SEPTEMBER 1, 1914 



tf69' 



liad 110 snow during November or Decem- 

 ber, and, though exceedingly mild, the frost 

 got deeper into the ground than it would if 

 covered with snow earlier in the season. The 

 temperature in the open was about the max- 

 imum for the day. 



Temp, in open 



Nov. 4 12 degrees . . . 



Dec. 1 40 



Dec. 15 44 



Dee. 21 



Feb. 2 30 



Feb. 18 5 



March 13 40 



March 25 5 



April 21 58 



The pit was opened April 25, and all the 

 bees were alive, though the entrances were 

 closed up with mold and dead bees. As the 

 quilts had been loosened before putting in, 

 they did not seem to have suffered much by 

 leaving the bottom-boards on. The number 



Temp, in pit 



. .42 degrees 



..42 



. . 42 



..36 



..36 



..36 



. .48 



..48 



..50 



of dead bees in the pit was very small, and 

 1 had never had such strong colonies after 

 wintering in a cellar before, and the amount 

 of stores used was very small compared with 

 those in the cellar which had a temperature 

 of 48 to 54 degrees all winter. 



This may not be, as you may remark, " a 

 universal solution of the wintering prob- 

 lem," yet to many beginners in northern 

 latitudes, often with very small cellars, if 

 other conditions are right, such as sandy soil 

 and snow on the ground all winter, it may 

 be very useful; and for an outyard, if I 

 could get the right kind of soil I would 

 rather pit them than bother people who have 

 no use for bees by renting cellar room, 

 which at the best is none too good, many of 

 them being cold, damp, and the air in them 

 very impure. 



Greenridge, Manitoba. 



FALL MANAGEMENT THAT INSURES ROUSING COLONIES 

 THE NEXT SEASON 



BY W. A. LISHMAN 



Strength of colonies in accordance with 

 the season is the most important general 

 requisite. What years ago would have been 

 considered rousing colonies, many now class 

 as medium. This change has been brought 

 about by more care in the fall, the rewards 

 being just as large as the fall treatment was 

 efficient. Yet, backed up by my own expe- 

 riences of this season's work, I think nearly 

 all beekeepers fail to study out and practice 

 conditions that will produce such strengih 

 of colonies in spring that one such will be 

 worth three ordinarily treated ones. 



To-day (June 20) this was certainly im- 

 pressed on me when working some colonies 

 that had received different fall treatment. 

 We examined 17 that were wintered in an 

 eight-frame L. body, and given room May 

 15. They had from eight to ten frames of 

 brood two-thirds to three-fourths full. Many 

 would consider these good colonies when 

 clover was just beginning. What would 

 they say at the sight that met our eyes when 

 we opened up, for the first time since last 

 August, two colonies that were wintered in 

 two ten-frame bodies, with frames spaced 

 IV2 inches from center to center. We cer- 

 tainly said something, and so would any 

 enthusiast of bees. Three times as many 

 bees and twice as much brood as those eight- 

 frame L. colonies would encourage any one 

 who wishes " more bees " but fewer colonies. 

 The lower frames were solid brood from top 

 to bottom, with some pollen in the top of 

 the outside combs. Those in the No. 2 body 



would alone equal many an eight-frame L. 

 colony in two bodies. When such are kept, 

 there is no need of having 200 or even 100 

 colonies — 60 to a man is all I aim to keep. 



How to assist the bees to become such 

 profit-producers takes a rather long time to 

 tell; for, all summer and fall, every thing 

 that is done helps to improve them. 



I believe that colonies that breed heavy in 

 summer quit too soon in the fall, and by all 

 means a young queen is needed, not only for 

 late laying, but so she will not fail next 

 sirring. Even some, not a year old, give out 

 before I am quite tlu'ough with them. 



Being assured the bees and queen are 

 right, the attention is centered on their hous- 

 ing conditions. Our last extracting-body is 

 taken off about Aug. 26 to Sept. 1, at which 

 time the brood-body is raised up without 

 disturbing the excluder, and put under it 

 those containing combs just extracted, or 

 others deemed good enough. The four out- 

 side ones are usually combs drawn from 

 foundation the same season, while the other 

 six are good worker combs more or less 

 clogged with pollen. Those clogged the 

 worst are alternated with those not so bad. 

 Then the colony is fed quite liberally for 

 about three weeks, with a three-to-one honey 

 mixture so they will gain about 20 lbs. After 

 Sept. 21 we feed sugar syrup every three 

 days until Oct. 15. About 15 lbs. of sugar 

 is allowed per hive. 



The result of such work is that we have 

 brood in our hives by the first of November. 



