34 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 2, 



of, but from all I can learn I think at 

 least one-half of the bees in this county 

 are now dead. • What is the cause t J 

 do not know, who does ? 

 Wilmington, O., Jan. 3, 1881. 



For the American Boo Journal. 



Covering Bees with Snow. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



The question is frequently asked, 

 "Shall I cover my bees with snow F 

 and the answer is invariably given, 

 '• Yes, the more snow the better. ' O in- 

 experience has been that if snow is 

 blinked two-thirds the way up the brood 

 chamber, it is a great advantage; but 

 if the hives are covered two-thirds the 

 way up the cap, or completely over, it is 

 a positive damage to the bees, and 

 worse than no snow at all. Up to the 

 winter of 1872-3 we had always wintered 

 in the cellar, and not being as success- 

 ful the previous winter as we desired, 

 we concluded to winter on the summer 

 stands, and, as the snow fell, sweep it 

 up around them. We did so, and by 

 December 10 our hives were covered 

 from sight, while the pyramids of white 

 snow all over the yard made a verv pic- 

 turesque view which was quite enchant- 

 ing. At the end of a month we had a 

 thaw, when we looked at them, and 

 found that the warmth from the bees 

 had so thawed the snow that a small 

 dog could easily go all around between 

 the hive and the snow. We were highly 

 elated over our success, and concluded 

 that was just the way to winter bees. 

 We found, however, that our bees were 

 very restless, and, upon raising the 

 quilt, were ready to tly out and perish 

 on the snow, instead of being quiet as 

 all good bees should be. As the next 

 day was tine, they bad a cleansing flight 

 and all appeared well. We had little or 

 uosnowtherestof the winter, and when 

 the season fairly opened we found that 

 we had 2'.i colonies left out of 52. This 

 loss we laid to the severe cold during 

 April and the fore part of May. and be- 

 lieved that if we could have had snow- 

 to cover them all winter no loss would 

 have occurred. One thing we noticed, 

 however: all the hives we opened at 

 the time of the thaw had brood in from 

 two to four combs, while in April scarce 

 a bit of brood was to be found in any 

 hive. Of course we reasoned that had 

 the snow continued, brood-rearing 

 would have been kept up, and in the 

 spring our hives would have been teem- 

 ing with thousands of young bees, in- 

 stead of depopulated colonies, as we 

 then had. The next winter put an end 

 to these visions however, for this time 

 we had snow to keep them covered from 

 Nov. 20 to April 10. Daring the fore 

 part of February there came a warm 

 Say so our bees flew tinely, and upon 

 examination, we found several hives that 

 had brood in live frames to tiie amount 

 of 50 square inches to the frame, or 250 

 square inches in all; while others that 

 were not buried so deeply, did not have 

 over from 20 to 50 square inches. We 

 noticed that the bees in those hives 

 which had the most brood were so 

 heavily loaded with feces that they were 

 scarcely able to fly, while those with but 

 little brood spotted the snow but little 

 in comparison with the others. 



warmth of the ground combined with 

 the warmth of the bees, makes it so 

 warm that the bees become uneasy, go 

 to breeding, consume large quantities 

 of honey, thus distending their bodies 

 and using up their vitality, causingthem 

 to die nt old ageduring February, Marco 

 and April, while the young bees have 

 not the usual strength and vitality of 

 bees hatched in September and October 

 to withstand the rigors of winter, and 

 thus comes spring-dwindling. 



Two years ago. it will be remembered, 

 we wrote that the snow was 11 feetdeep 

 over a part of our bees. W r e tried as far 

 as possible to keep the front side ot all 

 we could, shoveled clear; but we com- 

 pletely lost track of about 10 of them, 

 and of the 10 not one was living the 1st 

 of May. This in short has been our ex- 

 perience with bees buried m snow. 

 With chaff hives the results are not so 

 bad, still we would rather have none at 

 all than to have these covered 2 teet 

 deep with snow. 

 Borodino, N. Y„ Jan. 18, 1881. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



Successful Apiculture. 



DR. 8. STEVENSON. 



However, we figured the 250 square 

 brood at 50 bees to the inch. 



inches of ... 



and looked very wise when we told our 

 neighbors that such a colony would 

 hatch out 12,500 bees in 21 days, and that 

 we expected a rousing colony by spring. 

 Cold weather with more snow came and 

 held so till the middle of March, when 

 we again had a day the bees could tly. 

 Our bees were all shoveled out, and we 

 expected to see plenty of those 12.500 

 voungbeeson the wing ; but upon going 

 to the hives our spirits were heavy to 

 find all theold beesdead on the bottom- 

 board, and those young, downy bees 

 Clustered closely together near where 

 they had batched, in the embrace ot 

 death Not only this, but the old bees 



had consumed nearly all the honey in 



rearing these bees, so we had nearly a 

 total loss, except the combs. W hen the 

 working season arrived, we found we 

 were again reduced to the number ot 29 

 to star the season with. 



