OCTOBER 1, 1916 



937 



space do not permit me to explain. Study 

 the weather in the locality. All localities 

 are not the same. The fall, winter, and 

 spring management that might suit my 

 locality might not suit yours, and yours 

 might not suit mine. 



Port Elgin, Ont. Geo. Guyer. 



Letting the Bees Leave of Their Own Free 

 WiU. 



My method of taking off comb honey does 

 not include the use of bee-escapes. When 

 there is a honey-flow I simply give a few 

 puffs of smoke in the top of the sections to 

 rid them of the majority of the bees, and 

 then I lift the super off from the hive and 

 set it down on the shady side of the hive 

 with one end on the ground and the other 

 end against the side of the hive. This per- 

 mits a circulation of air thru the sections, 

 and the bees will leave it rapidly. 



I continue in this manner until I have 

 taken off about 500 lbs., when those which 

 were taken off first will be practically free 

 from bees. 



The sections are then taken from the 

 section-holders and conveyed to the honey- 

 house or any other place used for their 

 storage. 



When there is no honey coming in, this 

 work will have to be done in a different way; 

 however, the difference is slight. The honey 

 is taken off, and the super put down on the 

 ground at one side of the hive with the 

 corner of the super about four inches from 

 the end of the alighting-board, and a hive- 

 coyer put over it. 



I now continue taking off honey in this 

 manner as before until a few hours have 

 passed, when the bees will leave the super 

 under the cover, and robbers will not bother 

 if the operator is careful (this method ap- 

 plies to telescope covers). When the bees 

 have left the sections the operator can take 

 tlie honey from the section-holders. 



Sometimes during unfavorable weather the 

 bees will not all leave the sections within 

 the usual time, but they will collect in one 

 corner of the crate and give no trouble in 

 getting them out. 



In my opinion this method surpasses the 

 use of bee-escapes and all other systems in 

 the matter of saving time when it comes to 

 taking off comb honey; and I think others, 

 upon trving it, will favor it likewise. 



Eoxbury, N. Y. M. E. Ballard. 



Wintering a Teacupful of Bees in a Single- 

 walled Hive. 



Mr. Editor: — You tell Samuel K. Johnson. 

 Dec. 15, that lie will have to sacrifice some 

 of his queens if his colonies are not strong. 

 On account of a scourge of American foul 

 brood a few 3^ears ago, and a hurry-up effort 

 since then, I have had no little experience 

 with colonies that were not strong. I have 

 wintered bees that clustered between only 

 two self-spacing Hoffman frames, and they 

 were as strong, apparently, when they came 



out of winter quarters as when they went in. 

 These frames had drawn combs which were 

 about half full of capped honey on the side 

 next to the bees. I think I can winter a 

 teacupful of bees in a single-walled hive out 

 of doors. 



Last winter I had seven very weak colo- 

 nies in one row '^leeled in." The hives 

 were set close together, covered on the top 

 and back with chaff, with about one foot of 

 dirt on top of the chaff. The fronts of the 

 hives are toward the south, and are exposed. 

 On December 22 the bees had a flight and 

 were out almost to a bee. I have never seen 

 any mixing. 



T have other colonies covered with chaff 

 and boards, and others with chaff and dirt 

 to the eaves. The front of the hive, how- 

 ever, is always exposed. So far I have had 

 no loss in wintering weak colonies in this 

 way. The weaker they are, the more I 

 "heel." On warm days when there is snow 

 on the ground, I stand a board in front of 

 the entrance. 



Don't sacrifice any good queens because 

 3'our colonies are weak, for, wintered this 

 way, they build iip fast in the spring. 



Westfield. Ind. A. L. Beals. 



Floor-board with Adjustable Entrance under 

 the Hive. 



A short time ago some one described a 

 floor-board which provided an entrance under 

 the hive, and thus entirely eliminated the 

 porch. The only notice- taken of it was by 

 one beekeeper who said that an entrance 

 under the hive could not be watched against 

 clogging-up, etc. I will describe the board I 

 invented some years ago and still use. 



The main floor of the hive is composed of 

 boards of the right length nailed across 

 battens on edge, say three inches by one. 

 The front board is only three inches wide, 

 and between this and the next is a space of 

 four inches, after which the boarding to the 

 back is solid. Of course the "well" thus 

 made is protected at the sides by pieces of 

 the same thickness nailed on to the battens. 

 The front board has a V-shaped piece cut 

 out from the under side to half its width, 

 the point of the V to the front. The alight- 

 ing-board slides close under this floor on 

 ledges nailed to the battens. 



