would have 

 the hives and entrances all alike, unless it might be 

 in a queen-rearing ai)iary. W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Y^es, if the colored place is large, say two feet 

 square. For a landmark I use cleated boards at 

 every alternate hive. G. M. Doolittle. 



1. 1 am quite sure they know my black hats from 

 my other-colored ones, otherwise T think they are 

 but slightly influenced by color. 



2. No, for various reasons. R. Wilkin. 



I am positively sure that they do distinguish 

 colors. No; I paint my hives all one color, because 

 they sit from six to eight feet apart, and no further 

 caution is necessary. James Heddon. 



I think they [may distinguish colors, but I think 

 little or no use is made of this in finding their hives. 

 The location of the hivu and surrounding objects is 

 their guide, and I would have all hives alike. 



C. C. Miller. 



1 think bees can distinguish color; but the ap- 

 pearances are that they seldom avail themselves of 

 this power much. Painted entrances will hardly be 

 worth while, in my judgment, unless one is raising 

 queens; and I'm not certain about it then. 



E. E. Hasty. 



Yes; but the color of the alighting-board is noticed 

 much quicker than the color of the hive will be. 

 To the last part of the question, I would aay no; 