The difficulty seems that as soon as 

 ths uivus are covered with snow, the 



If one should form his judgment ot 

 apiculture from some of the articles 

 which he finds in the newspapers, he 

 could hardly resist the conviction that 

 to invest in bee-keeping, would, without 

 a shadow of doubt, be to secure linan- 

 cial success. Practical, cautious and 

 skillful apiarists in all countries know 

 the case to be very different. There 

 are certain fundamental principles 

 which must be carefully heeded, if the 

 apiarist would be successful. 



First the bee-keeper must be adapted 

 to the business or else he need not ex- 

 pect to succeed, if he does he will be 

 disappointed. He must not only be 

 adapted to the business (that is, made 

 out of the right kind of stuff), but he 

 must study the subject patiently, 

 thoroughly and persistently. 



This business requires constant study. 

 No person should expect to succeed in 

 the management of bees if he is unwill- 

 ing to attend to them. They will suffer 

 from neglect just as promptly as domes- 

 tic animals or crops of growing gram 

 on the farm. The man who will pur- 

 chase a number of colonies of bees, set 

 them up in some out-of-the-way place 

 and give the matter no further atten- 

 tion, should keep out of the business 

 altogether. . 



Second, without an accurate knowl- 

 edge of what should be the condition 

 of a prosperous colony of bees at dif- 

 ferent seasons of the year, the keeper 

 will be unable many times to decide 

 positively whether anything is going 

 wrong or not. The bee-keeper who is 

 not fully resolved to get well acquainted 

 with his little workers and to know as 

 far as possible their nature, habits and 

 peculiarities ; neglects his best interests. 

 bees require prompt and scientific at- 

 tention, and if the apiarist is unable or 

 unwilling to render it, his enterprise 

 will be an unprofitable one. . 



Mr. C. B. Smith, of Leslie, stated m 

 the Convention last year at Jackson, 

 that he thought bee-keeping no more 

 uncertain than raising wheat or stock; 

 so I think. A farmer who is ignorant ot 

 the composition and properties of the 

 soil he is trving to cultivate, ot the 

 different kinds of grain he raises, and 

 who has no very definite notions ot the 

 distinguishing properties of the differ- 

 ent manures in use, and, last but not 

 least, who executes his farm work m a 

 careless and slovenly manner— his suc- 

 I cess will be no better than the average 

 bee-keeper. In the language of another, 

 " the success of a farmer depends on his 

 understanding and complying with the 

 principles on which God bestows a har- 

 vest." Just so with apiculture; if we 

 would be successful we must get ac- 

 quainted with first principles. 



We want to get rid, as soon as possi- 

 ble, of all noi inns about "luck." Every 



effect has its specific cause. anil it is our 

 business, and to our interest to search 

 il out. We must make all our arrange- 

 ments and be ready for the honey har- 

 vest. Mr. Doolittlesays" thai a week's 

 delay in starting, often makes the dil 

 ference between a good yield and no 

 yield at all." 



See to it that all colonies are strong in I 

 numbers and in all respects m good 

 condition. This cannot be effected 

 without intelligent and unremitting at- 

 tention. This suggestion of Mr. Doo- 

 little was brought forcibly to my mind, 

 one day last summer, by the remarks ot 

 a young man (son of a bee-keeper in 

 my vicinity) who was examining my 

 apiary. He said that " dad was going 

 to put boxes on his hives as soon as he 

 could get round to it." It was about 

 July 12th then. The basswood honey 

 had almost -entirely disappeared: the 

 white clover had produced nothing 

 worth speaking of. and the result was 

 that his honey crop was almost a failure. 

 We must remember that a peculiar 

 combination of circumstances and con- 

 ditions conspire to produce a good flow 

 Of honev. and if we wish to profit by it, 

 we must be up, dressed and ready tor 

 business. „ . . 



Lastly, we must make every effort to 

 secure our product in a neat presentable 

 and inviting shape. If this last point 

 is carefully attended to. we shall have 

 but little trouble in securing a sale tor 

 our product. 



Honey has now taken its place as one 

 of the staple articles of consumption. 

 The fluctuations in price are no greater 

 than that of other articles of food. 

 Morenci, Mich., Dec. 3, 1880. 



has been thus far. They have been con- 

 lined to their hives since the 1st of No- 

 vember, and from present appearances 

 they will be in another month, during 

 which time most of them will die for 

 want of food. ■ 



1 have my bees all in double-wall 

 ( Langstroth' frame) chaff hives, reduced 

 to about r, frames, cushioned on each 

 side, and the hives filled on top with dry 

 planing-mill shavings, set on sawdust, 

 and banked around with the same as 

 high as the brood chambers. They are 

 put away with sufficient stores to supply 

 them until the 1st of March, but the 

 quality is not as good as I would have 

 liked, being mixed too much with the 

 juices of peaches and apples 



Salem, Ind., Dec. 29, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How my Bees are Wintering. 



H. R. BOABDMAN. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Good Shade for Bee Hives. 



L. JAMES. 



\s many persons have not the ad- 

 vantage of shade trees to protect then- 

 hives from the hotsun in June and July, 

 I will describe, for their benefit, a plan 

 I have tried during the last two seasons 

 with satisfactory results. 



