GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



ing may be practiced with impunity out- 

 doors in the latitude of northern Ohio, as 

 a purely normal function without any at- 

 tention whatevei', except that given in Octo- 

 ber preceding. Here is my recipe for per- 

 fect outdoor wintering accomj)anied with 

 voluntary winter breeding. 1. A 14-frame 

 colony in October; 2. Contract it with a 

 thin-wall eight-frame inner chamber 12 

 inches deep, on the convertible plan where- 

 in the hive proper serves as a winter case; 

 3. Provide adequate internal insulation, 3 

 inches on sides and 7 on top, with none on 

 the front end; 4. Provide 40 lbs. of honey 

 or sugar syrujD. 



A colony in this ideal condition in my lo- 



cation will not draw together in a light 

 cluster except as suspended in the deep 

 space under the frames, except possibly in 

 zero weather, and will rear sufficient brood 

 to make them stronger in April than in 

 November preceding. The component prin- 

 ciples of successful wintering are extreme 

 contraction, adequate insulation, an abun- 

 dance of bees, and 40 lbs. of stores. The 

 convertible method is a synonym for econo- 

 my of equipment and eificiency of service. 

 Birmingham, Ohio. 



[Ml-. Hand's 14-frame convertible hive 

 is described and illustrated on page 276, 

 April 1.— Ed.] 



THE TWO -COLONY WINTER CASE 



BY W. S. W^IGGINS 



I have read a good deal about winter 

 cases for one, two, four, or more colonies, 

 but have come to the conclusion that for me, 

 at least, the two-colony case is the best. 



I have always had some objection to the 

 four-colony case in that it necessitates mov- 

 ing the hives to place the bottom of the case 

 in position, and two of the hives have to 

 face in an opposite direction from the oth- 

 ers; whereas in my estimation they should 

 all be facing south; moreover, it takes two 

 men to handle such large cases. If all four 

 hives could face the same way or the bees 

 could be moved to the four-colony case in 

 the fall without confusion then I would 

 be in favor of the four-colony ease. My 



colonies, however, all face south and are 

 packed on the summer stand without mov- 

 ing in any way, with the exception of a few 

 old eight-frame colonies which are packed 

 in long eight-colony cases as shown in one 

 of the pictures. 



I have seen colonies winter without any 

 protection whatever, and come thru in good 

 condition. I have seen colonies with a few 

 corn-stalks thrown over them, or with a few 

 boards loosely placed around the hives and 

 IDacked with straw, come thru in good con- 

 dition with apparently no greater loss than 

 those wintered in cellars or in carefully 

 built cases. Is it necessary to have our 

 cases built so warm? My two-colony eases 



A lato vuinincr view of a portion of W. S. Wiggins' apiary at Muir, Mich. 



