1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



287 



yes, even if it takes not only all night but 

 into the next day; and if it commences to 

 rain before we are done, all the better, for 

 we don't want any to try to fly until they 

 have been out two or three days if we can 

 help it. During this time they will become 

 nice and quiet; and when a fair day comes 

 they will commence to fly, only a few at a 

 time, and will get their location marked, so 

 there will be no mixing up or robbing, as 

 they all have their first fly together. Then 

 when the day is over we find by examining 

 our hives that nearly every one has appar- 

 ently retained all its bees. 



Now we feel that we have at last learned 

 how to take our bees from the cellar. We 

 know that close attention hereafter will al- 

 most wholly prevent spring dwindling, and 

 we can see a fair chance for a good surplus 

 in the fall. There are some who recommend 

 setting out their bees quite early, some time 

 before there are any flowers to work on. 

 This I have tried several times, but never 

 with good results. I'd much rather wait un- 

 til there is something ready for them to 

 gather pollen from, as soon as they have a 

 chance to fly. Some may be unable to see 

 how this way of taking bees out at night 

 and all at one time can in any way prevent 

 spring dwindling. It is this: It prevents a 

 part of your colonies from becomirg unnat- 

 urally strong by receiving bees from other 

 colonies that consequently become corre- 

 spondingly weak. Then these strong colonies 

 continue day after day to draw many bees 

 from those unfortunate weak colonies until 

 they have but very few bees left. I have 

 given this subject much thought and atten- 

 tion; and while I will admit it is not the 

 whole cause of spring dwindling I am sure 

 it frequently is one of the principal causes 

 of so many of our colonies in early spring 

 wasting away to a mere nothing. 



Years ago we set out our bees much ear- 

 lier than we do now, and we frequently 

 gave them rye meal to work on as a sub-;ti- 

 tute for early pollen. This practice caused 

 them to leave their hives in search of flow- 

 ers, many days when the air was too cold 

 for them to fly in the shade, and so we dis- 

 continued it some time ago. We now like 

 to keep them in the cellar until the most of 

 that chilly weather is past; then when they 

 are set out we do all that we can to hurry 

 them along until the summer harvest is 

 gathered. If those of you who have a large 

 apiary to set out in one yard will try setting 

 them all out in one night I am sure you will 

 be well pleased with the result, especially if 

 you can choose the weather so as to have 

 one or two cool cloudy days before they at- 

 tempt to fly. In that way you avoid getting 

 your apiary in that demoralized condition that 

 is often done by putting out a part at a time. 

 It is easy to make these bad mistakes; and, 

 if done early in the season, they many times 

 leave their blighted mark on our apiary 

 through nearly the whole summer. 



Delanson, N. Y. 



[While much that is said by Mr. Alexan- 

 der may not be n6^, yet he has stated so 



clearly the right and wrong ways of doing 

 this work that I am sure all our cellar-win- 

 terers can read it with profit. We used to 

 select a cool or crisp morning when old Sol 

 was just showing his smiling face over the 

 horizon, and when it would probably warm 

 up during the middle of the day; but just so 

 sure as we did this we would have a pow- 

 wow among the bees. Sometimes when 

 taking out a part, and later the entire lot, 

 we would have another pow-wow— i. e , a 

 case of robbing, the early bees stealing 

 from the late ones. So, taking it all in all, 

 I believe Mr. Alexander's advice to be par- 

 ticularly sound. 



Later. — Since writing the foregoing the 

 following has been received. The conclu- 

 sion of both writers is very much the same. 

 -Ed.] 



tit 



WHEN TO SET THE BEES OUT IN THE 

 SPRING. 



The Different Conditions that Have a Beaiing 

 on the Case. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



Although the right time to remove bees 

 from cellars in the spring is a subject upon 

 which much has been written it still is, as 

 that time draws nigh, a matter of interest, 

 especially to those who have not been long 

 engaged in our fascinating pursuit. My ex- 

 perience has been that, whether it is best to 

 set them out early or late, depends upon 

 conditions which I will endeavor to explain. 



In the first place I am governed in this to 

 some extent by the conditions of the pre- 

 vious fall: for if the fall flow has continued 

 late in sufficient quantity to keep brood- rear- 

 ing up so that there is a large force of young 

 bees that go into winter quarters, they can 

 stand a longer or late confinement, other 

 conditions being equal, better than if the 

 fall flow were deficient, so that a large part 

 of the cellar force was old or middle-aged 

 bees at the time they were cellared. This 

 latter condition has happened a number of 

 times here; but if the weather was such that 

 they could be removed early they built up 

 strong without more (and in some cases 

 much less) spring dwindling than when a 

 strong force of late reared bees was cellared 

 and kept in late; for a large force of young 

 or late- reared bees may not insure safe win- 

 tering or prevent spring dwindling. 



The heaviest winter (or, rather, spring) 

 loss I ever had occurred when brood- rearing 

 was kept up late the previous fall. But in 

 my opinion the most important thing to be 

 considered in this matter is the condition of 

 the bees themselves in early spring. If they 

 are quiet and still in a semi-dormant state I 

 do not believe any thing is to be gained by 

 setting them out before settled warm weath- 

 er; on the other hand, if they are restless 

 and uneasy, and many are leaving the hives, 

 and it is necessary to open windows or the 

 door at night, I believe it is better to set 

 them out the first day in March when the 



