86 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



basswood, or fall flowers, and he will do things 

 in just the I'ight time to secure the best results, 

 lam often asked." What advantage has a mov- 

 able-frame hive over a box hive?" Muc'?(, every 

 way, in the hands of the skillful apiarist, but 

 none at all with the man who does not take ad- 

 vantage of its principles or of the benelits de- 

 rived by a judicious use of the same, such as 

 knowing in the spring that each "colony has 

 sufficient stores to last till flowers bloom, 

 or in the fall that it has plenty of stores 

 for winier, or that each colony has a good 

 prolific queen, or giving stores to the needy 

 by taking them from those having an abun- 

 dance, etc. What are the movable frames 

 good for if not for the above purpose? and yet 

 we have those all over the land who do not take 

 a frame out of a hive once in a year, yet call 

 themselves bee-keepers, and wonder why they 

 do not succeed in securing some pi'oHt fjom 

 their bees as do some of their more successful 

 neighbors. They have the same hives, they are 

 sure. They are like some persons I know of, 

 who, when asked how the bees prosper, say, 

 " Pretty well, I guess: the hives were all heavy 

 when I set them out of the cellar, and I guess 

 they are yet. Here is a good one. I have lifted 

 it several times, and it is always heavy. That 

 one will give me lots of honeythis year." We 

 step to the entrance, and there is scarcely a bee 

 flying, while from others, near by. the working 

 force shows three times their numbers. L^pon 

 asking about one of these the owner lifts the 

 hive, and, when finding it much lighter than 

 the other, says, " That is lighter, and I do not 

 think it is as good as the other." We next ask 

 if each has a good queen and plenty of brood, 

 as it is now near the tenth of May. and are met 

 with the reply, "I can't tell: I have not had 

 the frames out of the hive since the bees were 

 put in it. I do not believe in fussing with my 

 bees as some do." 



Thus we find plenty of bee-keepers, or those 

 calling themselves such, all over the land. Is 

 it any wonder that we have plenty of candi- 

 dates for blasted hopes? These men do not 

 seem to realize that it is just this " fussing." as 

 they call it. which makes the success of the 

 prosperous ones about them. I do not want to 

 be understood that a person is to be continually 

 overhauling his hives (as most of the readers of 

 Gleanings are aware, from what I have writ- 

 ten during the immediate past), that such a 

 person may be successful. No. not that. What 

 I mean is, that, when a gain is to be made by 

 looking inside of a hive, do It, and do it at just 

 the time it is needed. Tend to the bees in the 

 spring in just the right time: put on the sec- 

 lions in the right time: see that all colonies 

 have good prolific queens at the time they are 

 needed, and so on with all the work of the 

 apiary. Do not keep any more colonies of bees 

 than you can care for and have every thing 

 done in good order. Better results can be se- 

 cured from twenty- five colonies properly at- 

 tended to than with one hundred colonies left 

 to care for themselves. What I wish to im- 

 press on the mind of every reader of this arti- 

 cle is this: That a thorough, practical apiarist 

 will succeed with almost any of the frame hives 

 now in use, while a careless, " go as you please " 

 man, will not pay his way with the best hive 

 ever invented; and it is for the reader of this to 

 know to which of these classes he or she be- 

 longs. If to the latter class, reform should be 

 the motto to be pasted in your hat. 



G. M. DooLrrxi.E. 

 Borodino, N. Y., Jan. 14. 



[As usual we quite agree with you in every 

 statement you make. With almost any hive, 

 given a good season, a good bee-keeper, and a 



good locality, a honey crop and a reasonable 

 amount of profit is sure. Yes, even a box hive, 

 under these conditions, could be made to yield 

 excellent results, for its conditions are. "to a 

 certain extent, under the control of the apiarist. 

 M. Quinby made money with it. But while we 

 look at this side we must not overlook the con- 

 venieuce of the modern appliances.] 



ABSORBENTS IN WINTER. 



some kxpekience that pkoves them det- 

 rimental. 



Friend Root: — In your review of the book. 

 "Winter Problem in Bee-keeping." you ask, 

 toward the close, to have the subject thorough- 

 ly discussed. Well, while the author. Mr. 

 Pierce, is opposed to absorbents next to the 

 bees, and yourself and your apiarist. Mr. Spaf- 

 ford. seem to coincide with him. I can not. even 

 " for the sake of ai'gument." take the opposite 

 side, but must follow right along in the same 

 line with the author whom you quote, leaving 

 othei's. whose experience may justify it, to take 

 the other side. 



When I first commenced keeping bees, some 

 eight years ago. most of the books I had read, as 

 well as the journals devoted to bee culture, 

 favored absorbents in the form of chaff, leaves, 

 or sawdust, either in cushions or loose, next to 

 the bees, with a cloth of some kind intervening. 

 Accordingly, having no opinion of my own at 

 the time. I thus prepared sixteen colonies for 

 outdoor wintering, using chaff for an absorbent. 

 The bees were in eight and ten frame L. hives, 

 which were mostly contracted to form four to 

 six frames each: these were placed in the cen- 

 t'-r of the hive: and over them, reaching to the 

 bottom-board on each side, was placed a piece 

 of burlajK the spaces left on the sides were then 

 filled with chaff, and on top of the frames was 

 placed a chaff cushion about three inches thick. 

 The hives were then grouped in a row on the 

 south side of a fence, leaving a foot space be- 

 tween hives and fence, and about fifteen inches 

 between the hives. Straw was then piled over 

 and around the hives on three sides— the front 

 end being left exposed and topped out with 

 timothy hay. The straw extended over the 

 fronts of the hives sufficiently to keep them 

 perfectly dry: and in severe weather, planks a 

 foot wide were placed in front to keep the wind 

 from blowing in at the entrances. Snow was 

 not allowed to accumulate in frontof hives, and 

 in fine weather the planks were turned down to 

 afford the bees an unobstructed passageway. 



Thus cared for, I was confident they would 

 winter perfectly: but what was my surprise, 

 when I unpacked them in the spring, to find 

 eight colonies dead, and the survivors weak, 

 and afflicted with diaj'rheal The whole interi- 

 or of the hives occupied by the dead colonies 

 was damp and moldy, reaching well into the 

 packing, which, in places, was actually wet. 

 When the bees flew in winter the fecal dis- 

 charges were yellow and unnatural, showing 

 that diarrhea was prevalent among them, and 

 they no doubt died from the effects of this dis- 

 ease, which, I am confident, was brought on by 

 excessive dampness within the hives. 



At the time. I thought that too much pack- 

 ing over the hives was the cause of all the 

 trouble. I now think it had little to do with it: 

 for, following on the former conclusion, two 

 years ago I again packed 148 colonies en the 

 summer stands: 130 were in double-walled 

 hives, packed with chaff, a chaff-packed rim 

 placed over the frames, with the chaff piled on 

 till it was six to eiglit inches deep over the 

 frames. Some of the ten-frame hives were con- 