The ground was made level and treed 

 of grass and weeds, and the hives 

 placed in rows about 8 feet apart. Be- 

 tween these rows a narrow strip, not 

 over a spade in width, was turned over 

 and in them sunflower seeds were 

 planted early in the season (as the 

 young plants will stand considerable 

 freezing). As they increase in size they 

 were gradually thinned out to 3 or 4 

 feet apart, always leaving the thriftiest. 

 \nd the under leaves and branches on 

 these were pruned off to make it con- 

 venient to get around among the hives 

 The ground was kept clean of grass and 

 weeds by scraping them off with the 

 hoe. In our soil, here in central Illi- 

 nois, the plants grow from 8 to 12 teet 

 high with large substantial stalks. A 

 person who has never used them for 

 this purpose will be surprised at the 

 beautiful sight it presents m June and 

 July giving ample shade, and tarnish- 

 ing good clustering places for the 

 swarms, easy of access in hiding, the 

 numerous large flowers furnish pollen 

 in abundance, and some honey, and the 

 seeds are good rich food for poultry. 

 Atlanta, 111. 



For tho American Beo Journal. 



Bee-Keeping in Northern Indiana. 



JOHN CRAYCRAFT. 



I have perused the thiid number ot 

 the Weekly Bee Journal. 1 think I 

 am justified in saying that it is an im- 

 portant move in the interest of bee- 

 culture. I will acknowledge that I felt 

 somewhat disappointed and indignant 

 when I received the first number, for 1 

 was very much attached to the old 

 American Bee JounnaloiU of which 

 I had learned so many good things, and 

 it seemed almost like bidding good-bye 

 to an old friend. 



But I am more than compensated tor 

 the disappointment in being able to bear 

 from my bee-keeping friends all over 

 the countrv each week, and all about 

 how their "bees are wintering during 

 these long cold winter spells. It is like 

 a continual feast to be in weekly com- 

 munication with our brother bee-keep- 

 ers And here I am reminded that per- 

 haps others might take the same 

 pleasure in reading my report. 



1 am wintering something over 300 

 colonies in two bee-houses, about one 

 mile apart; the one at home has 140 

 colonies in two rooms, 10x19 feet each. 

 The temperature has averaged a little 

 less than 40 above zero. Many of tin' 

 colonies were light; they were put m 

 just about the middle of November be- 

 fore the cold weather set in. I visit the 

 bee-rooms each day and make a record 

 of the temperature, condition of the 

 i.ees. Ac. 1 raise the temperature a tew 

 degrees once in a week or 10 days.it 

 very cold, by means of artificial heat. 

 My bees have been very quiet up to 

 date and are in perfect condition. 



I feel much confidence in my ability 

 to solve the wintering problem and 

 make the wintering of bees success! id, 

 attended with no more risk than the 

 wintering of other stock. 

 East Townsend, O., Jan. 26, 1S81. 



For the American Bee Jouraul. 



The Season and Wintering. 

 joon F. emvAN. 



There are very few persons that keen 

 their bees in ascientitic manner or with 

 that care and attention that will bring 

 them success, hence it is only chance- 

 work with many of them. There are a 

 variety of movable-frame hives used 

 here, and many box hives are still in 

 use, which are about as good as any tor 

 those that scarcely ever open and look 

 into their hives, and so little care is 

 taken of them that they know compara- 

 tively nothing of their condition 



I have made inquiry of a number of 

 persons having bees, and nearly all re- 

 port their bees as dying or dead. The 

 past was a very poorvear lor honey, and 

 bees gathered but little, only during 

 the poplar [tulip tree) bloom, the first 



and second weeks in May. Many divided 



their bees then, in anticipation ol h good 



season and now their bees are about all 



'.Tone through their neglect to feed them 

 sufficient at the proper time to keep 



them until sining, thinking they could 

 feed them any time with saletv. I liml 

 it is almost certain death to the bees to 

 attempt to feed them ill cold weather, 

 more especially in such a winter as this 



The spring and early part of summer 

 were unfavorable for bees in this part 

 of the county; there was an abundance 

 of fruit blossom (I think that I never 

 saw the equal before) ; considerable 

 white clover blossomed, but neither 

 seemed to yield any honey. Our bees 

 were in a starving condition from spring 

 till the middle of July. Soon after 

 which the smart weed began to bloom, 

 and the bees commenced breeding and 

 gathering honey very rapidly. 



We had 28 weak colonies ot bees to 

 begin the season with, from which we. 

 obtained 500 lbs. of nice extracted 

 honey and increased to 62 fair colonies. 

 We have our bees well packed for 

 winter in chaff-hives, with plenty of 

 stores. I believe that chaff-hives on 

 the summer stands is the best and most 

 convenient method of wintering, and 

 bee keepers are drifting into that 

 method of wintering. 



1 am following farming as a business 

 now, but expect to make bee-keeping a 

 specialty in a few vears. 1 am a sub- 

 scriber 'to the Jot'iiNAl. and do not 

 think that any bee ■keeper should do 

 without it, as it treats on every subject 

 which is of interest to bee-keepers 

 generally. So long life to the Weekly 

 Bee Journal. 

 Wellington, 111/ 



