446 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



latter. I think it was J. F. Mclntyre, that 

 extensive bee keeper of California, who 

 once had zigzag rows; but when I visited 

 him he had abandoned it and was using 

 the s'raight-row rectangular plan. — Ed.] 



A TILTING CELL-BAR. 



I am pleased to see the articles on queen- 

 rearing in Gleanings. Your journal grows 

 better every year. I see they all set the 

 frame down on the top-bar with the bottom- 

 bar up, as you have it on page 20. I wish 

 you would try my plan. When I was in the 

 greatest hurry I would be sure to knock the 

 framj over and break off some of the cells; 



so I got a bottom-bar, cut it off just a little 

 short of the one already in, and drove a 

 nail through the center of each end-bar, and 

 in the end of extra bottom bar so it can turn 

 around — see Fig. 1. I lay the frame fiat 

 down on the bench I am working on; turn 

 the extra bar so the flat side is up, ready 

 for cells, as shown in Fig. 2. I fasten on 

 the cells and do other work, and there is 

 nothing to tip over. When the work is done 

 I pick up the frame, turn the bar so the cells 

 are down, and start for the hive. 

 May field, O., Jan. 19. G. W. Haines. 



wintering in the cellar; ventilating 

 the hives at the top. 



I notice in Gleanings, Feb. 1, an article 

 on cellar wintering without ventilation, by 

 Ira Barber. As I have had an experience 

 of 53 years in bee-keeping, perhaps some 

 words of mine in regard to ventilation and 

 wintering bees might prove helpful sugges- 

 tions to those of less years. 



For 36 years I have wintered bees in the 

 house-cellar, where I now live, with no ven- 

 tilation during the cold weather up to about 

 the first of March, except a five-inch stove- 

 pipe hole in a chimney which goes to the 

 cellar bottom. After that time, when the 

 weather is warm we open the cellar win- 

 dows during the night, to let in the cool 

 night air, and close them during the day to 

 make it dark, and keep out the warm air of 

 the day. 



Up to this writing, Feb. 8, they are very 

 quiet, and I have over a hundred colonies 

 in the cellar. I put them into winter quar- 



ters about the last week in November, and 

 take them out about the first of April. I 

 too am in about 44^'2 north latitude. 



An important factor to be considered is 

 the ventilation of each bee hive at the top, 

 also a small hole at the entrance. 



Newbury, Vermont. James Lang. 



[Your practice is to give ventilation, and 

 plenty of it, when the bees need it; and 

 even during mid- winter the chimney- pipe 

 changes the air — it must do so. — Ed.] 



COCKROACHES OR FIELD-MICE. 



Dear Bro. Root: — I feel a good deal dis- 

 posed to say, *' Why didn't you tell, if you 

 knew? " and this is the matter. My three 

 hives were left just where my good neighbor 

 caught the swarms, in the grass under the 

 orchard trees. When I made cursory ex- 

 amination of them in the fall the frames 

 were so bound together with brace-combs 

 that I dared not attempt to take them out. 

 But I noticed a few stray cockroaches on 

 the frames. I asked my friend (from whom 

 I got the bees) about them; he said they did 

 no harm. Not satisfied, I consulted the A 

 B C book, and found no mention of cock- 

 roaches. So, while not wholly at ease on 

 the matter, I did not investigate further at 

 that time. 



Ten days ago I brought two hives from 

 town and set them in my back yard so that I 

 could observe them. On weighing them, 

 one weighed 27 lbs. I took advantage of a 

 warm day to open up. On lifting out the 

 division-board at the side, it proved to be 

 literally covered with big cockroaches, and 

 I was kept hopping with both feet trying to 

 kill them as fast as they fell to the ground. 

 Lifting out a couple of frames, the real state 

 of the cause was manifest. The comb at 



the lower rear end of all the frames was 

 gnawed off about as I have tried to indicate; 

 and the bottom of the hive, to a depth cov- 

 ering the bottom of the frames, and causing 

 them to mildew, was a refuse of comb and 

 dead bees. I moved all the frames and 

 scooped out about a pint or more of this 

 rubbish, killing as many cockroaches as I 

 could get at. 



Now, this happened to a strong hive, with 

 some stores still remaining. The olher hive 

 that I brought to town was the one to which 

 I introduced the queen last fall, spoiling 

 two frames of stores in so doing. It weigh- 



