1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



239 



and the three paper wrappings are expen- 

 sive. Perhaps; but if one desii-es to get a 

 fancy price he must have a fancy wrapping. 

 Sometimes there is a difference of only half 

 a cent between a poor or mediocre package 

 and one that is de luxe or fancy. It is 

 penny wise and pound foolish to economize 

 at this point. If the extra half-cent invest- 

 ment will bring five cents more, or even 

 two or three cents, the money has been well 

 spent. 



" 'Round home " we do not put our honey 

 up in light cartons. For the local retail trade 

 in our village groceries we supply the brick 

 with only two wrappings of paper; but for 

 the outside trade we supply the de luxe 

 package. Where one wishes to use the hon- 

 ey right away, the two wrappings of paper 

 are just as cheap as a paper pag, and an- 

 swer as good a purpose; but in saying this I 

 do not mean to decry the merits of the pa- 

 per bag for granulated honey. Where one 

 feels that he can not afford to throw away 

 the square cans, and his honey is already in 

 a liquid condition, he can run the honey off 

 into bags, allow it to candy, and sell it to 

 the trade or consumer direct. 



I desire to emphasize the importance of 

 catering to both classes of trade— the kind 

 that knows you and your honey, and who 

 would just as soon have a cheap package 

 and save this cost, and the fancy trade that 

 is perfectly willing to pay a fancy price for 

 a really fancy article. It is this fancy trade 

 that will pay you well for your work ; and 

 who, while it may not know it, permits 

 you to double on your money, if you throw 

 out of account the cost of wrappmg, creat- 

 ing a market, and collecting accounts. One 

 who goes into this business ought at least 

 to double on his money, for his own time 

 and brains are worth something, and he 

 should be paid for them. 



don't let the bees starve. 

 By this time in the winter the bees in 

 many Langstroth and other shallow hives 

 will have but little honey, and in some hives 

 none will be left in the center combs; and 

 the bees that are packed on their summer 

 stands won't leave the cluster in cold weather 

 and go to the outside combs in their hives 

 for honey after they have consumed all the 

 stores out of the center, and then death will 

 be the result from starvation. Hundreds of 

 colonies are lost every winter just this way. 

 Can colonies in this fix in midwinter and in 

 cold weather be saved ? Yes, they certainly 

 can, and every one of them be brought into 

 spring in grand condition. 



I bring combs of sealed honey into the 

 house and hang them for several hours near 

 the self-feeder until the comb is warmed 

 right through. I then go to the colonies 

 short of stores in the center combs, and take 

 the packing off the top and put little sticks 

 across the frames, and then from the house 

 bring a warmed comb of honey and place it 

 on its flat right over the cluster, and on this 

 comb I place a few little sticks, and then I 

 put on the queen-excluder and cloth over it, 

 and over this I put four inches of forest 

 leaves, and on this I put the lid of the hive, 

 and over all put the cover of the winter- case. 

 No colony, if taken in time and fixed this 

 way, will die, if the other conditions are 

 light. Those that have no combs of honey 

 on hand can find one in the hives near the 

 sides which have no bees on, and can remove 

 and warm these and place them over the 

 cluster, and by so doing save the bees until 

 the weather gets mild enough for the bees 

 to move through the hive in search of food. 



Wm. McEvoy. 



Woodburn, Ont., Feb. 16. 



midwinter flights a good thing; cellar 

 ventilation. 



I know from experience that midwinter 

 flights are good things provided you can 

 have the right kind of weather— not much 

 snow, no winds or clouds, and as warm as 

 55 or 60. Here where I live (South-central 

 New York) we get this kind of a day hardly 

 once in ten years, consequently the very best 

 I can do is to let the bees be out of doors in 

 the fall as late as it is safe to do so, and 

 then set them out the first favorable day 

 after the 15th of March. I winter in a frost- 

 proof building above ground. I usually car- 

 ry them in the last days of November. If 

 they have had a good flight a short time be- 

 fore, they are usually very quiet up to the 

 middle of February, with the thermometer 

 at from 44 to 46. After that time I find it 

 best to keep it a little cooler, not going be- 

 low 40. The bees have fresh air the most of 

 the time. If very cold I close the ventilator 

 tight until the weather moderates. 



I have used this building for a good many 

 years, with about the same results. The 

 building is divided into two rooms, each 

 about 10x12 inside, eight feet in height. 

 Each room will hold and winter well about 

 75 hives each. Bees usually winter around 

 here well outside with chaff hives, if kept 

 well packed, and that done in good season. 

 The winter of 1904 was the worst I oversaw. 

 Those that had but few lost all. My hives 

 are all single-walled. I put a little packing 

 on top to get rid of moisture. If I had had 

 the cellar when I made this building that I 

 have now I probably should not have built 

 it. D. F. Lashier. 



Hooper, N. Y., Feb. 15. 



winter flights. 

 I see in Gleanings that the question of 

 winter flights is being argued. Ernest, you 

 stick to it— you are right. Bees can be 



