Gleanings in Bee Culture 



ple-trees which practically protect the en- 

 tire apiary from the sun. The other apiaries 

 are not protected from the sun quite as 

 well; but by running a cross-board at each 

 side of the to]) of the fence, and another op- 

 posite the bottom scantling, every second 

 board can be drawn out during hot weather, 

 allowing a current of air to pass through 

 the apiary. 



The hives face north and south in one case, 

 and east and west in the next, thus: 



This gives the bees a better chance to 

 mark their location when the hives are not 

 far apart. 



RESULTS. 



The bees are now being wintered for the 

 third time in this way, and nothing could 

 induce me to go back to cellar wintering. 

 The expense of one move is cut out with its 

 attendant hard work, the most trying and 

 nerve-racking of all the year, as I move 

 only to buckwheat and back, and generally 

 I do not move all the bees at that time. 



Then there is the before-mentioned pro- 

 tection. The bees can be left by Oct. 1; and 

 if plenty of stores are given, there is no need 

 of being with them until April 15, or, at a 

 pinch, May 1. 



The feeding is done after the hives have 

 been put in their winter cases. When so 

 fed, and not packed too warmly at the top, 

 the bees are less likely to rob, and they take 

 down and ripen food more rapidly. 



Better results have been secured by this 

 method, and my hives are protected from 

 wet and weather for eight months in the 

 year, and the four months they are exposed 

 it is generally the driest of the entire year. 

 There is a rental coming in from the bee- 

 house (as a store-house) , which covers the 

 ground rent and place to extract for my four 

 apiaries. 



To anticipate any question, let me state 

 that, in this locality, the temperature some- 

 times reaches 20 to 23° below zero, but not 

 often. I believe bees could be well wintered 

 in the above way quite a distance north of 

 here. Another thing, when packed the bees 

 do not as readily take wing, as the warmth 

 of the sun's rays does not reach them as 

 soon as when the bees are not packed. 



Some may question the wisdom of the 

 fence. Those living near say that, when 

 a cold wind blows outside, to go inside of 

 the fence is like being indoors. The fence 



is made of half-inch instead of inch boards, 

 thus reducing the cost and adding to the 

 durability. ( )f course the framework must 

 be strong enough to resist the wind pressure, 

 which at times is very great. The bees have 

 to fly over the fence 8 feet high, and they 

 are thus much less likely to come in contact 

 with man or animals. 



The two young men in the photograph 

 are Mr. P^noch R. Madeira, of Pennsylvania, 

 and Mr. Fred R. Hays, of < )ntario, Canada, 

 who spent the season of 1911 with me learn- 

 ing bee-keeping. 



Brantford, Ont., Can. 



AFTER THE ISSUING OF A PRIME SWARM, 

 WHEN DO THE YOUNG QUEENS EMERGE? 



Reports Conflict Somewhat, but Generally Indi- 

 cate that the Queens Hatch Seven to Eight 

 Days Later. 



QUEENS HATCH FROM FIVE TO EIGHT 

 DAYS AFTER THE SWARM I.SSUES. 



When I was reading this sentence, Sept. 

 1, page 537, "The young queens usually 

 hatch from the cells about the day that the 

 swarm is cast," I looked at it to see if my 

 eyes were right, and read it over several 

 times; then I concluded that a word or two 

 had been left out. 



It is a great mistake, according to con- 

 ditions found in "this locality." Don't 

 take Mr. Marchant, Dr. Miller, Doolittle, 

 nor any other person for authority, but ask 

 the bees themselves. 



I keep my queens clipped; and when the 

 bees swarm 1 remove the frames of brood and 

 put them in a new hive, filling the old hive 

 that is on the old stand with drawn comb 

 or foundation while the bees are in the air. 

 I place the hive with brood to one side of 

 the old hive, with the entrance toward an- 

 other direction; then when the swarm re- 

 turns to the old stand I give them the clipped 

 queen. In about five or six days, just be- 

 fore the young queen hatches, I brush the 

 bees from the combs of brood, in front of 

 the old hive, and distribute it among the 

 weakest colonies. But if the brood with 

 queen-cells is from an extra-good queen, and 

 I want to increase, I divide the brood into 

 nuclei and use the queen-cells just before 

 they hatch. 



The queen hatches from the cell from five 

 to eight days after the first or prime swarm 

 is cast. After-swarms act differently. In 

 handling so many frames of brood I have a 

 good chance to observe, for I keep about one 

 hundred colonies. I handle frames instead 

 of hives, for I am not very strong, and keep 

 my bees in clumsy, awkward chaff hives; 

 but the bees winter nicely in them. 



Osceola, Neb., Oct. 18. C. N. Seward. 



WEATHER CONDITIONS CONTROL THE TIME 

 WHEN QUEENS HATCH. 



For the last two years I have noticed that 

 weather conditions in this locality make 

 some difference. Swarms issue anvwhere 



