IS9-2 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



367 



it. We cNpcrinuMit .^oino ovoi y yoar witli a fow 

 ditTcriMit Uiiuis of hivos and difT»>riMit ways of 

 inanajicmcnl. 



Ono vfiy iniMortaiit tliiiifj witli tlioi^c who are 

 keopinjj a proou many swarms is, to have lln' 

 Iwltoms fast, and xho iMitram-c convtMiiciit to 

 close, and so bo sure a hoc can not get out w iiilf 

 carrying in and ont: thru we can use clicap 

 lii'lp. and tlu'v iiko to do it. 



I tind tiiat most b(M»-koopors say, "Keep the 

 bees in tin- ceiiai' until natural pollen is ready 

 for them." With the hive that I use. I must 

 differ with them for this reason: Hees will 

 remain (jiiiet, and winter well in the cellai' for 

 about four months; and if kept in five months, 

 more will die or iret weak— the last month, 

 more than all the tirst four months. I have set 

 bees out at all times from lM>b. 1 to May 7. 

 This is too early and too late. IJut any time 

 after the l.">th of March, when the w eath<'r is 

 fine, so the bees can get a good cleansing Hight, 

 and if no snow is on the ground, is the time to 

 take bees out of the cellar. IJut, ohi we want 

 a day when the hees will not waste much in 

 their tirst flight. If we knew the weather 

 would be tine in a day or two after, it would be 

 best to carry them out at night, or on a cool day 

 (we do so with our out-yards, if the day is such 

 when we get there), then thi>y do not fly until 

 it is warm enough. After our bees have had 

 cue or two flights Td rather have it cool, to 

 keep the old bees in the hives. 



Now. I think my bees are more healthy than 

 they would have been if I had kept them in one 

 month longer: and they now begin to rear 

 brood, and the old bees stay at home and keep 

 the brood warm, and live until the young bees 

 begin to take their place. 



I always get some rye ground just as fine as 

 our miller can grind it, and leave the bran in 

 with the fiour: and if we have a few warm 

 days, give the bees some of this. Place it in a 

 shallow box two feet square, near the yard, and 

 the bees will have work close at home; and 

 this, too, will stimulate thein to breeding. But 

 we shall be likely to have considerable cold 

 weather when the old bees will be like a sit- 

 ting hen — keeping their eggs warm. Now, 

 when natural pollen comes, say April 8, the 

 young bees will begin to hatch, and the old 

 ones will begin to work very hard, and soon 

 die: but the young bees will hatch out as fast 

 as the old ones die. and take their place; and 

 this prevents spring dwindling (as it is called), 

 and the old bees have been worth much in rear- 

 ing this bro(Kl. If we wait until April 8 before 

 we .set our bees out, then the bees start right 

 off hard at work, pellmell, and, being weaker, 

 too, by their longer confinement, die olt fast, 

 and will be able to care for but a small amount 

 of brood, and spring dwindling is the result: 

 and by May 8 the bees will not bt; as plentiful in 

 the hives as they were when set out: and then 

 comes the troubleof changing combs, and much 

 fu.ssing work to get the bees ready for the hon- 

 ey harvest. But tho.se set out in time to have 

 the young bees coming on to take the place of 

 the old ones that die off fast when no pollen 

 comes, will be ahead, and keep so, without all 

 of this fussing: and another thing, we are apt 

 to have a few swarms that are weak, and liable 

 to get robbed if not watched whi'u carried out 

 early: and after their first flight, look for and 

 find out whether any are poor; and if so. carry 

 those back into the cellar, and leave them in 

 until natural pollen comes; then set then) out 

 and care for them as they need. They will not 

 be as liable to get robbed now. but the.-ie few 

 should be put on from three to five frames, just 

 what they can protect and care for. Ifb(>tter 

 swarms should lose a queen, unite with one of 

 these. 



I will say, that the most of my hives are wide 

 enough for ten franu's (III4 tleep x !.">'>, long); 

 but I use a division-i)oard the siz(> of my frame. ' 

 on th<' outside of my combs, so but 8 frames are 

 used much of the time. I like this. The heat 

 and cold do not affect the Ix^es as much. 1 like 

 the bodies of my hives painted red and the caps 

 white. I use a cap to set over my section 

 crates. I think they pay. They are gocxl for 

 a good many reasons, such as shade tf) keep off 

 rain, heat, and cold; and we use thin sides to 

 our section crates, 14 one-pound sections to the 

 crate, and two of these crates just cover a hive. 



I have been experimenting some with a hive 

 with the rim nailed around 5'.; inches from the 

 top, and the cap set over the hive. The cap is 8 

 inches deep. This gi-ves 2)-^ inches of chamber 

 over the frames. Put a large quilt on the hive; 

 one thickn(^ss of hop baling is good, or another 

 on top of that, or forest- leaves, or chafT on top 

 of quilt, if you wish. Then put the cap on over, 

 and set one hive on top of the other in the 

 cellar. The cap on the front side, one inch 

 down, has a hole cut through for a handle 1x4 

 inches, covered with wire cloth on the inside. 

 These, too. have wintered well. 



In moving bees frotn yard to yard, take off 

 the quilts and drive a nail through the cap into 

 the hive (one in each end will do), and the wire 

 cloth in the cap will give air enough; close the 

 entrance, and we are ready to move. 



Middleburgh, N. Y. N. D. We.st. 



[Friend W. makes some good points in favor 

 of taking bees out of the cellar early; but in all 

 this we should consider the matter of locality. 

 This spring we kept our bees in the cellar con- 

 siderably later than usual, for experiment; and 

 we found that we might better have taken 

 them out two or three weeks before we did. Our 

 outdoor colonies are about a month ahead in 

 brood-rearing. Whether or no these cellared 

 colonies will catch up. remains to be proven. 

 Dr. Miller has recommended taking bees out as 

 soon as maples come into bloom; and for him 

 we have no doubt that this is the better time, 

 because his locality is very cold compared with 

 that of most other bee-keepers. 



We believe Mr. West's plan of putting bees 

 into the cellar is a good one. If we were sure 

 we could winter our bees in the cellar without 

 removing the hive-bottoms, but leaving plenty 

 of upward ventilation, we would make them all 

 fast; because convenience in moving bees to 

 out-yards, and in and out of the c(>llar. and 

 carrying them around the apiary when they 

 are in hives with fast bottoms is no small item. 

 If upward ventilation in the cellar will permit 

 of this, and yet give us good results, it would be 

 worth our giving it a little consideration. Last 

 winter we put into the cellar colonies having 

 sealed covers and those having absorbing cush- 

 ions. The former had their bottoms removed, 

 and the latter had bottoms that were nailed 

 fast. This spring we could detect no particular 

 difference in the wintering of either set. '" But, 

 how about this sealed-cover idea that you have 

 been advocating all along?" some one will ask. 

 If the reader will refer to what we have said, 

 he will see that our remarks applied to outdoor 

 wintering. The pui'pose of this sealed cover is 

 to retain all the warmth of the cluster; and 

 this is very essential for outdoor wintering, for 

 then we have no heat to spare by letting it 

 escape through the top of the hive. But in the 

 celUir tho conditions are n-versed. The great 

 trouble with the most of us is not to keep the 

 bees ir(tnn enough, but <iool enough: therefore, 

 if we allow the heat to escape to a certain 

 extent through the top of the hive, we are thus 

 enabled to maintain a higher temperature in 

 the cellar itself. It is the high temperature in 



