October, 1917 



LEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



755 



losses are so startling', \v<3 remain uncon- 

 vinced. Those of us who are ijresent at the 

 conventions where these things are discuss- 

 ed, or rpad the journals in which they are 

 treated, do not have these startling losses. 

 The education of uninformed beekeepers is 

 another problem — a serious problem, too, 

 and a pressing one, but (luite different from 

 the one we are discu.«sing. This one le- 

 solves itself into the simi)le question whetli- 

 cr or not the profits of progressive, suecess- 

 lul beekeepers will be increased by winter- 

 packing their bees. Some southern bee- 

 men think it will, especially in North Caro- 

 lina. More think it will not, especially in 

 GrBorgia and Alabama. The rest of us are 

 going to find out for ourselves. But re- 

 member, please, everybody, we are doing 

 this, not to lessen that dreadful 50 per cent 

 loss that we don't have, but to see if per- 

 chance our colonies may consume less stores, 

 or come out a little stronger in the spring, 

 and so be better prepared for the honey- 



llow. And we do hope tliey will. We ex- 

 pect, or hope, the packed bees will be not 

 only better, but enough better to make tlie 

 labor and expense pay — to produce a gain, 

 as Dr. Ward says, that will justify the cost. 



It may turn out to be a big thing for us, 

 this winter packing in Dixie. 1 wish every 

 l)eekeeper progressive enough to read 

 Glbanings would try it this fall. Pack 

 them four liives in a case, or two, or singly, 

 but, as Mr. Hawkins said to me, " do be sure 

 to use enough packing — not less than six 

 inches on six sides." Let's do it early, 

 too — better not at all than too late. We 

 can get our plans all made this month, and 

 material assembled ; then when the first 

 touch of frost comes, we shall be ready. 

 They should all be packed by the end of 

 October or by early November. 



But first let us be sure that there are 

 good queens in every hive, plenty of young 

 bees, and thirty pounds or more of stores. 



Nashville, Tenn. 



CELLAR OR OUT OF DOORS 



// Makes Very Little Difference 



^ro^ided there is an oAbundance 



of good Stores in the Combs 



By J. L. Byer 



OU T D OR 

 w i ntering 

 versus cel- 

 1 a r wintering; 

 large hives ver- 

 sus small hives 

 ■ — these ard 

 other debatable 

 subjects in con- 

 nection with beekeeping are generally live 

 items for discussion among beginners and 

 younger members of the craft. On the 

 "contrary, experience generally mellows 

 one's opinions, and, as a rule, there is less 

 l)rejudice and more or less uncertainty 

 voiced by older members of the profession 

 when their opinions are asked for on these 

 said debatable questions. To illustrate: 

 While not counting myself " old " by any 

 means, yet I well remember my former 

 attitude on the hive question-^an attitude, 

 by the way, that just now causes me to 

 smile. I was brought up among surround- 

 ings where nothing but very large liives 

 were to be considered. My grandfather 

 used a hive, and I still have many like 

 them in use, that had a brood-nest equal 

 to about 18 L. frames. Actually I almost 

 pitied the poor unfortunate who was so 

 misguided as to use so small a hive as the 

 eight-frame L. hive. Well do I remember 

 listening with rapt attention to, a debate 

 on the hive question at the Detroit con- 

 vention, the large hive ably championed 

 bv our friend Holtormann, while the small 



hive was upheld 

 by a Michigan 

 beekeeper — Mr. 

 Chapman, if I 

 remember cor- 

 rectly. Frankly, 

 while much in- 

 terested at that 

 time, t day I 

 would not go across the street to listen to 

 a debate of that kind. Why? Simply be- 

 cause fate ruled that a large apiaiy in 

 eight-frame L. hives was to come into my 

 possession ; also another apiary with hives 

 about midway between the eight-frame L. 

 and the extra-large hive mentioned. Not 

 being in position to change these hives into 

 uniform equipment Ave have run them as 

 they were for a few j-ears. What has been 

 the result? In the past season, which was 

 a fair test, as conditions were about the 

 same at all yards, I find that our average 

 per colony among the different apiaries 

 did not vary five pounds per colony, no 

 matter if one apiary was in eight-frame 

 L. hives and another in hives more than 

 twice as big. No, it is not a question of 

 size of hive, but of adapting radically dif- 

 ferent management to radically different 

 hives. No, this does not signify that a 

 beekeeper cannot lawfully have a hive pref- 

 erence; but the point I wish to make is 

 that the hive alone is not necessarily re- 

 sjjonsible for any increased yield over some 

 otlier style of hive. 



