1560 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



be shut within the hive aud not litter the cel- 

 lar bottom all up. 



We have been testing lately various widths 

 of openings, some narrow and some wide, 

 covered with wire cloth. The narrow open- 

 ings soon cause an uneasiness on the part of 

 the bees. The internal temperature of the 

 hive would get so high that the bees would 

 cluster out in the little space covered with 

 wire cloth, and seek escape, making a gen- 

 eral buzzing of discontent. But where a 

 larger opening was provided, entire quietness 

 prevailed. 



How do we provide a larger opening? We 

 made some special rims all the way from 3 

 to 5 inches deep, without top or bottom, of 

 the same width and length as the hive. The 

 sides of these were left open, and covered 

 with wii'e cloth. The bottom-board of the 

 hive was pried loose, when one of these rims 

 was interposed between the hive and the 

 bottom. The entrance space was closed up 

 with a cleat. This rim with wire-cloth sides 

 would leave a space anywhere from 3 to 5 

 inches under the fi'ames. (It is proper to 

 explain right here that some of these rims 

 were 3 inches deep, and others 5, the deeper 

 rims being used on the stronger colonies. ) 



So far we note that, when the temperature 

 in the cellar rises to 50 degrees or higher, 

 these bees that have these special ventilating 

 rims under them, providing a large amount 

 of ventilation, remain perfectly quiet, while 

 those with the ordinary hive-entrance become 

 uneasy. 



Right here I ought to explain that the or- 

 dinary entrances were not covered with a 

 mere strip of wire cloth, but with a sort of 

 wire-cloth cage as long as the entrance is 

 wide, the ends being made of wood and 3 

 inches square. Such a cage provides a clus- 

 tering-space in case the bees should come 

 out. and at the same time shuts them in the 

 hive. 



Well, these devices proved to be so unsat- 

 isfactory that we abantloned them almost as 

 soon as we put them on the hive. But we 

 found an excellent use for them for the out- 

 door bees. And this reminds me that a cage 

 to slip over every one of the outdoor bees, of 

 the kind described, will prevent all such bees 

 from Hying out on chilly days when the 

 sun shines bright, saving a ti'emendo.us loss. 



I asked Mr. Vernon Burt one day how 

 many bees he thought he lost by their tiying 

 out on bright days when it was too chilly for 

 them to get back. "Bushels and bushels of 

 them," he said. Observing that many of our 

 bees were dying in the grass in the late fall, 

 having been allured by a deceiving sunshine, 

 I finally decided to make up a lot of cages 

 of galvanized wire cloth. These, as I ex- 

 plained, were 3 inches square and the length 

 of the entrance, one side open to tit against 

 the hive, the bottom and ends made of wood 

 to hold the wire cloth in shape after being 

 nailed on. This left two long sides covered 

 with wire cloth. 



We now have something like 200 of these 

 cages attached to our hives —about half of the 

 whole numljer. Two days ago we had one 



of those deceiving bright days that drew out 

 a great many bees from the entrances not 

 closed with the cages. These bees appeared 

 to be in every way healthy: but hundreds of 

 them could be counted in the grass, and the 

 aggregate number would amount to a good 

 many thousand. It was interesting to note 

 that the bees in closed entrances came out 

 into the cages; but after finding they could 

 not tly. and that the air was chilly, they 

 would crawl back into the hive and join the 

 cluster. These bees, I positively know, we 

 saved. So well pleased am I with the results 

 thus far secured that I think we shall attach- 

 cages to all our outdoor colonies. 



"But," you ask, "how are you going to 

 give the bees a cleansing flight and keep them 

 shut in? Will you not thereby induce dysen- 

 tery if you do not let the bees tly on a day 

 when the weather is suitable?" This is all 

 easy enough. When the weather warms up 

 so it is perfectly balmy we shall go around 

 and pull off all the cages, laying them on top 

 of the hives temporarily. At night put ev- 

 ery one of them back in its place. So you 

 see there is nothing in the cage plan that 

 will prevent the bees from having a cleans- 

 ing flight ivheii such flights can be had with- 

 out actualy chilling them to death. 



I shall have some illustrations showing 

 both the form of this outdoor cage as well as 

 the wire-cloth ventilating rim; but as I con- 

 clude that many of our readers would like 

 to save some pecks, or I might say bushels, of 

 their bees, I thought best to give a general 

 description, letting each bee-keeper work 

 out the details for himself. 



WHAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IS 

 DOING FOR BEE-KEEPERS IN THE MAT- 

 TER OF BEE DISEASES. 



Our readers know, of course, that Uncle 

 Sam has taken an active interest in the gen- 

 eral subject of bees. He has now several 

 salaried employees who devote all their time 

 to apiculture. ' Dr. Phillips, in charge of api- 

 culture, during the absence of Mr. Benton, 

 in the Orient, has taken a great deal of in- 

 terest in the subject of bee diseases — a sub- 

 ject that sorely needed the attention and co- 

 operation of the general government. He 

 has made several visits to disease-infected 

 districts, and had many conferences with 

 foul-brood inspectors from all over the Unit- 

 ed States. In addition to this he has called 

 to his aid a skilled bacteriologist in the per- 

 son of Dr. G. F. White, formerly at Cornell 

 University. Dr. White, be it remembered, 

 while at Cornell, had, on behalf of the bee- 

 keepers of New York, done considerable 

 work in the investigation of bee diseases, 

 and from the very first he identified the mi- 

 crobe of the so-called black ])rood as the 

 Bacillus alvei of Cheyne and Cheshire. Since 

 he has been employed by the general gov- 

 ernment he has continued his investigations, 

 examining a large number of samples of in- 

 fected brood, both of the old foul Ijrood 

 and of black Ijrood. Not only that, he has 

 given his attention to all forms of maladies 



