isod 



(Jl-KAMNCS IN HKK ( TI/IM-RK. 



1:27 



Of alMlii' liivr walls, the lupllum islhi' ciihicsl, 

 ami its icmiH'ralmc iipproximaU's tliat of tlif 

 oxtcriuil air; tlit'iffoic. w licii tln> wcatiuT is 

 very riiiil. say Kl to 15 hi-low /.no ( l'\). iiiili'ss 

 the lii\>' is well prolct'lcd. tin- hccs toiiclnii^ 

 tliisi'old siirfai-f w ill lu'citinc I'liillcd. and tliis 

 loss will oi-riir to tlu> i-oioiiy at every colt! inter- 

 val until, by its losses, it. is enabled to clnsier 

 \v<>ll up anions th(> eoinhs and away from tlie 

 deatli-dealinii liottont-hoaiii. This explains. I 

 thin!;, w liai iiee-kecpiMs have sieneiaily ciaiin- 

 ed. that hees winter better on deep ilian on 

 shallow frames; and yet I do not think that an 

 air-spaei' below the hive is absolutely essential: 

 for if the top of a hive is kept warm as 1 iiave 

 described in '■ Winter rrobliMii." tlie bees will 

 naturally cluster aw ay from the colder bottom: 

 at all events, no rim would be needed exc(>[)t 

 under those hives in which the bees clustered 

 iti such a manner as to toucli. or be (luite close 

 to. the bottom. 



When 1 lirst commenced to kec^p bees the 

 winterinir <iuestion w as. duiiiiii the cold season. 

 the all-atii-orbing to|)ic; and yet none of the 

 books treating; of be(>s entered into a real prac- 

 tical discussion of this particular part of the 

 sub.ject; and. jiidfrinfr from some of the ques- 

 tions proposed in tlii' (juery column of the 

 Aincrhitn Bee Joiinuil nui\ (;i,kamx<;s. I sur- 

 mise that the beginner now fails to tind com- 

 fort in the bee-keeping text-books of to-day oi' 

 he would not ask such a question as. " Wlutt ix 

 the iiroiici tonpenttiirc fur (I relUir containing 

 5() colonies.'" for he would know that a proper 

 answer to such a question requir<'S a knowledge 

 of all the conditions involved in his particular 

 case. The same temperature will not do for a 

 damp cellar as for a dry one: and where the 

 colonies are in warm, well-sealed hives, the air 

 must be kept cooler than when they are in loose- 

 toj) hives. It is for this reason that some bee- 

 ke(>pers keep their bee-cellars at (luite a high 

 temperature, while for my part I pay no atten- 

 tion to low temperature as long as water in the 

 cellar will not freeze: in fact. I regard a ther- 

 mometer in a bee-cellar as of just about as 

 much real utility as four legs to a wheelbariow . 



IJIairstown, la.. Feb. 3. (J. R. Pif:HCK. 



[It is to be regretted tliat we have not more 

 accurate statistics upon which to roly: but 

 from those which have appeared in Gleanings 

 in the last three or foui' years, tlie percentage 

 of bee mortality, as nearly as we can ascertain. 

 was lower than what you put it. Still, these 

 statistics may have been very misleading.] 



SEALED COVERS FOR WINTER. 



akha.\«k.mf:nt of iiiviis i\ (iuoi i- 



I have not been a bee-keeper very long. I am 

 following the advice of the A 15 (' book, to ""go 

 slowly and carefully." After transferring a 

 colony from a box liive I set the hive bottom 

 up. and found it was so thoroughly glued over 

 inside tliat it would hold water as well as a 

 copper kettle. This made me skeptical atioiit 

 absorbents over a colony of bi'cs. It is not their 

 nature to thus prepare for winter. I have seen 

 hundreds of bees in autumn gatliering gum 

 from gum-trees, and carrying it on thiMr legs 

 Ukc pollen, to the hive, but I have nevei' yet 

 Seen them gatliei-ing foiest-leaves.swam[)-nioss. 

