OCTOBKR 1920 



n I, E A N 1 N G S IN BEE C U L T U R E 



591 



tlio tiuality of tln'ir stores is uf C(|u;il. if not 

 I'vt'u greater im])ortance. 



I was greatly interested last winter in 

 the Government apiary at Wasliington. 

 Here the bees were packed in the most 

 approved manner for outdoor wintering 

 even for the far north. I was surprised 

 to learn that there had been considerable 

 loss; but was told tliat it came from the 

 poor quality of stores gathered the pre- 

 vious season, and that all would have 

 doubtless shared the same fate but for 

 the introduction of young queens an<l care 

 ful jiacking. So we see that careful pack 

 ing alone is not a complete safeguard 

 against winter loss, but good stores and 

 t-areful protection with young vigorous 

 bees are of the utmost importance. 



^^iddleburv. Yt. J. E. Crane. 



ally so with the (juadruplc winter case. 

 Personally, even in this mild climate of 

 southern Indiana, 1 consider that this 

 bothersome job of packing is very profit- 

 able. I have been using the case advocated 

 by Phillips and Demuth. Many have called 

 attention to the importance of windbreaks. 

 The trouble with trees and shrubbery for 

 windbreaks is the fact that it also keeps 

 out the breeze in the summer, which not 

 only eauses inconvenience to the beekeeper 

 but wears out the bees by the excessive 

 activity on their part in ventilating the 

 hive. We should endeavor to save the 

 vitality of the bees in tlie summer as well 

 as in the winter. The principal injui-y 

 done to the colony by the wind in the 

 winter, I believe, is by either blowing into 

 the entrance, or Viy blowing thru a poorly 



The (|iiadrii|)lc wiiiti-i- iiise> advoL-alfd h\ .Jay Siniili. 



Wiuteriiig in Quadruple Case. 



hour features are necessary to good bee- 

 keeping: P^irst, a large brood-nest, either 

 :i Jumbo or a two-story eight or ten 

 frame hive. Secoml. a vigorous young 

 Italian queen. Third, plenty of stores left 

 with the bees. Honey, hive, and all should 

 weigh around loO pounds. Fourth, winter 

 protection. 



If we analyze the methods used by siu- 

 ••essful beekeepers, we shall find that the 

 degree of success attained by them depen<ls 

 entirely upon how they put into practice 

 the features mentioned in the above four 

 Cnot fourteen) points. Many are having 

 success and are practicing only three and 

 some only two, but the ones who are con- 

 sidered top not^'hers are practicing tin- 

 features in all four. 



Quadruple Case. 



Some consider that .some of these feat- 

 ures are too much bother. This is cspeci- 



constructed case, or loose packing. 1 use 

 fine sawdust, and when j)utting it in, it is 

 thoroly tamped in. Last winter I kept a 

 thermometer in tlie sawdust on the outsid*; 

 of the hive, and it registered close k) TjO 

 degrees most of the winter. T'pon one ot- 

 rasion we had a high wind with the tem- 

 peiature ten above zero, yet the tempera- 

 ture in the sawdust dropped only two de- 

 grees. During zero weather the tempera- 

 ture just inside the entrance was always 

 considerably above freezing. As might be 

 e.\-pected, the bees come thru in fine shape 

 and consume a surprisingly small amount 

 of stores up to the time that brood-rearing 

 begins in the spring. 



Objection to Quadruple Cases. 

 The only objection I found to the (piad 

 ruple cases w^as during a heavy sleet 

 storm. The sleet completely covered the 

 front of the cases, as shown in the uut, 

 and sealed up the entranc<*s airtight. 



