1881 



GLEA2^I>s'GS IN 13EE CULTUEE. 



41t7 



UP^VARD VEISTIIiATION. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT LEAVING THE UOXES OX 

 ALL WINTER. 



SN the Julj' Gleanings you say: "There is, with- 

 out question, a siguiflcance in these reports of 

 " — ' favorable wintering, with an opening, or open- 

 ings, of not too large a size, right over the cluster." 

 In the August number you a«k: "Who ean tell us 

 more about making them (bees) wax up every thing 

 solid, and letting them be until May?" These are the 

 two extremes of the question of successful winter- 

 ing, and It would seem that the amount of testimo- 

 ny, adverse or favorable, to the two systems, would 

 determine their relative merits. To ascertain the 

 truth, I have visited many of the most successful 

 bee-keepers in this part of the country, and have 

 questioned others regarding their success in winter- 

 lug bees, etc. These are the facts as reported to 

 me:— 



Mr. Patete had 35 in the fall, U in the spring; he 

 used l)0x hives; part had openings through the top- 

 board, and boxes set over them; in these the bees 

 mostly survived; a few in hives of large size not 

 \entilatcd, lived. Mrs. Kissel had 1~ in bo.v hives 

 that had holes through the top-board, over which 

 boxes set, not fastened down closely; thej' ail lived. 

 Mr. Hofman, with similar hives, and treated in the 

 same way, out of iO saved 18. His hives stood in the 

 shade, and the bees were not Induced to fly only in 

 the warmest days. Others with box hives not ven- 

 tilated lost all, or saved a part, according to the de- 

 gree of protection afforded by the l:)cation and size 

 of the hive. Mr. Simpson, of Kulo, uses a frame hive 

 13 in. square and is in. in height, 9 large frames be- 

 low, and small ones on top. He bored holes through 

 the cover, leaving the small frames in the hives, and 

 set boxes on, not fastened down. Outx)f 39, 30 lived. 

 Another man, with similar hives similarly treated, 

 met with similar results. Of my own, out of 163, 3 

 lived through; but of these, more hereafter. Some 

 30 more were kept in the precinct, with results va- 

 rying according to location and size of hive. 



To the west of here, Mr. George Schoch, out of 83, 

 saved 2. They were In the Quinby hive, properly 

 cared for, as understood by the teachings of the bee 

 .iournals, and as practiced heretofore with success; 

 but without upward ventilation, and, to some ex- 

 tent, shaded; a serious fault, I believe, either in Min- 

 ter or summer. Mr. Wyant, in Langstroth hives, 

 sulHciently ventilated to admit bees at almost any 

 joint in the hive, wintered 17, all he had in the fall. 

 A part of the time they were drifted under the 

 snow. I also hear of another stock that wintered in 

 a Langstroth hive with nothing on the frames. Mr. 

 Bacon lives on the Missouri bottoms. He had 4" 

 stocks in the fall; 33 lived through, and among them 

 was one in a hive that was split from top to bottom, 

 and spread apart fully 3 inches wide. Thej- had 

 wintered in this hive, and with his others had been 

 removed in April into his smokehouse, and left for 

 several weeks; placed one above another until the 

 waters of the Missouri subsided, when they returned 

 to their summer stands without serious loss of 

 bees. They were blacks. All along the course of 

 the Missouri River, for hundreds of miles, similar 

 means had to be resorted to, and in no case am I 

 able to learn of serious loss resulting from their re- 

 moval. Mr. Bacon's hives were box hives, contain- 



ing about 2300 cubic inches. He bored holes through I 



the top of the hives, and set boxes over them to be 

 filled with honey; after removing the honey, the 

 boxes were placed on the hives without fastening 

 on, and the holes were left open. He had known for 

 many years that bees wintered better with upward 

 ventilation, and had always practiced it. 



Mr. Helfenbein had 13 stocks in box hives In the 

 fall. All died but one. There was a I'^-inch hole 

 through the top of this hive that remained open all 

 winter; the others had no ventilation. Mr. Smith 

 saved 13 out of 30 by wintering in the cellar. My 

 own bees were in an exposed place, but cloths were 

 spread OA-er the frames, and thick cushions laid on. 

 The warmth, generated by the bees, was retained in 

 the hives, and also the moisture. The former, it ap- 

 pears, unnecessarily; the latter, very disastrously. 

 If, as in the case of Mr. Bacon's split hive (which 

 had also top ventilation;, sufficient warmth can be 

 maintained through the excessively cold weather of 

 a winter like the last, in which the temperature 

 sank several times to oG-, what necessity is therefor 

 cushions? In examining hives in March I found the 

 bees all dead in 65 ten-frame American hives that 

 fitted closelj', and were covered with the greatest 

 care, when at the same time in the old large hives of 

 poor manufacture and liadly fitting joints, the bees 

 were alive; ami in these, along the side of the 

 apiaries from which the prevailing winds blew, 

 the bees were in better I'ondition than elsewhere— a 

 circumstance indicative of an infectious disease. 

 In large hives, the stench originating from the dis- 

 ease is less concentrated, and, therefore, less viru- 

 lent; and the combs at some part of the hive are 

 generally clean, on to which the healthy bees, if any 

 remain, will gcnerallj' remove. 



Out of upw.ird of 1100, six-sevenths vierishetl. 



•• 32:i in trame liivt- s. 5i lived; about one-sixth. 



700 and over in box hives, 106 lived: about one-seventh. 

 56 fianie hives, ventilated through cover, 47 lived; 

 about six-sevenths. 

 '• 1.J5 in box hives, ventilated through cover, 67 lived: 

 about one -half. 

 •20 wintered in cellar, 12 lived; about three-Hfths. 



I regret that I am not able to give the dimensions 

 of the various kiuds of hives, and the a<lvantage ac- 

 cruing from the use of large ones. 



In reading this report, one will be surprised at the 

 nearly utter destruction of the larger apiaries; 

 smaller ones, however, in which no live bees re- 

 mained, have not been mentioned especially, on ac- 

 count of space. The greater loss is in part due to 

 the unprotected locations of the apiaries. Where 

 they were protected from the cold winds of winter 

 and spring, and induceil to fly on mild days by the 

 genial rays of the sun; and with such as were in 

 large hives, though not ventilated at the top, the 

 success was greater than with those in exposed po- 

 sitions, or with those wintered in the shade. The 

 infectious nature of the disease renders it impossi- 

 ble, in most cases, to suppress it during cold weath- 

 er; and where there are most bees together, it as- 

 sumes the most virulent type. The greatest suc- 

 cess was with frame hives, ventilated through the 

 top; yet this higher degree of success is probably 

 due to the superior locations in which these hives 

 were kept — Mrs. Kissel having saved all of her bees 

 in box hives. There is no apparent advantage in 

 the style of hive; but those of large size have win- 

 tered bees better than smaller ones. Frame hives, 

 without cushions over the frames, have wintered 

 bees better than with them. Those the most suc- 

 cessful in wintering had nothing over the frames. 



Jerome Wiltse. 



Rule, Nebraska, Sept. 1, 1881. 



