October, 1921 



a L E A N I N (i S ] N H K K C U I. T U K E 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



the heat, nor to keep it down, us so often 

 happens with the single-wall hive. 



North Vancouver, B. C. Will H. Gray. 



FALL TREATMENT 



How American Foul Brood Can be Treated After 

 the Honey Flow 



The first thing we do when we find foul 

 brood is to clean it up. We do not wait for 

 a'honey flow nor the spring of the year. If 

 iu the fall, we brush on frames with a cloth 

 hung over each frame and let the bees stay 

 there until they have used all of their hon- 

 ey. Then we give tliem two or three empty 

 combs in the center of the hives for a win 

 ter nest, and fill up the balance wit'i full 

 combs of honey. We do the same thing in 

 the spring before the honey flow. 



If tlie diseased colony is a good, strong 

 one and there is a honey flow, we use foun- 

 dation; otherwise, we use the combs alto- 

 gether. We brush the bees in the evening 

 when all of them are at home. Then we 

 know there will be no robbers to carry the 

 diseased honey to their own hives. 



Don't shake the bees but get a gooil In-e 

 brush and gently brush them from the 

 combs. We have seen beekeepers shake 

 honey all over their clothes, shoes, and the 

 front of the hive. Of course, other l)ees 

 alight and sip up these drops of honey and 

 take it home. If the honey is all sealed 

 o\er then there can be no harm done in 

 shaking them. 



If we brush in the evening no robbers 

 will be there. The bees are more apt to 

 stay and by morning they at least get part- 

 ly over their shock. If we doubt their stay 

 ing, we shut them in and make them st:iy 

 for 24 to ;!6 hours, then gi\'e them combs 

 and we have never had one leave yet. 



Parowan, Utah. M. L. Skougard. 



WINTERING IN TWO STORIES 



Some of its Disadvantages. Contraction of the 

 Winter Chamber 



For some years we have been advised 

 by our bee experts in Washington to winter 

 on two-story hives with two full sets of 

 combs per colony. Mr. Demuth says the 

 extra set of combs is a bee-feeder of the 

 best kind, works automatically, and does 

 not require refilling; but there may be some 

 disadvantages to this arrangement- 



When I go to bed on cold evenings I feel 

 nearer comfortable when I have my bed- 

 clothes tucked snugly around me, not hang- 

 ing loosely over the bedposts. Twenty 

 (luilts ;ipi)li('.s thus would fail to keep nic 

 warm. Our old friend, A. I. Root, defended 



this principle 4.5 years ago, and I believe he 

 was right- I believe that the smaller the 

 brood-chamber during the cold winter 

 months, provided there are enough winter 

 stores in the combs- the better will the bees 

 endure this trying season. I can see no par- 

 ticular advantage in an extra large brood- 

 chamber during the cold season, except that 

 the bees may cluster high up away from the 

 draft coming thru the entrance. Whenever 

 I tried the double story I found this disad- 

 \antage: dead bees falling down, filling up 

 the spaces between the combs, producing 

 dampness and mould; whereas, with the sin- 

 gle story, the larger portion of the dead 

 bees are pushed out of the entrance. 



I must admit I never used the excessive 

 packing of eight inches. I call it excessive 

 because I think eight inches of [>acking is 

 more than is necessary. Of course it will 

 make a difference what kind of packing is 

 used- Three inches of chaff (clover hulls 

 are fine) is probably the equal of eight 

 inches of hay or straw. Eight inches of 

 clover hulls or wheat chaff, in the light of 

 my experience, I would consider excessive. 

 I am loath even to try out an eight-inch 

 packing of chaff when three inches seems 

 nmple in my yards in New York State. 



When A. I. Eoot advanced the idea of 

 winter contraction, tucking the quilts and 

 chaff cushions around snugh% many of us 

 followed up this theory. In October, when 

 the brood-combs Avere free from brood we 

 removed a portion of them containing the 

 least honey, usually from the center, pushed 

 the combs together, and filled out the spaces 

 on the sides with chaff cushions. We win- 

 tered many colonies on five Jumbo frames 

 very successfully, but when the number of 

 our colonies and yards increased and we 

 were lacking cushions (division-boards), and 

 also on account of the extra work necessary 

 to contract the brood-nests, we did not i)ush 

 the method. The disturbance of our bees 

 so late in the season was another factor 

 which caused us to content ourselves with 

 wintering on our regular S-franie brood-nest 

 (Jumbo frames). 



About 15 years ago I put quite a lot of 

 sectional 8-franie hives into use, of which 

 two are the equal of 8 L. frames. My bees 

 in them with a moderate amount of protec- 

 tion winter well; the bee-space between the 

 two sections seems rather an advantage I 

 rarely resort to three sections per colony, 

 and then onl,\' if a colony is short of stores, 

 when a section solid full of honey is placed 

 on top. If tliese colonies were in the honey 

 yard, I might take the bottom story out be- 

 fore i)acking. In mentioning what I liave 

 said I wish to tell only what our jiractice 

 has been, not that we have followed the 

 best Uiethods. 



My problem- as yet unsolved, is to know 