 or even straw, and carrying it to their home as 

 a protection from winter stoi'ms. Now-, your 

 idea of sealed covers over tin; frames is right: 

 that is the way the bees would have it: and 

 if you can not put on the board in time for the 

 bees to glue it. why not paint the under side 

 with a solution of beeswax and propolis, and 



\N a\ I he <'dg('S w ell. I Inn |iui on all I he packing 

 you desiri'. lo keep the moisture and cold from 

 gelling lo the hiveV 



There has been a Kie;'l deal siiid in (ii.KA.N- 

 iNiis lately aboni the arraiigemeni of hives for 

 convenience in handling in summer, and much 

 is also said alioni difTerent methods of packing 

 for winter. I will give you my plan: and if 

 you think it wort h a place you are welcome lo it. 



:l 1 1 



h 



I arrange my liiv(>s on a paltern of Heddon's 

 hive-stand, placing four in a group, as you will 

 see by the diagram. Fig. 1 is placed for using 

 the smoker in the left hand: Fig. 2 for using llu^ 

 smoker in the right hand. If I want to look 

 into hive c 1 sit down on '/. lay tools on a. puff 

 smoke in at entrance o with left hand, take otf 

 tlie cover with the right hand: lay it on /*, then 

 1 am ready for business. In Fig. :.' the smoker 

 is held in the right hand, and the work done 

 with the left. 



For packing for wintei' I take a box made of 

 any cheap lumber, thai will answer, 3}.} feet 

 square, and about 14 inches deep: remove the 

 hives from their stand; set the box on. and 

 then place the hives in the box, in the saine po- 

 sition as before, with entrances in the sarnie 

 place. Of course, four entrance's aiM^ cut in the 

 box to fit the hive-entrances. I then put in 

 packing to suit ray notion. Next winter I shall 

 thoroughly paint boards with beeswax and 

 piopolis. and seal down tight on the frames be- 

 fore putting in the packing. M. M. Rick. 



Dickeyville. Ind. 



[We have grouped hives as you describe; but 

 the objection to it is that the bees are flying in 

 all directions. The S. E. Miller plan, which W(' 

 recommend, see page 922. 1891. allows an alley- 

 way for the bees for bee-flight, and an alleyway 

 for'the apiarist.] 



CLOSED-END FRAMES. 



C. I". DADANT KEI'IJES. 



Friend Ernest: — Allow me to correct a state- 

 ment made by Mrs. Axtell. in the Feb. 1st num- 

 ber of Gleanings, pase 97. saying that I never 

 saw Mr. Axtell handle the closed-end frame. 

 Mrs. Axtell is not to blame for the mistake 

 made, for the reason that she was not present. 

 The aiiiary where 1 saw Mr. Axtell handle the 

 closed-end frame was that of K. A. Hanchet. 

 Burlington. Iowa. May 8. 1878. You see that it 

 dates back (piite a finv days, and it is not to be 

 wondered that friend Axtell has forgotten all 

 about it. As it was the first time that I had 

 seen others than ourselves handle tlie closed-end 

 frame, it made some impression on my mind. 

 Some of oui' friends will perha]js wonder howl 

 can so well remember the dale. It is because 

 this happened during tlie meeting of tlie West- 

 ern Illinois and Eastern Iowa Bee-Keepers' As- 

 .sociation. a very nice meeting, at which we first 

 met Mr. Newman and many others. Mr. Axtell 

 aniong them, though I believe we had met Mr. 

 Axtell befori-; and I find the date in the old 

 Arnericdn Bee Journal. We were the guests of 

 Mr. Hanchet: and at the dinner-hour a swarm 

 came out and was hived. My remembrance is. 

 that the <jueen could not be found, and that, as 

 the swarm seeined restle-ss, and it was necessary 

 to make sure before going back to the liall of 



