1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



113 



Heads of Grain 



from Different Fields 



Difficulties in Manipulating Chaff Hives Having 

 Tight Bottoms. 



We use the Hilton chafi hive. It winters the bees 

 well outside, and keeps them warm in spring, and 

 it is just right during the hottest weather. But the 

 trouble is, I am a beginner; and in studying up the 

 different methods I find that a different make of 

 hive is generally described, which makes the meth- 

 ods in question impossible with this hive. 



A weak colony is recommended to be set over a 

 strong one. We can't do so with this hive, and the 

 .Alexander feeder seems to be popular for feeding 

 daily in the spring; but our hive, having a closed 

 bottom, is not adapted for this work. 



Muskegon, Mich. H. A. Portek. 



[Chaff hives have a great many adyantages over 

 single-walled hives, especially in localities where 

 bees winter in them on summer stands so admira- 

 bly; but, of course, the tight-bottom-board feature 

 prevents such hives from being used as convien- 

 lently as singie-walled hives having loose bottoms. 

 For this reason the new loose-bottomed chaff hive 

 was brought out, so that methods of management 

 for single-walled hives would apply equally well to 

 the double-walled style. 



However, even with your hives that have tight 

 bottoms, you can very often find a way out of the 

 difficulty. For Instance, in order to follow the Al- 

 exander plan for building up weak colonies you 

 might have a few single-walled bodies on hand in 

 which you could temporarily transfer the combs 

 and bees for setting over a strong colony. In many 

 other ways a few single-walled bodies are very 

 handy in an apiary where tight-bottom chaff hives 

 are used. 



01 course the Alexander feeders can not well be 

 used on your hives; but the Doolittie division- 

 board feeder could be used without any trouble. — 

 Ed.] 



Drawing Stale Air Out of a Cellar Instead of 

 Blowing Fresh Air In. 



Will you allow me to suggest that, next spring, 

 when the bees get uneasy in the cellar, instead of 

 pointing the fan into the cellar and so trying to 

 blow fresh air into a compartment full of air, you 

 point it the other way, and so suck the stale air out 

 — no fear of any less air being in the cellar. By the 

 first way there is more stirring up of stale air than 

 any thing else. By the latter, all air that is shifted 

 is replaced by fresh. This can be modified, and 

 made more effective by having a horizontal parti- 

 tion in opening, or an opening near the floor and 

 one near the ceiling, aad putting the fan at either 

 top or bottom opening (but always pointing out) 

 according to whether the lower (cold) or higher 

 (warm) air is to be expelled. Without any further 

 explanation I think you will see the point clearly. 

 Pure air in the cellar is of more consequence than 

 the state of the thermometer. 



My next venture with bees will be in the northern 

 part of this State, and I will take any old cellar and 

 keep the bees quiet by pure air — raise and even low- 

 er the temperature by this principle of forcing air 

 out of the cellar, using a stove outside for the mo- 

 tive power. 1 think 1 have said enough to make 

 myself understood by you. To go into the matter 

 fully would make the letter too long. 



W. H. Messenger. 



Port Richmond, New York, Dec. 9. 



Moving Bees in Cold Weather. 



While I have been a bee-keeper many years I 

 have had no practical experience in moving bees, 

 and should like to have you give me what informa- 

 tion you can in regard to the following: I wish to 

 move about 15 colonies of bees a distance of about 

 25 miles by wagon or sleigh. I should very much 

 like to do this before warm weather; in fact, it is al- 

 most a necessity, owing to peculiar circumstances. 

 Can you suggest any way in which this could be 

 safely done without. danger of breaking down the 



combs and ruining the colonies? These bees are in 

 ten-frame Langstroth hives. A. J. W. 



[When cold weather is on, it is desirable to move 

 bees as quickly and with as little jar as possible. 

 On a bad rough road, unless the hives are well 

 cushioned on straw in the wagon or sled, there is 

 danger of breaking out some of the combs during 

 the hauling. We would, therefore, select a time 

 when the temperature is not too low. and yet when 

 it is cold enough so that the roads will hold up. If 

 the bees can be moved on a sled, and the sleighing 

 is good, you would have very little difficulty. We 

 would advise you even then to put a quantity of 

 straw in the bottom of the sled-box and the hives 

 on top. Take the bees out of the cellar; load them 

 quickly, and drive as fast as the roads will permit 

 to destination, and then unload. 



Of course, the usual precaution of fastening the 

 frames, if they are not self-spacing, should be ob- 

 served. 



Even should the weather be severely cold. If the 

 bees are moved quickly, and the roads are good, 

 there will be no danger of breaking down the 

 combs. So far as the bees are concerned, they can 

 stand any degree of low temperature for the short 

 time they are out; indeed, we doubt very much 

 whether it would do them any harm if they were 

 left out several days, even in single-walled hives; 

 but they should not be moved then, as the combs 

 would be sure to break down. — Ed.] 



Why Are the Bees Dying Off So? 



Last January I bought two strong colonies of 

 Italian bees. When winter approached I made a 

 packing-case and put them in it, made so that there 

 is five or six inches of dry leaves around the hive. 

 I also made a porchlike projection which I have 

 had partly covered, so that the cold wind could not 

 strike the entrance. The entrances were contract- 

 ed down to 1 X 1 H. For two or three weeks, or since 

 genuine cold weather set in, I have noticed that the 

 bees want to crawl down on the bottom-board and 

 out on the porch I made. I have swept away two 

 handfuls of dead bees every week: and if they are 

 going to die at this rate I shall not have any by 

 next spring. Do you think the ventilation is poor, 

 or is it too warm in the hive? or what may the 

 trouble when the bees can't be stirred in the mid- 

 dle of the winter? Can bees be fed in winter if they 

 need feed? 



Attica, Ind., Jan. 16. Andrew Berghirst. 



[From the general description given, we take it 

 that you have not provided for sufficient ventila- 

 tion. The entrance should not be less than 1x2 

 inches at least. We usually prefer to have a slot 

 about J'8 X 8 inches. We can not uaderstand why 

 your bees are coming out so, even with the en- 

 trance that you have provided, unless it is that the 

 food is bad or the portico is so constructed that the 

 bees are confused on returning, lie outside, and 

 die. We would suggest, for the present, enlarging 

 the entrance to see if that helps It any. You will 

 always find, however, that there will be some dead 

 bees in front of an entrance of a normal outdoor 

 colony, and there will be quite a quantity of them 

 lying In front when It warms up after a cold spell. 

 You can feed hard candy in winter; but don't give 

 syrup. — Ed.] 



Wages of Apiarists. 



I should be glad If you would give me some idea 

 as to the wages paid to experienced bee-keepers, 

 such as myself, in the United States. I have been 

 in the bee business at Berlin and Brussels for three 

 years in connection with a 400-colony bee-yard, and 

 have had personal oversight of 200 colonies. I am 

 also experienced in bottling honey and packing lor 

 shipment, as we ship two carloads each year, all 

 over the West. 



Stratford, Ont., Jan. 9. C. A. Jones. 



[The wages of bee-keepers varies very materially. 

 Every thing depends upon the man, the length of 

 his experience, as well as his general all-around 

 ability. The very highest-grade man, one who is 

 capable of going ahead or taking charge of a series 

 of yards, may bring as high as three or four dollars 

 a day; but as a general thing a helper does not get 

 much over S2.00 on a basis of ten hours. One who 

 is familiar with bottling honey and selling the 

 same, would, of course, bring a higher price than 

 one who knows only the art of producing it. — Ed.] 



