670 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



As we pack them in August there never is 

 any danger of chilled brood. The bees have 

 a fine clean place to cluster when the last 

 brood has issued, and can use the i/4-inch 

 space between body and frames as a pas- 

 sageway. Wlien they want food they go up 

 until in March, w^hen they find themselves 

 uncovering a fine supply of pollen that had 

 stores put over it by our liberal fall feeding. 



We may, then, conflude tliat l)etter success 

 with bees comes from extended fall breed- 

 ing, covering up or using up pollen so the 

 combs and bees are bright and clean during 

 winter, and the uncovering of a jiollen sup- 

 ply in March by a force of bees that can 

 allow a cjueen to lay to the limit of her 

 ])owers. 



Cayuga. Ont. 



UNUSUAL ADVICE IN REGARD TO WINTERING 

 ONE WHO HAS HAD MUCH EXPERIENCE 



BEES BY 



BY J. E. HAND 



The wintering of bees in the Northern 

 States and Canada is undoubtedly one of 

 the most imi:)ortant problems connected with 

 beekeeping; for a jioorly wintered colony 

 of bees cannot be depended upon for best 

 results in honey production any more than a 

 poorly wintered cow can be expected to yield 

 a heavy flow of rich milk. The wintering- 

 problem has perhaps been solved oftener 

 than most other problems, and yet but little 

 imj^rovement has been made in wintering- 

 methods during- the past quarter-century. 

 A noticeable indication of improvement, 

 however, is the present movement back to 

 outdoor wintering. 



OUTDOOR WINTERING. 



Beekeepers in the Northern States and 

 Canada are coming to realize more and more 

 the superiority of outdoor wintering when 

 properly conducted. Bees wintered out in 

 the open in properly protected liives with 

 good stores of pure honey (not sugar syrup) 

 will usually be healthy, strong, and vigorous 

 in spring, which means rapid breeding m 

 early spring and comparative immunity 

 from the ravages of disease, for a normal 

 condition and strong vitality is the best kind 

 of disease prevention. I am a firm believer 

 in the immunity from such diseases as Euro- 

 pean foul brood, paralysis, spring dwin- 

 dling, dysentery, and kindred disordei's, by 

 maintaining sanitary wintering conditions, 

 with respect to pure food in abundance and 

 suitable protection out in the open. 



There are three conditions necessary to 

 successful outdoor wintering ; namely, plen- 

 ty of bees of the right age and condition; 

 plenty of honey, and suitable protection. 

 No attempt should be made to winter a 

 colony of bees out of doors that is light 

 either in bees or stores. The hive should 

 contain at least thirty pounds of honey, and 

 the cluster should be of sufficient size to 

 maintain a normal temperature during se- 

 vere weather without exhausting their vital- 



ity by an abnormal pioduction of heat. 

 Colonies deficient in these respects should be 

 united, and fed up to standard require- 

 ments; this should be done before the middle 

 of September, and solid combs of capped 

 lioney is the cheapest and best way to feed 

 bees in the autumn. The heat-producing 

 power of a cluster of bees of orthodox pro- 

 ))ortions enables them to maintain a temjDer- 

 atuve of 90 degrees in the winter nest in 

 zero weather; hence the correct principle in 

 wintering bees is to contract the wintering- 

 chamber to a capacity barely sufficient to 

 accommodate the bees, and sufficient stores 

 to carry them through in safety. Eight 

 frames is the maximum capacity for best 

 results, and six is nearer correct. 



Having contracted the wintering-chamber 

 to the orthodox capacity, the next step is to 

 surround it closely with a thick wall of heat- 

 retaining material such as chaff, planer- 

 shavings, di-y sawdust, etc. Two or three 

 inches of such packing is sufficient for the 

 sides; but the top should be protected by at 

 least seven inches of fine dry packing above 

 a thin cover that has been sealed tight by the 

 bees, thus maintaining the regular bee-space 

 above the combs. Said chamber should be 

 of sufficient depth to admit a three-inch 

 space under the combs, and the entrance 

 should be % inch deep, and six to eight 

 inches long. Moisture will not condense in 

 such a chamber with thin walls; and the 

 deep space under the combs, combined with 

 the wide-open entrance, will conduct it out 

 by diffusion instead of absorption; hence 

 the inner walls will be dry with no upward 

 ventilation to create a draft or allow the 

 heat to escape. The packing material will 

 conserve the heat and give it back to the 

 cluster during a spell of severe weather, 

 hence a comparatively uniform temperature 

 is maintained automatically, and a sudden 

 cliange in the temperature outside will not 

 be felt by the bees unless of long duration. 



