OOTOBKR 19i<) 



(i I. K i X I \ t! S IN B K K (' U I, '1' I' K K 



Nu.. 



S 



TALKS TO 



By lona 



thai 

 lu-iu 

 ner lias his 

 colonics all suji 

 plied with jiloii- 

 t y of s t r e s 

 thore 1- 1' III a i lis 

 only the task of 

 p a C k i ng them 

 snugly for win 



ter. This should be ilono oaily. In many 

 cases the wapk -will be done this month, 

 but wherever the fall flow has continued 

 brood-rearing so late that it is impossible 

 to supply colonies with their requisite stores 

 before October the packing will necessarily 

 be delayed. 



In these talks we have especially recom- 

 mended the double-walled hive, but there 

 may be a few who have purchased single- 

 walled hives. If so, colonies in such hives 

 in the north must be wintered either in 

 lacking cases or in the cellar. 



Cellar Wintering. 

 As previously stated no one should at- 

 tempt wintering in the cellar unless he has 

 good stores and a dry, well-ventilated ^cel- 

 lar that may be kept dark and at an even 

 temperature of about -45 or 50 degrees. The 

 entrances should not be entirely closed, but 

 should be made small enougk so that the 

 mice cannot enter the hive. In general 

 colonies should be put in the cellar just 

 after their last fall flight and taken out in 

 time for the first natural pollen. The time 

 of putting in the cellar is discussed at some 

 Irtigtli in this issue of Gleanings under the 

 title, "Cellar Wintering". 



Packing Casee for Winter. 

 Single-walled hives that are not w-intered 

 in the cellar should be wintered in packing 

 rases. These may be made to hold from one 

 to four colonies and should provide for 

 from five to six inches of packing on the 

 sides and top and four underneath. Al- 

 most anyone can construct such a case him- 

 ^I'lf from any cheap lumber he may hajnien 

 to have. The entrance of the hive should 

 be connected with the entrance of the case 

 by means of a wooden bridge that prevents 

 the jiacking from closing the entrance; for 

 it is important that the bees have a chance 

 for fiight on warm winter days. With such 

 |)acking as this an entrance of five %-in(d) 

 holes will probably be sufficient and in very 

 cold weather two or three of these may be 

 closed. 



Wintering in Double-Walled Hives. 

 Fu our last issue we stated that those who 

 do not intend to open their hives in the 

 spring should leave all the frames in the 

 hive, but those who are willing to take the 

 extra trouble of examining their colonies 

 and giving them more stores if necessary 

 in the sytring, might contract the brood- 

 chamber by removing two or three frames 

 and placing a division-board next to the 

 space left vacant. This S]>ace, which should 



BEGINNERS 



Fowls 



3 



be on one of the 

 most expose d 

 sides of the hive, 

 should now be 

 tilled in with 

 good packing 

 such as lightly 

 J) a c k e d forest 

 leaves, chaff, or 

 shavings.. 

 On top of the frames may be placed a 

 mat or canvas just as large as the to]i of 

 the hive, the mat being held up from the 

 frames by a few small sticks placed cross- 

 wise of the frames so that the bees when 

 in need of more honey may have a chance 

 during the cold winter to pass from one 

 frame to another without leaving the top 

 or warmest part of the hive to do so. 



Above this, place a four-or-five-inch tray 

 slightly smaller than the telescope cover, 

 so that the cover will slip over it readily. 

 On the bottom of the tray burlap is fast- 

 ened by means of wooden strips nailed on 

 the lower inside edges, the burlap being 

 left quite baggy in order that the tray will 

 fit tightly to the top of the hive, thus pre- 

 venting the wind from blowing in under the 

 tray. About the best packing to use in this 

 tray is dry well-packed forest leaves. 



An entrance of % inch by two or three 

 inches will be large enough. Hives should 

 face away from the prevailing winds and 

 should tilt slightly forward so that no 

 water may collect inside. Considerable pro- 

 tection from the cold will be offered by a 

 windbreak of shrubbery or high fence with 

 two-inch spaces between the boards so that 

 the force of the wind may be more or less 

 broken up before reaching the hive. 



Care During the Winter. 

 If the colonies have been prepared as we 

 have advised, they will need no further at- 

 tention during the winter months. If one's 

 neighbors wish to go in the dead of winter 

 w^ith snow waist-high and take a peek in- 

 side the hive just to see if the bees are 

 still happy, or, if they wish to shovel the 

 snow away from the entrance and then fool 

 around the entrance trying to poke out 

 dead bees, why, just lot them; but don't 

 you ever be guilty of it. It is too co.stiy 

 an amusement, and you will take so much 

 more pleasure next spring with live colonies 

 than you ]»ossibly could with dead ones. 



The Last of Our Talks. 



This concludes our series of "Talks to 

 Beginners," but let the beginners all re- 

 member that we are greatly interested in 

 their success and shall always be pleased 

 to answer any (piestions ad<lressed to Glean 

 ings in Bee Culture. Lack of space pre- 

 vents us from publishing more than a small 

 fraction of these questions in our "Gleaned 

 by Asking" dejiartment, but we are very 

 glad to answer the rest by personal letter. 

 We sincerely hope that our readers will 

 feel free to take advantage of this offer. 



