774 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1. 



enough sections to fill out a super, it occurred 

 to me that I could fill out with the so prepared 

 queen-cages, and I took off the wire cloth, and 

 inserted eight of those dressed sections, slip- 

 ping little strips between rows to give a bee- 

 space, which answered the same as the slatted 

 separator, never thinking what the result 

 would be, more than to save the honey the 

 bees would gather ; but when I took that crate 

 . off I was so pleased with those eight sections 

 that I said to myself, " Next year I'll fix V'W." 



Those eight sections were all filled out even 

 with the edge of the section, or so nearly so 

 that two could be placed together and the two 

 face surfaces would nearly touch together ; 

 and as I keep nice glassed cases of honey in 

 our stores, those sections were placed in those 

 cases with the other bee-spaced sections ; but 

 the eight non-bee-spaced were the first sold, 

 and because they looked as though they con.- 

 tained more honey for 15 cts. than the others, 

 and I am not so "sure but they did ; however, 

 I did not think at the time to test them by 

 weight. 



So, Mr. Editor, should I live to manipulate 

 bees through the season of 1898 I shall test 

 this matter pretty thoroughly ; also the drawn- 

 foundation comb, of which we have read so 

 much. J. A. Golden. 



Reinersville, O., Oct. 23. 



WINTER-PASSAGES IN COMBS NOT NECESSARY. 



Oucslioti.—l see in one of my papers that 

 one writer claims that old age can he set down 

 as the reason for bees dying in winter without 

 apparent cause, and asserts that the cause of 

 the loss of many colonies lies in the fact that 

 the same was composed mostly of old bees at 

 the approach of cold weather. This may be 

 the cause of some of the loss ; but I think the 

 loss is more often caused (where bees are win- 

 tered on their sununer stands in the open air) 

 from chill, or the impression from cold of 

 those occupving outer ranges of comb, during 

 sudden changes from warm to very cold 

 weather. Especiallv is the loss very consider- 

 able from this source where the comb-passages 

 are deficient, as they generally are where large 

 frames are used; as in such case the detached 

 clusters are unable to readily join the main 

 cluster, and are not in sufficient numbers to 

 maintain the requisite degree of heat, and are 

 thus lost. Considering these facts, do you 

 not think it well to make winter-passages 

 through the combs, near the center, for the 

 bees to pass through ? 



Attszt'er.—The above brings up a subject 

 which was discussed at length several years 

 ago, when there was a " craze," as it were, for 

 " winter - passageways " through the combs. 

 The argument "then brought forth was, that 

 on the "first cold spell the cluster of bees is 



obliged to contract in order to maintain the 

 necessary degree of heat required ; and in 

 doing so those occupying the outer ranges of 

 comb, being in a sluggish state from the in- 

 fluence of the cold, failed to pass up and 

 around the combs quick enough to keep up 

 with the receding cluster, hence were left to 

 perish with the cold. To obviate this loss, 

 winter-passagewaj-s through the center of the 

 combs were recommended, made by boring 

 holes through them, or by having a curled 

 shaving, which was painted on the inside, 

 suspended in each frame when the swarm was 

 hived, so that the bees would of themselves 

 leave such passageways when constructing 

 their combs. By this means the outer bees 

 had direct communication with the cluster, so 

 that, even though panly stiffened with the 

 cold, they could easily recede so as to keep 

 up with the main cluster. The painting of 

 the inside of the shaving was said to keep the 

 bees from building comb in these holes; but, 

 notwithstanding, the bees would, as a rule, 

 fill up these winter-passageways, each sum- 

 mer, which gave a good yield of honey, so it 

 was found quite a job to see that they were 

 open each fall. This led some one to propose 

 boring a hole in the side of the hive, at the 

 proper place, so that with a square stick, 

 pointed at one end, which was to be slowly 

 " wormed " (so as not to kill the bees) through 

 to the opposite side of the hive, thus making 

 a passage through all of the combs at one 

 operation, thus making quite a saving as to 

 labor. Many of my older hives have such a 

 hole in the sides, with a button to turn over it 

 when not in use; and where such passageways 

 are desired, probahl}- there is no better way of 

 securing them than this last. 



However, it was soon found that the bees 

 would remain and die within half an inch of 

 these holes in the combs ; and as said holes 

 w^ere quite a damage to the combs ( the bees 

 filling them with comb having the drone size 

 of cells the next season, or, if left open, it 

 allowed a place for the bees to stay in when 

 they were being brushed off for extracting or 

 any other purpose), the making of such pas- 

 sageways has been generally given up, I be- 

 lieve. Some who still cling to the idea use 

 what is known as the "Hill device " above 

 the combs, as a sort of compromise; but after 

 careful experiments with all of the above the 

 writer has discarded the whole of them, be- 

 lieving there is not enough gained to compen- 

 sate for the trouble. That the bees would die 

 within an inch or less of such passageways, 

 as spoken of above, and that such death of 

 bees rarely occurred except during the first 

 heavj- freeze each fall, led me to investigate 

 the matter closely, said investigation proving 

 to my mind that these bees died from lack of 

 vitality (or old ^ge), rather than from the 

 cause assigned. Usually we have much cool 

 cloudy weather from two to four weeks before 

 the first severe cold, so that old bees do not 

 leave the hive to any extent to die, as they do 

 all through the summer months, so that the 

 number of dead bees dying from this cause 

 would be considerable, providing none were 

 chilled. But instead of dying at once, at this 



