462 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



ing yet. while others have perished. The size given, 

 16x16x22, which shows that the box has twice the ca- 

 pacity of an eight-frame Langstroth hive, answers his 

 question. 



In the following number of the same journal, page 

 107, Mr. Heddon mentions a colony which had winter- 

 ed safely for seven years in a box ten times larger 

 than the Langstioth, while many others died by its 

 side. The colony, when transferred, contained about 

 double the number of bees usually raised from one 

 queen. 



Page 338 : 



Mr. E. T. Sturtevant, of East Cleveland, Ohio, wide- 

 ly known as an experienced apiarist, thus gives his 

 experience in wintering bees in the open air : 



" No extremity of cold that we ever have in this cli- 

 mate will injure bees if their breath is allowed to pass 

 off, so that they are dry. I never lost a good colony 

 that was dry, and had plenty of honey." 



This is no fad. Twenty-five years ago the 

 editor of Gleanings recognized the necessity 

 of a warm hive in early springtime ; see 

 Gleanings, 1874, page 38. 



That a few inches of chaff, straw, or old clothing, 

 around a hive is no positive protection, we think is 

 generally admitted. 



From the March number, 1874, page 30, we 

 quote : 



Feb. 16. — We have . just purchased two loads of 

 coarse fermented manure at the livery-stables. 



On page 38 we quote : 



From what experience we have had, we should feel 

 safe to risk the bees under half a wagon-load to each 

 hive. 



March 2, page 40: 



We are so pleased with the manure protection that 

 we have put our fifty hives on their summer stands, 

 and are making manure-heaps over them as fast as 

 possible. 



I suppose he found later there was too much 

 moisture, and perhaps abnormal heat was not 

 just the thing. But, to return to Dadant, 

 page 340 : 



To show the advantages derived by the bees from a 

 winter flight we will give our experience during one 

 of the coldest winters — that of lS72-'3. From the be- 

 ginning of December to the middle of January the 

 weather was cold, and the bees were unable to leave 

 the hive. The 16th of January was a rather pleasant 

 day. We took occasion of this to examine our weak 

 colonies, being anxious in regard to their condition. 

 To our astonishment thev were found alive, and our 

 disturbing them caused them to fly and discharge their 

 excrement. Being convinced that all of our bees 

 were safe, we did not disturb the strong colonies, and 

 a few of the latter remained quiet. The next day the 

 cold weather returned, and lasted three weeks longer. 

 Then we discovered tint the weak colonies, that had 

 had a cleansing flight, were alive and well, while the 

 strong ones, which had remained confined, were eith- 

 er dead or in bad condition. 



I have made a practice, for a number of 

 years, of taking off the outside packing-case 

 containing the leaves when the warm days 

 would come after the bees were confined for 

 some time by cold weather, and turning the 

 winter -case, containing the leaves, upside 

 down so that the sun and air would warm them 

 up as well as to give the bees a cleansing flight. 

 Now, then, those leaves get warmed up through 

 and through, and the case is returned to its 

 place before it gets too cool in the evening. 

 With a good strong colony of bees in the 

 "barn," is it not plain to you that the leaves 

 will keep the barn warm, as well as the bees 

 and all of the honey ? The leaves, after get- 

 ting warmed up, will hold the heat that the 

 bees generate, and sunning and airing both 

 the leaves and hive seems to start the bees to 

 rearing brood with a rush. 



To sum up the whole thing in a few words : 

 Other things being equal, with a large hive 

 there is no need of feeders, no need of clean- 

 ing bottom-boards in the spring, no need of 

 spreading brood, no fear of their starving in 

 the spring, no use of lugging them in and out 

 of a cellar for winter; and whenever there 

 comes a honey-flow they are ready for it every 

 time. 



Upper Alton, 111., May 24. 



[Now comes an article from the "other 

 side." Just read. — Ed.] 



SMALL HIVES FOR COMB HONEY, AND WHY. 



A Strong Article. 



BY D. N. RITCHEY. 



As there has been much said in favor of 

 large hives of late by Mr. C. P. Dadant and a 

 few others, I want to say that nine out of ten 

 beginners who would follow Mr. Dadant's ad- 

 vice would fail, and lose all they had put into 

 the business, and give up in disgust. I wish 

 to say all that I do with all kindness for Mr. 

 Dadant. In the first place, M r - Dadant can 

 not give a fair statement, because he says, 

 Sept. 15, 1898, page 683, that he has never 

 tried the small hives — at least not less than 

 ten-frame, which is not a small hive for this 

 climate, by any means; so how can he judge? 

 I want to be as brief as I can with this article, 

 as I believe all articles should be, and then 

 readers of Gleanings would be glad to see 

 them — at least that is my idea. What I tell 

 you in my argument are facts that I have 

 gathered from 32 years' experience, many ex- 

 periments, and an outlay of several hundred 

 dollars, and an experimental knowledge of the 

 bee-business. 



I have no doubt Mr. Dadant has produced 

 large yields of honey with his large hives ; but 

 I believe he could have done better with 

 smaller ones. I will admit there are a few lo- 

 calities where a large hive would give better 

 results in extracted but not in comb honey. 

 We must remember that the most of our large 

 comb-honey producers use small hives. I have 

 this day examined some of my bees, and find 

 that the bees in six-frame hives are storing 

 honey in sections while my nine-frame hives 

 have not an ounce in the supers; and if it were 

 not that I have a field of buckwheat almost 

 in full bloom I should have to feed my colo- 

 nies that are in large hives, to keep up brood- 

 rearing so I could have a large force ready for 

 white clover. 



I write these articles with the express pur- 

 pose that others may not have to pay out the 

 amount of money that I have, and spend the 

 time I have, to learn what they must if suc- 

 cessful in the bee-business. In my next arti- 

 cle I will give the proper size of hive for this 

 climate, and give good reasons for it. 



Mr. Dadant, Sr., says on page 258, Apr. 1, 

 that a queen does not lay at will. I am not 

 " Baptist " enough to swallow that. 



Before I close this article I should like to 

 give Mr. Dadant, as advocate of large hives, 



