42 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 9, 



when I had them all transferred and 

 straightened up, I had 31 colonies, I 

 increased to 43, but obtained no surplus 

 worth naming. I hired Mr. Cramer 2}^ 

 months to attend to my bees, while I 

 made hives and attended to the farm ne- 

 cessities. My expenses for the season, 

 for lure and material, was about $115. 

 my income for hives, transferring, &c, 

 was about 5103. I have on hand hives 

 and lumber worth $70, empty vessels 

 for extracted honey (which I did not get), 

 worth $7. (So, you see, my time and 

 labor was not all loss. I have a shop 

 14x20 ft. square, with a room up-stairs. 

 At the back, or east side of the shop, is 

 a shell extending 54 ft. east, and 10 ft. 

 wide, high enough to walk under. Here 

 J have my%bees arranged in 2 rows, 

 fronting north and south, on trestles 6 

 in. high. This makes an aisle 4ft. wide 

 between and at the back of the hives, so 

 the passing bees do not interrupt me in 

 handling them. This fall when prepar- 

 ing them for winter, I turned the north 

 row to front the south, and weather- 

 boarded the north side and east end of 

 the shed, the shop forming a wind-break 

 on the west. 



I was sick in the fall, run behind with 

 my work generally, and did not get to 

 prepare my bees for winter until after 

 the cold spell in November, and I found 

 several colonies dead. Bees are dying 

 in this locality badly. They seem to 

 have a dysentery. I think I will lose my 

 entire stock. 1 have 1 Italian queen 

 which I bought of W. O. Pearce, Win- 

 chester, Ind., he said he bought of T. 

 G. Newman & Son. She is a fine queen, 

 gentle and prolific. I also reared a few 

 very fine queens from her last summer ; 

 but I fear I will lose all, for they are 

 dying in every hive. I have a thick 

 woolen absorber over each colony, but 

 the trouble seems to be impure or un- 

 healthy honey, causing a dysentery. 



Since writing the above I have seen 

 some more of my neighbors who had a 

 few bees, but all weredeadbutl colony. 



Another man had something over 60 

 colonies, all were dead but 2 about 2 

 weeks ago. 



Trento, Ind., Jan. 1, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Lower Ventilation, Adulteration, Etc. 



WSI. CAJOI. 



Let me say to friend Shuck that I used 

 a much liner mesh, in the wire I put 

 over my lower ventilators than he 

 recommends, for I was afraid of giving 

 the moth-worm a chance togetthrough 

 and build its cocoon under the bottom- 

 board. It seemed so distasteful to the 

 bees, as they waxed it all up at once, 

 that I gave it up. By all means our 

 best way would be to so pack, or wrap 

 up the hives, as to prevent condensa- 

 tion and subsequent cougealation of 

 moisture. Where hives are double, like 

 the Armstrong, for instance, ventilation 

 of the outer case is sufficient in the hot- 

 test weather, and with the entrances 

 wide open, I have had such a hive stand 

 in tiie broiling sun and not a comb melt 

 down, though all around and about the 

 frames and sections, was air-tight, as 

 the bees always make it if they can ; 

 and 1 think we ought to be guided by 

 the instinct of the bees themselves in 

 this matter. The bees seal up every- 

 thing they can, except the entrance, 

 about that part of the hive that is im- 

 mediately about them and outside of 

 that man should use his skill and in- 

 genuity. There is much about what we 

 call animal instincts that we have not 

 fathomed yet, and I am loth to force 

 upon my bees a condition against which 

 they so persistently rebel. Pitch up 

 the eyes of a bat. and yet he can fly 

 safely in a room where there are many 

 objects for him to strike against ; throw 

 a squirrel from a height of several 

 hundred feet with only jagged rocks to 

 alight on, and he will suffer iio harm ; so 

 when I see my bees so strenuously try 

 to stop all lower ventilation, I conclude 

 that it is something else that is required, 

 not that. 



