612 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Aug. 



the beginning and close of the season I am convinc- 

 ed, for the reason 1 have given, that it Is an advan- 

 tage to have the super divided up into compart- 

 ments, provided, of course, they are not unreasona- 

 bly small. 



Some of the disadvantages of side-opening sec- 

 tions are that they are not well adapted to the use 

 of separators; that it is difficult to put them into 

 any supers except those in which the sections are 

 closed up by a follower or some similar device; the 

 ends of wide frames and cases ai-e propolized where 

 the opening comes, making it difficultto remove the 

 sections. One-fourth of all the .side openings are 

 thus worse than useless. These sections are much 

 harder to clean of propolis, which also is bestowed 

 on them much more liberally than on the ordinary 

 style. For this reason, too, they do not look as well 

 when finished, aside from their awkward appear- 

 ance, even when new. It is more difficult to put 

 them into shipping-crates, as it was to put them 

 into supers; and I should expect damage to result 

 from this when they are examined by buyers or 

 commission men. The corners are quite easily 

 broken off, making the sections narrower, and so 

 too loose, in the shipping-crate. In this way as in 

 others, honey in these sections is more liable to be 

 damaged on the way from the hive to the consum- 

 er's table. The sole advantage that I can see in 

 their use is, that they are somewhat better adapted 

 to use without separators; but as I do not think it 

 profitable or desirable to dispense with separators, 

 I do not think this amounts to much. The naughty 

 corner is doubly capable of mischief in these sec- 

 tions. 



The claim, that combs are better built out and at- 

 tached to the wood, is not supported by experi- 

 ment. Besides, with proper management, closed- 

 side sections may be had completely filled, and at- 

 tached to the wood on all sides. 



Dayton, III., June 23, 1888. James A. Green. 



CELLAR VERSUS OUTDOOR WINTER- 

 ING. 



ARE CHAFF HIVES A LABOR-SAVING INSTITUTION ? 



fpl HE bees we put in the cellar Nov. 16th win- 

 §)'' tered better than those put in in December, 

 < and this has been our experience in years 

 past. Of those wintered in cellar, the 

 queens live longer, and are not superseded 

 so often as those out of doors. But were I to han- 

 dle an apiary alone, with only hired help to depend 

 upon, without my husband's management, 1 would 

 keep my bees in a chaff hive larger than for cellar 

 wintering, and leave them out of doors all winter, 

 protected by a high board fence on two or three 

 sides. It takes a good deal of time and labor to 

 take 100 colonies, moi-e or less, into a cellar and 

 care for them by watching the temperature all win- 

 ter, and putting them again on summer stands in 

 spring, and righting ui) after the changes both fall 

 and spring. It looks as if a cyclone had passed 

 through the apiary when bees are taken from yard 

 to cellar in the fall — an empty hive here and 

 there, and alighting-board and covers scattered all 

 over, needing to be picked up. We can't always 

 get help that can carry bees from the cellar. One 

 spring, I remember I had quite a time. Mr. Axtell 

 was unexpectedly called away to a sick-bed, and 

 was gone a week. A warm spell of weather came 



on. Our hand was willing to do all he could; but 

 as our bees are packed in chaff hives (not so large 

 as those we winter out of doors) he could not carry 

 them alone, and the neighbors were afraid to help 

 handle them, but finally volunteered assistance. In- 

 experienced help for such work, however, angered 

 the bees by jarring them, and so caused more 

 stings. 



June 30, yesterday, was a beautiful day, clear 

 and warm. The bees worked with a vim, and three 

 swarms came out. On going through several hives 

 I found them all getting ready to swarm but one; 

 so if we do get suitable weather we shall have hon- 

 ey yet, as bees seem to know better when to swarm 

 than we do, and never or seldom swarm when 

 there is no honey to follow. We do not wish in- 

 crease, so we have of late years taken out from two 

 to four combs of their brood, and put in empty 

 combs on frames with the other three, making 

 seven. We then hive the swarm back, giving them 

 the case of sections also, if they persist in swarm- 

 ing. If they swarm two or three times, we kill the 

 old queen, because the bees are dissatisfied with 

 her and will do nothing until they raise a young 

 one. 



SHALIi COMB HONEY BE FUMIGATED TO KEEP OUT 

 WORMS ? HOW TO PREPARE IT FOR MARKET. 



I notice the (juestion is asked in one of our bee- 

 journals, " Should comb honey be smoked with 

 sulphur before going to market?" The answer was 

 to always do so. Now, we have never smoked ours, 

 and we have never had a word of complaint. One 

 year we shipped 30,000 lbs. to Chicago, and have 

 been shipping to Chicago and elsewhere, and not a 

 word of complaint of worms. We always corres- 

 pond with our commission men. They would have 

 been free to tell us if there had been any worms. 

 Mr. Axtell has visited Chicago, and looked after 

 the honey as it was upon the market. He never 

 saw worms, nor evidence of worms, and we have 

 friends in Chicago whom we have often asked to 

 look after the honey. There never was a report of 

 .worms. Then why go to the trouble of fumigating 

 it? I don't believe we are bothered with the moth 

 here in the West so much as elsewhere. No boxes 

 of beeswax or scraps should be allowed to be sit- 

 ting in the room where the comb honey is stored, 

 or brood-combs where the moth is at work. The 

 room should be perfectly free from moths, spiders, 

 and every thing else of that kind. The honey 

 should be made clean before shipping, and we shall 

 then have no trouble from moths in our honey. 

 The room should be darkened, also, to keep out 

 flies, as they will find their way in through bee-es- 

 capes if the room is light. 



BEE-ESCAPES. 



We find it quite a necessity to have a bee-escape 

 from our kitchen-window— the window where bees 

 most natui-ally fly to. When coming from work 

 with bees, one often carries a few in with him. 



Our bees are very gentle, considering the rapid 

 way I always have to handle them, because I can 

 not stand on my feet long at a time. I have the 

 whole 11.5 colonies at home to manipulate and whol- 

 ly care for, with the help of a young inexperienced 

 Swedish girl who thinks she knows as much about 

 bees as I do. Mr. Axtell has another apiary from 

 home which he cares for. Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



Roseville, Warren Co., 111. 



Mrs. A., 1 agree with you exactly in re- 



