272 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



frame nucleus hive, which left a space around it 

 and under it of about 4 inches, which I packed with 

 chafif, and made an entrance at one end, sloping 

 down well to prevent the entrance of storm; into 

 this I phiced three full frames of honey, taking care 

 to punch several holes through each comb near the 

 top, to allow for the passage of bees. Into this I 

 placed one nucleus colony, and tacked a sheet of oil- 

 cloth over them. I then tacked in two boards across 

 the box above them, which made a hive just the size 

 of the Simplicity; but I prepared this to receive two 

 colonies by making two entrances, and packing the 

 space between these boards and the ends of the box 

 with chaff; a division was then made lengthwise of 

 very light stuff (I made one of oil-cloth), and a chalf 

 cushion was tacked on the Inside of the box; three 

 very heavy frames of honey were placed in each of 

 these spaces, and a small colony was also put in 

 each. They were covered over with oil-cloth, chaff, 

 and a water-proof lid; another box was prepared 

 likewise, and three more small colonics packed in 

 it; the result of this is, that when our maples 

 began to bloom this spring, no dead bees were in 

 either of these hives, while my loss from other hives 

 were fully one-half. 



The lesson that is to be learned from this is just 

 what you have so often insisted on, a contracted hive 

 for wintering, and the accompanying heavy combs 

 of honey, which is a necessary result of contracted 

 hive to prevent the exhaustion of stores. My heav- 

 iest losses the past winter were in my strongest 

 swarms, where I thought contraction by division- 

 boards unnecessary. 



The loss in Chester and Lancaster counties. Pa., 

 the past winter, has been fully one-half the number 

 of swarms, and about two-thirds of all the bees. 

 Judging from these ff^vires, we should not predict 

 more than one-fourth the ordinary crop of honey 

 this summer; but looking at the splendid weather 

 we have had the past two weeks, with the bees 

 working uninterruptedly on maple, cherry, plum, 

 dandelion, pear, and now on apple l)lossoms, I look 

 for an unprecedented increase of bees: and, in fact, 

 this is now verified, so that I look for about a half 

 of the ordinary crop. 



SHINGLE CHAFF TENEMENT. 



I can say a word in favor of the shingle chaff ten- 

 ement hive. Four strong colonies wintered in one 

 with no dead bees; no division-board was used, but 

 the fullest combs were placed together in each hive 

 near the center division. S. "W. Mohrison. 



Oxford, Pa., May 7, 1881. 



HEDDON'S REPORT. 



WINTERING. 



!iOW the cherries are in full bloom, the apples 

 are coming forth, the weather is fine, and all 

 nature is gushing. Here is my report, after 

 doubling up our light stocks. 



"We began the winter with 196 colonies (and not 213 

 as I reported; my man who ran the out apiary mis- 

 counted), and we have sold the Glenwood apiary, 

 with 50 colonies. Sold 10 more to parties here and 

 there, and have left 17. This makes 77 surviving out 

 of 196. As it is very plain that the cause or prevent- 

 ive does not rest with any particular style of hive or 

 mode of wintering, we must be looking toward some 

 other cause. "We plainly see that all methods of pro- 



tection that tend to lessen the consumption of 

 honey tend proportionately to alleviate the trouble. 

 Now, as regards the best methods for the above pur- 

 poses: In some localities, and in some seasons, each 

 of the three, viz., cellars, houses, and chaff packing, 

 seems to be the best. I believe that the house above 

 ground is good when we do not have protracted 

 open spells during the winter. In such cases, we 

 can not keep down the temperature to a degree that 

 will keep the bees quiet and easy. Then chaff pack- 

 ing is best, and cellar wintering next best. "When 

 the winter is extremely cold clear through (as the 

 one just past), then cellar wintering and houses 

 prove best. A large cellar with few bees within will, 

 with proper care and arrangements, carry them 

 through the warm periods of such winters as 1879 

 and '80. But this is expensive. "Whenever the 

 food has beea sufficiently pure to be non-irritant, 

 the bees have come through safely in all shapes; 

 when it has been somewhat unwholesome, colonies 

 packed outside have eaten enough of it to cause dis- 

 ease, while those in good cellars did not need to con- 

 sume enough to engender the sickness. Thenagain, 

 the food seemed to be so near rank poison, that cel- 

 lars and packing both failed totally. If the above is 

 correct, you will plainly see that, in a winter when 

 the food is extremely impure and the weather mild, 

 and opportunities for flight frequent, that colonies 

 would die fearfully in^cellars and houses, while they 

 would do well on the summer stands, especially if 

 protected. Now comes the question, "What is this 

 trouble in the food? I have said that, to account for 

 all the cases that have come under my observation, 

 it must be an animal secretion in the nectar (bacte- 

 ria), or an excessive amount of vegetable matter in 

 the same. I would be inclined to favor the vegeta- 

 ble theory, were it not for the fact that such secre- 

 tion would be caused by climatic influences (that is, 

 its yearly variations), which much more uniformly 

 cover an extended area, than docs its supposed 

 effect, bee dysentery. The facts in the case better 

 fit the bacteria theory. I this morning received a 

 letter from friend Shuck, and he suggests the idea 

 that vegetable matter is the cause of the trouble, 

 but that it is not in the honey, but the next thing to 

 it, the honey cells, called by bee-keepers pollen or 

 bee bread. I am not sure but that the variation in 

 the proportions of honey, water, and pollen, of 

 which the bread is composed; the pollen proliflcness 

 of different seasons, and parts thereof; the tenden- 

 cies of different stocks to store pollen; also the posi- 

 tion in the hive that they happen to put it in, and 

 then happen to occupy during winter; various 

 causes inducing the bees to cat it, such as more at- 

 tractive bread, less attractive honey, cold prevent- 

 ing their moving to select a choice; scarcity of hon- 

 ey in the proper place, etc., may account for all our 

 experiences with the intestinal disease. " Let us 

 reason together," and see if it will. If we conclude 

 that such is the cause, then let us devise the cheap- 

 est and best methods of removing the said cause. 

 Mr. Bingham and others have noticed, that pollen in 

 excess is almost always present where dysentery 

 rages. Undoubtedly, spring dwindling is the effect 

 of milder forms or degrees of dysentery. My expe- 

 rience is, that colonies that winter perfectly, never 

 spring dwindle; that those who think they do, did 

 not examine closely enough to detect the milder 

 forms of the disease. 



I feel very confident that ail the past talk about 

 division-boards, ventilation, damp cellars, etc., etc., 