Though I do not believe that any 

 amount of direct legislation against 

 adulteration will avail much, yettokeep 

 the matter before the people will put 

 them on their guard, and they will be 

 chary of buying unless they are sure 



the article they buy is genuine. The 

 great and final remedy for adulteration 

 will correct other forms of swindling, 

 cheating and many other crimes. In 

 the foundation of our social system, and 

 our laws, we have unfortunately made 

 two very great mistakes ; we recognize 

 gain as legitimate where there can be 

 no natural increase, and we recognize 

 no wrong, no violence to humanity, in 

 trafficking and speculating in that 

 which sustains human flesh and blood, 

 though we call trafficking and speculat- 

 ing directly in huirlan Hesh and blood 

 slavery ; yet so far as results are con- 

 cerned, the effect is the same. Correct 

 these fundamental errors and the spoils 

 being no longer to the shrewdest, adul- 

 teration, with many other sins, will dis- 

 appear. There are plentv of other 

 papers in which questions of this kind 

 can be discussed, and I only refer to it 

 here because it is relevant to the sub- 

 ject. 



Bees have had one or two short flights 

 in the last two months, and a week ago 

 one of my lightest colonies, in a single- 

 walled hive, unprotected, were at home 

 and cheerful. This colony has been 

 dropping fresh brood upon the bottom- 

 board all winter. 



I am much pleased witli the change 

 from the Monthly to the Weekly, and 

 hope that you will find it profitable and 

 pleasant to continue it in this shape. 



Winchester, 111., Jan. 22, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Size of Colonies, Ventilation, etc. 



E. B. SOUTHWICK. 



I notice in the report of Mr. E. A. 

 Morgan that he thinks 3 pecks of bees 

 a good colony, and that each of his 24 

 colonies would measure that amount. 

 Now my frames are 12x13 inches. I 

 place them % of an inch apart, when 

 the frames are full of brood or honey it 

 would take a hive of 27 frames to hold 

 that amount of bees— just three times 

 as large as my hives are. Is not his 

 statements a little large. I believe that 

 bee-keepers consider that if they have 

 a strong colony of bees that cover 9 

 frames, the size of mine all over, in the 

 working season, they have a strong 

 colony. When bees are working in a 

 hive they require at least twice the 

 room they occupy when clustered to- 

 gether in a measurable form. So really 

 a good colony is about 4 quarts of bees. 



My opinion of colonies is that a peck 

 of bees constitutes a very strong colony; 

 that 4 quarts is a fair sized colony ; that 

 2 quarts is a small colony yet uot too 

 small to be safely wintered in a judi- 

 ciously arranged hive. I have wintered 

 many such colonies, crowded on 4 

 combs, and found them as profitable as 

 any I had. 



I notice in another place a very excel- 

 lent article on wintering, by the same 

 author. It is first-rate, though rather 

 expensive. I think there is one mistake 

 in it, about upward ventilation. He 

 says the impure air being carbonic-acid 

 gas and heavier than air, will settle to 

 the bottom and escape. This is true 

 were it pure carbonic-acid gas. Now 

 let us see what are the facts in the case : 

 The air is composed of 20 parts of 

 oxygen to 80 parts of nitrogen ; chemi- 

 cally united it always carries with it a 

 quantity of water in the form of vapor 

 and some other matter that. we will not 

 notice. Now, as air is drawn into the 

 lungs the oxygen unites with the carbon 

 of the blood, forming carbonic-acid 

 gas, which is absorbed by the mixture 

 in the form of vapor, and mixed with 

 the 80 parts of nitrogen, forming a 

 chemical mixture which, when breathed 

 out is much lighter than air and is found 

 in the upper part of the hive in the 

 form of frost or water, unless we have 

 an upward ventilation to allow it to pass 

 off. I would not recommend placing a 

 stovepipe over the bees to let this pass 

 through, but rather a thick chaff-cushion 

 which will allow this foul stuff to pass 

 into it it not through it and not admit 

 the warmth of the bees to pass off 



I notice in an article by D. K. Bou- 

 telle, his experience with some ego-s of 

 the queens ; if he is correct does it not 

 prove that the queen does not regulate 

 the sex of her offspring. I never could 

 - accord that power to the queen. I be- 



lieve that the sex of all the animal king- 

 dom is regulated by the situation and 

 nutriment of the egg or germ. Who 

 says it is not '{ There are many theories 

 about bee-keeping which we may make 

 doubtful. 

