46 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15. 



bens are to be seen at the bottoms of the combs, 

 all that is to be seen of the bees is a row of 

 pointed abdomens standing out in all directions, 

 all quiet and motionless, they remaining so for a 

 moment or two. if no jar is made nor heat from 

 the candle or my breath allowed to I'oach them. 

 After a time, if the light is held steadily upon 

 them, a few will begin to stir slowly, and, if 

 held long enough, the whole colony will raise an 

 uproar. When viewed from the top, by lifting 

 the covering over them a few will slowly stir, 

 perhaps putting out their stings and giving otf a 

 buzzing sound, as much as to say. " We wish you 

 would go off and leave us." When in this condi- 

 tion. I consider that colony wintering splendid- 

 ly. If, on the contrary, I am greeted with bees 

 flying to the light as soon as I enter the cellar, 

 and upon looking at the cluster at the bottom of 

 the combs they are found all uneasy, crawling 

 about and ready to fly at the light, with the 

 hives full of restless bees clear to the ends of the 

 frames at the top, I know that, unless this col- 

 ony can be gotten quiet, they will prove of little 

 or no value in the spring, if this happens as 

 early in the season as the middle of February, 

 while the colony will be much damaged if as 

 late as the middle of March. 



Another correspondent writes, wishing to 

 know whether his cellar is suitable for bees, 

 saying. "It is frost-proof, with a dry earthen 

 floor, well ventilated, but there is usually stored 

 in it all the vegetables used by the family, and 

 frequently from 30 to 1(X) bushels of apples. Are 

 these injurious to the bees? If not. I should like 

 to store mv bees in this cellar in years to come." 



I should' consider the cellar suitable for win- 

 tering bees, and the presence of the apples and 

 vegetables no objection, if the temperature can 

 be controlled between 42 and 48°. If the tem- 

 perature can not be thus controlled. I should 

 prefer to winter the bees on their summer 

 stands. If I had been successful, or even com- 

 paratively so, in the past, I would go slow on 

 the cellar, trying only a few in it the first year, 

 putting in more and more eaeh winter, accord- 

 ing as I was successful. Decaying vegetables 

 should not be allowed in any cellar, whether 

 there are bees in it or not; and the bees should 

 not be disturbed, by jarring or otherwise, when 

 entering the cellar after any thing stored therein. 



Borodino, N. Y. G. M. Doolittle. 



[Your statements quite agree with our obser- 

 vations, which we have been making of late.] 



SUCCESS IN BEE-KEEPING. 



ELEMENTS OF IT IN JULIUS HOFFMAN AND IN 

 HIS METHODS. 



In a former article we outlined Mr. Hoffman 

 in his career as a bee-keeper. In this we shall 

 endeavor to point out some of the reasons for his 

 unparalleled success. When we claim his suc- 

 cess to be without parallel, we qualify— i. e., we 

 take into account his uniformly good results; 

 his small outlay for labor; his extraordinary 

 success in getting bees through the severe win- 

 ters, and his large yields of lioney per colony. 

 Other b('e-kei'[)('rs produce greater quantities of 

 honey, but require more bees; and the cost for 

 labor, and the lack of general economy, leaves 

 smaller net profits. 



After Mr. Hoffman settled at Fort Plain it be- 

 came a matter of great interest for \is to visit 

 him in his liome apiary, as before stated, we 

 discerned in him a bee-master of no small cali- 

 ber. 



We found in liim a man of intense energy who 

 is ever busy; a man thorougly educated in his 

 calling, and well trained to ex(^cute his knowl- 



edge; a finished wood-worker who realizes the 

 great importance of having hives, frames, sec- 

 tion-cases, etc., made from good material, and 

 exactly alike, so that no time be lost when time 

 is exceedingly valuable. To these qualities may 

 be added another, which requires that all work 

 be done properly and in season. 



His location was peculiarly fitted to bees in 

 autumn and spring by reason of being sheltered 

 from the west and north winds; and its sunny 

 exposure contributed in no small degree to his 

 exceptional success in wintering. 



We saw the fact demonstrated, that, in prop- 

 erly shaped hives, packed with warm material, 

 in a sheltered sunny position, bees become and 

 remain strong much better than when condi- 

 tions are different. 



Mr. Hoft'man's frame is about 13 inches dei'p 

 and 11 inches wide, and (i to 8 of these form a 

 chamber, or nest, similar to the old-fashioned 

 box hive, than which, when properly handled, 

 no hive ever gave better results in wintering. 



Tlie real Hoffman frames, in use. confine the 

 warmth at the top and for a considerable dis- 

 tance down the sides, and thus virtually make a 

 box hive. Indeed, as Mr. Hoffman uses them 

 they are warmer than the box hive, for the 

 walls at the sides and tops of the frames are 

 double, and nearly so at the ends, added to 

 which he applies several thicknesses of burlap 

 or sacking over and upon the side? of the frames. 

 LiThere are some facts that amateurs can not 

 learn too soon. One is, that bees naturally revel 

 in warmth, and that for this reason they should 

 be kept as warm as possible, during fall and 

 spring, no matter where or how they are win- 

 tered. To accomplish this result, double walls 

 and packing are needed through most or all of 

 the year. This packing, in sunny weather, acts 

 like a balance-wheel to a machine, i. e., the 

 warmth accumulated during the day goes far 

 through the night: and at all times, when sud- 

 den changes of temperature arise, the clus- 

 ter need not expand or contract fast enough to 

 disarrange it. 



Another fact is, that ventilation of every de- 

 scription should be prevented at the top of the 

 hive. Openings at or near the top carry away 

 the warmth of the cluster, and allow the moist- 

 ure to escape, both sure to work disastrously. 



Mr. Hoffman understood these points some 

 years before many of us had learned them, and 

 profited by his application of the knowledge. 



The following incident, that transpired dur- 

 ing the seventies, made a deep impression on 

 the writer's mind. and. after long meditation, 

 led to the conclusions stated as facts, in the 

 • preceding paragraphs. 



We visited Mr. Hoffman during the winter, 

 and took a look into liis cellar. As wp recollect, 

 4CM) or .500 colonies were placed in it, and the 

 temperature was rather high. Tlie hives had 

 no projections, and were packed in double rows, 

 several tiers deep, leaving aisles for passing be- 

 tween them. As placed, they were packed like 

 bricks, and the warmth of the different col- 

 onies was communicated to the mass, making it 

 homogeneous. The result was, not a few of the 

 strong colonies clustered upon the outside of 

 the hives. Indeed, upon some hives several 

 quarts of bees were gathered. These bees were 

 quiet — in fact, so dormant that th^y scarce- 

 ly moved; and, wlu^n disturbed, they tiirned 

 up their stings, filling the air with the odor of 

 poison. 



We did not understand the situation then, but 

 have since concluded that their repose was due 

 to a perfect state of health caused by good man- 

 agement before thev went into winter quarters. 



Mr. Hoffman's nive is W^ inches long, hence, 

 when filled, it holds eleven or twelve frames. 

 Except for extracting, not over eight frames are 



