GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



The hive is provided with two exits at the 

 back, which enables you to hatch and mate 

 two queens on those six frames if you wish 

 to have sj^are queens. In that case you 

 would separate three frames from the other 

 three by a division of perforated zinc, giv- 

 ing- the center comb of each three a cell. 



This hive may be made at very little more 

 expense than that of the ordinary hive. It 

 is, moreover, far and away cheaper than the 



ordinary hive in this respect. It rec[uires 

 no nucleus for queen-rearing and mating, 

 and you are saved all the work therein. 

 There is no handling and introducing of 

 queens. You require no double plant of 

 bottom-boards, bodies, and covers for shook 

 swarming. All the work of the apiary can 

 be done with this hive without any other 

 plant Avhatever, and very much better, and 

 at half the cost of labor. 



Papatvitoi, Auckland, New Zealand. 



STORES NECESSARY TO WINTER BEES OUTDOORS 



Bees in Pound Packages from the South vs. Wintering in the North 



BV J. L. BYER 



On page 969 the editor, replying to a 

 question of Grace Allen, stated that they 

 figured on 20 lbs. of sealed stores, including 

 combs, as suftlcient for northern wintering, 

 and that 25 or 30 would be better for the 

 North. In my department for Jan. 1 I say 

 that for here in Ontario the most of us 

 would want double that amount, and that 

 we would not have any trouble in getting it 

 used by the time our main flow started in 

 June. I further stated that Mr. Sibbald 

 makes his ten-frame L. hives weigh 70 lbs. 

 without the cover, and that many others 

 insist on nearly as much. 



Now turn to page 2, Jan. 1, and see what 

 the editor claims I say : " Mr. Byer says 

 he himself would require from 40 to 50 

 pounds of stores, and Mr. Sibbald uses 70 

 pounds." I have just been to one of the 

 extraeting-houses and weighed up some 

 empty combs and hives, and the results are 

 interesting to me, especially when compared 

 with the " 20 pounds, combs and all," prop- 

 osition for outdor wintering. Ten L. combs 

 were selected from a pile of extracting- 

 comb, these combs having some pollen in, 

 but no more than would be in the average 

 combs going into winter quarters with bees 

 on them. I was rather surprised to see that 

 the ten combs weighed 12 lbs. If old brood- 

 combs weigh like that in Ohio, then 8 lbs. of 

 actual stores, either honey or sealed-over 

 syrup, I presume, will carry the bees thru 

 tile winter. My statement was that I would 

 want double the amount specified, so that 

 would make 40 minus 12 pounds for combs, 

 l)ollen, etc., leaving a balance of 28 lbs. 

 actual stores. How many outdoor winter- 

 ers in the north will say that is too much? 

 Please hold up your hands. Mr. Sibbald 

 makes his hives to weigh 70 lbs. How does 

 tliat work out in actual amount of stores? 

 I Aveighed a ten-frame hive this morning, 

 and found (hat it tipped the scales at 16 



lbs. Tliis hive has cleats all around top so 

 it may be a bit heavier than the ordinary 

 run. Sixteen plus 12 lbs. for combs, etc., 

 makes a total of 28 lbs. Seventy pounds, 

 liive and all, minus 28 lbs., means 42 pounds 

 of stores — pretty generous allowance, I Avill 

 admit, but still quite a long Avay from 70 

 lbs. As a matter of fact, I want more than 

 28 lbs. of stores in my hives; and at a 

 rough gTiess I Avould say that all our colo- 

 nies this fall would run, on an average, 35 

 lbs. No, this is not all used in wintering — 

 indeed, not half of it is consumed during 

 the cold Avinter months; but after brood- 

 rearing starts nicely during the months of 

 March and April the stores are rapidly 

 turned into bees. Then, again, we often get 

 a lot of bad weather during first Iavo weeks 

 in May, and, needless to say, a large 

 amount of stores is needed then. 



As to cost of wintering our bees, the 

 estimate of the editor is high enough, to say 

 the least. Let us figure that item a bit. He 

 estimates a cost of from five to eight dollars 

 per hive, figuring on that fictitious amount 

 of stores, and reckoning said stores at 10 

 cts. a pound. In the first place, our bees do 

 not Avinter on stores worth 10 cts. a pound 

 — not by any means. Running for extract- 

 ed honey, at the close of the Avhite-honey 

 flow Ave have little honey in a L. brood-nest. 

 Any honey put in the brood-nest goes there 

 during the latter part of the buckAvheat 

 flow; but more particularly if Ave happen 

 to have a flow in September from asters or 

 goldenrod, which does not often occur. This 

 honey is not Avorth more than 6 cts. in the 

 brood-nests, and Avould bring little more 

 than that if extracted. The bulk of stores 

 is sugar syrui), and that will stand us just 

 about that figure too by the time it is fed. 

 On my estimate of 35 pounds to that of Mr. 

 Sibbald Avith 42 lbs., the result Avould be 

 that it costs us for wintering betAveen $2.00 