 Mendon, Mich., Dec. 10, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Upward Ventilation. 



F. H. MINER. 



I believe I was the first writer in this 

 country to oppose upward ventilation, 

 iu discussions with Mr. Haldridge and 

 others in the BkeJuuhnal and 1'ntiiie 

 Jf'arnicr. A storm of lnuiguation was 

 aroused, but almost every man had seen 

 bee-lrees, and knew they had tight tops 

 to keep out the storm and keep in tne 

 heat. The united and learned array of 

 acknowledged authorities lost tneir. 

 prestige ; lacts could not be set aside 

 uy theories. Only those who had that 

 " dangerous thing, a little learning," 

 were wild enougn to ignore instinct and 

 sneer at nature. Aiiyoody may preach 

 at them now, but they still persist in 

 covering bees with porous cloln, depriv- 

 ing them ot heat and water, essential to 

 lite. The bees do not tolerate tins stu- 

 pidity, but glaze Uieui over whenever 

 they cau. 



When I read Mr. Langstroth's direc- 

 tions to give the bees a little water on a 

 sponge, i thought they glazed the inside 

 surfaces, and the cold that conuned 

 them condensed the water that they 

 needed. But it we cover them with po- 

 rous absorbeuts (cloth) the water may 

 be needed (see Journal, page 11). 



Tne swarm ot hive inventors, while 

 the waves ot oblivion are rolling over 

 their constructions, delight to sneer at 

 the old log gums. Lach one has tound 

 perfection, nut every 2 or 3 years repu- 

 diates his old huniuugs, gets up a new 

 oue, and only gets out ot the mud into 

 tne mire, i loved bees, and laid awake 

 nights contriving a hive, and found that 

 1 did not know anything. In my de- 

 spair the thought occurred: the flight 

 of the bees to the hollow tree proves 

 they were desigued for and adapted to 

 each other, i have since then been a 

 student of nature. Artiticial circum- 

 stances and necessities require artificial 

 adaptations. We should not use gums, 

 hut we must go to nature for principles, 

 and respect instinct. 



There are Here a few old bee-keepers 

 who raise their laves from ^ inch to z 

 inches, on blocks, to get rid of the 

 moms. I thought they would be too 

 cold and exposed to mice and robbers. 

 1 depend on a fly-hole 3 inches above 

 tne uottom. 1 bought some ol my bee* 

 ot Simeon Burkeu, 5 nines north ot 

 W atseka. Last spring lie had yo colo- 

 nies m good condition,' and says they 

 wintered well the year betore wneu so 

 many (more than three-fourths of the 

 bees in this county) died, mostly smoth- 

 ered, having no ny-holes in tue side, 

 only notches cut with a saw in the bot- 

 tom. Severe cold and contraction, lol- 

 lowed by excitement and expansion, 

 outlets Closed, no air to generate heat, 

 protuse perspiration condensed ami 

 ireezing with dead bees at the bottom. 

 One man with 22 colonies, another with 

 30, lost all ; several others nearly as bad. 

 Hut the bees on blocks came through 

 and kept dry. The mice got in some, 

 and some were robbed. 



They should have been set down on 

 the approach of spring. Bees need very 

 little air when quiet in mild weather, 

 and keep fly-holes clear.- 1 wintered 48 

 on the summer stands without loss, cov- 

 ered with snow iu the coldest weather ; 

 3 or 4 failed through loss of queens in 

 the spring. These bees are doing well 

 this year. The hives are 1 foot square, 

 but those 1 bought from Mr. Burkeu 

 were tall, populous ones ; the holes 1 

 bored in front were not large enough 

 torso many bees in such severe weather, 

 and 1 have lost 2 colonies, and a good 

 many bees in others. So, let us give 

 our bees plenty of lower ventilation. 



