OOTOBKK J 9-1) 



G J. K A N 1 N U S IN li K K C U 1, T l,' 1; 



li'iiStli aiul width iis (lie Ifiil'i'iiiiic Ijnngstrotli hive 

 or the .hiinho* I understood Dr. Phillips that 

 they were, but the illustrations on pase 359 of the 

 A li C & X Y Z of Bee Culture show the Langs- 

 irolh to he 17% inches long while it gives the 

 Danzeiilmker as 17 inches long. If this is true I 

 diin't SCO how I could make my Danzenbaker 

 hives over into Lang.stroth liives it I should decide 

 lo do so (5) What kind of a queen-excluder is 

 best? (6) I>o you think Hnmelbergi's swarm- 

 c;itcher iiracticai; That is, would it be worth 

 while n\aking one? (7) What book can I get that 

 wlil best suit one who is still at the bottom of the 

 ladder in beekeeping. I can raise bees but can't 

 produce honey as yet. (8) I live about 40 miles 

 west of Albany, N. Y., and the winters are liable 

 to bo very severe; worse even than the cold, per- 

 haps, are the strong west and southwest winds we 

 liave been getting for the past few years. Year 

 licfore last the south wind blew down silos and 

 blew off a number of roofs. There are no trees or 

 hedges to afford protection to the grounds around 

 the house where I might winter the bees and we 

 have no cellar suitable for them. Therefore, if I 

 keep bees, it must be outdoors. I might make use 

 f the chicken bouse shown in the di.Tgram. if I 



"^f 



DWELUNG HOUSE 



I'roposed summer location for colonies on the soutli 

 or east side of the inclosure. 



knew how to pack them properly, or, I might erect 

 a small building. Possibly the single packing cases 

 would l>e best for me. The packing of four hives 

 in a case is pronounced a failure around this part 

 of the Stale. I should be glad to know what you 

 would advise for wintering bees here. (9) The 

 accompanying drawing shows where I e.xpect to 

 keep my bees next summer. I would like to place 

 them facing east but they unnoy people going out 

 of the house. Would it do to have them face the 

 ilirection marked "south", which is really a little 

 <>n the southwest fmni whii'h we get strong winds? 

 New York. Adaline Eldredge. 



.\iis\v«>rs.- (1 1 It is not easy to cliooso 

 amoiij; tin- tlirro lii\ cs \ on iiaiiif. iio.ssil)ly tin- 

 JuihIhi liaviiig the prefproiicc You might 



liko tlie Dadaiit, only it is not on all lists. 

 (2) Likely you will And nothing better 

 than the Fowls plan to help you against 

 swarming. It is on page ;-i38, June number. 

 (.'>) Instead of putting the large hive-body 

 over the Langstrotii, put it under, putting 

 an excluder between the two when you find 

 the (|ueen below. Do this any time before 

 the queen bceomes crowded in the old hive. 

 (4) The Danzenbaker, the Jumbo, and the 

 iO-frame Laiigslroth are each 20 inches 

 long and l(i'.', inches wide. The 17 % and 



•^e 



OARN 



Winter location for bees. The colonies ai'e packed 

 in stiaw and placed on the piazza of an unused 



farm house. 

 17 that you mention are the lengths of the 

 frames of the Langstroth and Danzenbaker. 

 (5) The wire queen-excluder is considered 

 best. (6) I am not familiar with Hamel- 

 berg's swarm catcher, but if you follow the 

 Fawls plan you will hardly need a swarm- 

 catcher, especially if you have all queens 

 clipped, and clipping will save climbing 

 trees, no matter what plan you follow. (7) 

 .\s to books, you seem to have Boot 's A 

 B C and X Y Z, and you can hardly better 

 tliat, whether at the bottom or the top of 

 the ladder. Dadant's Langstroth, and the 

 books of Phillips and Pellett are all good, 

 and vou might like mv "Fiftv Years among 

 the JJees" and "1000 Answers." (8) With 

 regard to wintering, I think my first effort 

 would be to ,make the cellar suitable for 

 wintering, even if I had to dig a sub-cellar. 

 The probability in that your cellar is too 

 cold. Outside banking might succeed, or 

 an extra inside wall. For outdoor wintering 

 ]icrhap.s you cannot do better than to con- 

 tinue the piazza you are now using, always 

 supposing that there is opportunity for the 

 bees to fly when a warm day comes. Or, 

 you could use the chicken-house the same 

 way: only don't think of putting them in 

 the chicken-house with no passage to the 

 outer air. (9) Your bees can face south- 

 west; V)ut, if the meshes of your wire fence 

 arc jiretty (dose an<l tlie fi-iice higher than 

 people's hea<ls, the bees lianlly ought to 

 tioiildc i>assers-by. C. C. Miller. 



