1140 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



X60 ft., partition in center; three small 

 windows in end where steam heat comes in; 

 one small window in opposite end. Would 

 the cellar be a good place to winter the 

 bees? Which end of the cellar would be 

 better? 



8. About what time should they be put in- 

 to winter quarters; give best way to arrange 

 them, and any hints you think best for be- 

 ginm r. 



4. Is table oilcloth as good as carpet for 

 inside cover between hive-cover and frames? 



Williamsport, Pa. MohRis R. Sayer. 



[1. If you have not already fed your bees, 

 it may be too late to do so this seatron. Bees 

 should ordinarily be fed in September, if 

 they lack stores. They can be fed in late 

 fall if weather will permit; but in this cate 

 the s>rup should be thicker than one part of 

 sugar and one of water; that is, two of sugar 

 and one of water. If you select a warm day 

 one big feed can be taken down in a smgle 

 day and night; but even then it is better to 

 give the syrup hot, but not so hot but you 

 can bear the hand in it. This the bees will 

 take down much more readily than cold syrup. 



2. The cellar you describe, using the com- 

 partment opposite where the windows and 

 the steam-pipes are, would make an admir- 

 able place for wintering bees, j roviding the 

 temperature does not at any time go above 

 50. It should be dry, and capable of venti- 

 lation from the steam heat sicie, providing 

 such room does not get too warm. In that 

 case I would open the one window at night 

 and close it before morning. Keep this win- 

 dow darkened during the day. A dry well- 

 ventilated cellar, where the tempeiature 

 does not go above 50 nor lower than 40, 

 makes an ideal place in which to winter 

 bees. The nearer you can come to securing 

 these conditions the better. 



3. This will depend on the locality. In the 

 vicinity of Medina we put our bees in about 

 Dec. 1. This is along about the time when 

 we begin to have good solid freezes and one 

 or two good snowstorms. In some localiiies 

 the middle of November will not be any too 

 early. In others, Jan. 1 wilT be soon enough. 

 The long^r that bees can be kept out of 

 doors without too much exposure the better. 



4. Table oilcloth will answer an excellent 

 purpose; indeed, I should prefer it to any 

 otlier material. — Ed.] 



A TREE FOR AN OUTDOOR FEEDER. 



For an outdoor feeder could > ou make any 

 thing that would be better than a well- 

 branched tree? Spread oilcloth under the 

 tree as far as the branches, and then spray 

 the tree. I have not tried it as I have no 

 sprayer, but I believe it would work. 



Omaha, Neb. Geo. H. Place. 



[I am not sure but your suggestion has 

 considerable merit in it. If the tree were 

 very bushy and low down, I hardly think it 

 would be necessary to spread any thing un- 

 der it. The syrup should be thin, and even- 

 y spread with a force-pump. The only ob- 



jection to the plan is theit the feed will be 

 liable to dry on the leaves before the bees 

 find it. If that were the case, the tree 

 might be sprayed with clear water to moist- 

 en up the residue of sugar. 



Your plan would have the distinctive ad- 

 vantage that there could be no scrambling 

 on the part of the bees. If a row of a doz- 

 en trees or so were sprayed in this way with 

 very thin syrup, the whole bee-yard could be 

 made wild with delight. One tree, howev- 

 er, would be enough to keep robbers busy so 

 that one could work with some degree of 

 comfort in extracting if he so desired. —Ed.] 



HOW TO avoid the LITTER IN UNPACKING 

 WINTER CASES. 



I have just read the foot of the second col- 

 umn, page 1010, about the litter in unpack- 

 ing. When I bought winter covers lor my 

 two hives I put them together and "tried 

 them on," and concluded there must be 

 some way you had for avoiding clutter in the 

 spring. Having no one to instruct me I fig- 

 ured it alone. I tacred burlap all around 

 inside the bottom of the case, set it over the 

 hive, and filled the burlap bag with cork 

 chips. Next spring I had no trouble nor 

 clutter* lifting the whole off by lifting on the 

 top of the but lap bag Case and chips came 

 right up. I had nut enough chips for my 

 second hive, so I stuffed newspapers equally 

 all around the hive, using them folded just 

 as I brought them from the pile in the loft. 

 On top (both hives) I put a super with a 

 loose bag of cork chips that made a layer 

 three inches thick. To the best of my 

 knowledf^e not a pint of bees died in the 

 winter or eailv spring. I have always used 

 chips since, because I supposed them better 

 than paper. N. A. Spaphawk. 



Boston, Mass., Oct. VS. 



unoccupied bee ranges in alabama and 

 Mississippi. 

 Mr. Root:— The enclosed clipping is from 

 The Seaside Whistler, published at Bayou 

 La Batre, Ala , and I should be glad to see 

 it reproduced in Gleanings. 



W. D. SOWELL. 



Brewton, Ala., Sept. 26. 



1 have rpceived many inquiries as to my success in 

 the production of honey ^.t Bayou La Bdtre, and am 

 now in a po.'^ition to state that I have more than realized 

 my txpectations. From 54 colonies of Italian bees I 

 have taken 3294 pound- of honey, spring count, making 

 an average of 61 pounds per colony. 



By controlling twarming I can far exceed this aver- 

 age ai othf r .-^eHPon, and 1 find that I can get a consider- 

 able quantity of hoi ey duiitig September and October 

 that I had i ot expect d of the range There is a tall 

 weed here that at this writing, September 20, is in full 

 lloom, and my bees are storing much honey from it. It 

 has a small white bloom which is very fragrant, and 

 yields nectar equal to tite or gallberry, and there are 

 hundreds of acres of it in reach of my apiary. I have 

 never seen this weed anywhere else, and am ignorant of 

 its botanical name, but will soon get the information by 

 sending a sample to the Department of Agriculiure. 

 Besid s this wet d theie are other wild fiower." that pro- 

 duce nectar in the fdll season, making this an excellent 

 iDee p^-turage for fall storing of honey. The greatest 

 yield here is obtained from tite and gallberry in early 

 f-pi insr, and the quality of the honey produced is of the 

 highest gTade. There is a vatt unoccupied territory for 

 bee-keepers in Alabama and Mississippi, and, apart 