1 suppose lu or 15 times as much air 

 is needed in a cold snap, because 10 oi- 

 ls times as much heat must be genera- 

 ted to maintain a living temperature, 

 f'he ranges of comb attached at the top 

 and sides divide the room into narrow 

 spaces. A hole in the side might uot 



aerate thoroughly more than one or two 

 spaces. Only from the bottom, where 

 the comb is not attached, can all the 

 spaces be equally aerated. These old . 

 basswood-gum men, who believe in tight 

 tops and hate frame hives, never read 

 the Journal and could not know much. 

 In a futile attempt to get rid of the 

 moths, they simply blundered on a suc- 

 cessful method of aerating their bees, 

 and thus preventing smothering. If 

 they knew they had solved the problem 

 so many have studied in vain, would 

 they not crow ? They have my thanks. 

 I thought so much cold air would freeze 

 the bees, but find it the only thing to 

 keep them warm and dry, thus prevent- 

 ing their being poisoned by a mass of 

 rotting bees under them. They should 

 be protected from the wind. An inch 

 at the bottom all around would not lose 

 as much heat as a %-inch hole in the top. 



I expect to hear of great losses this 

 winter from smothering. In 1878 I win- 

 tered 48 colonies on their summer stands, 

 in hives with tight tops, and covered 

 with snow in the coldest weather. The 

 last 2 years have been poor. My square 

 hives have been all right, but the tall 

 hives— 18 to 24 inches nigh— the small 

 hole I put in the side was too small in 

 severe weather. 



Crescent City, 111., Jan. 17, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Shall we Improve our Bees? 



HENRY ALLEY. 



Now that we have the Italians, Cyp- 

 rians, Holy Land and Hungarian races 

 of bees, it strikes me that our bees can 

 be improved very much. How best to 

 do these things is the question. Can it 

 be done by keeping the imported stock 

 pure, or by crossing ? I think it can be 

 done by both plans. 



It is a well-known fact that by cross- 

 ing up fowls we get a larger, as well as 

 a hardier race ; now this same principle 

 applies to most everything in the ani- 

 mal kingdom. In rearing chickens the 

 male should be changed for each suc- 

 ceeding brood. In-and-in breeding 

 would soon run out a coop of fowls ; 

 they can be bred " to a feather " by in- 

 breeding, but that quality would be 

 at the expense of health and hardiness. 

 Now, this must work the same witli 

 bees; but I must confess the fact that 

 there are cases that seem to knock my 

 theory into pieces. I have found farm- 

 ers who have kept bees in the same 

 place upwards of 40 years, without any 

 indications of deterioration. I found 

 one such last fall. I came across a man 

 who had 10 colonies of bees, all black, 

 and in old box-hives, as a natural conse- 

 quence. He told me that he had kept 

 bees in the same place over 40 years ; 

 and had never been out of them during 

 all that time, and he could not say that 

 they had ever returned him any heavy 

 income. Of course they did not pay 

 him much, neither did he devote much 

 time or expense on them. He had one 

 swarm early in May last, and remarked 

 that he never had one so early before. 

 Now, these are stubborn facts, and 

 rather against our in-and-in theory. 

 But it should be remembered that not 

 as much in-and-in breeding would be 

 done in this case of 40 years' standing 

 as an extensive queen-breeder could do 

 in 2 years; while the old farmer would 

 not rear more than one queen to each 

 colony each year, the queen-breeder 

 would rear hundreds. 



Notwithstanding the above facts, I 

 do believe that close breeding will ruin 

 any race of bees. Now, in all my ex- 

 perience in rearing queens, I never per- 

 mitted the queen that I was breeding 

 from to rear any drones. I have reared 

 3,000 queens from one mother, and 

 never saw a drone from her, and none 

 were ever raised from her eggs. If 

 good queens are what we want, then of 

 course the less in-and-in breeding the 

 better. 



Will it do to cross the pure Italians 

 with pure Cyprian or Holy Land queens? 

 I think it will ; in fact, I know it will. 

 The way is now open so that we can 

 obtain a superior race of bees ; by care- 

 ful breeding and crossing-up the desid- 

 eratum can be reached, in a few years. 

 Now, here is another point : Have not 

 the Holy Land and Cyprian bees been 





