1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



163 



weak in bees. The other 7 were as 

 strong as when put in, last fall ; Shad 5 

 frames of brood sealed over, and all 

 had some brood in them. All these 

 had old queens, the young ones were 

 all in the wood hives; 21 out of 83 in 

 the wood hives were dead ; all the live 

 ones were very weak, and in a bad, 

 dirty condition. Some had used all the 

 honey, while the plastered hives had 

 lots to carry them to the present. The 

 whole 7 are now, May 5, strong enough 

 to swarm, while those in the wood hives 

 are still quite weak." 



The calamitous experience of the sea- 

 son just past shows that we have not 

 yet fully mastered the problem of win- 

 tering. Various methods have proved 

 successful under certain circumstances, 

 while all have failed in many cases. 

 Cellar wintering seems to have come 

 out somewhat ahead, yet even that has 

 not been uniformly a success. Chaff 

 packing has disappointed not a few of 

 its enthusiastic advocates. Possibly 

 one reason of its failure may be its be- 

 ing encased in boards, one great objec- 

 tion to which is their liability to retain 

 moisture. Mr. Quinby refers to this in 

 his discussion of the straw hive of the 

 future. He says : " Boards do not dis- 

 pose of the moisture with sufficient 

 rapidity." Again he says : "The mois- 

 ture must be got rid of, and in no way 

 can it be done so well as by straining it 

 through straw." My correspondent 

 does not say what top covering he had 

 on his plastered hives, but the plaster 

 would be impervious to moisture both 

 outside and inside. With a thick straw 

 mattress on top, the moisture would 

 "strain through the straw," and leave 

 the inside of the hive perfectly dry. 



I shall investigate the straw-piaster 

 hive more thoroughly, and report on it 

 further hereafter. Meantime, now that 

 the subject of wintering is invested 

 with such a melancholy and general in- 

 terest, I give the information which 

 has reached me in regard to this novel 

 mode of constructing hives. I use the 

 term " novel " in regard to myself. It 

 is that, both as to observation and expe- 

 rience, so far as I am concerned, but it 

 may not be so to others, for there are 

 those who consider that, so far as hives 

 go, there is no longer anything new un- 

 der the sun. Even these, however, may 

 yet rind it possible for them to get hold 

 of a new wrinkle. 

 Listowel, Out., May 12, 1881. 



From the Western Stock Journal. 



The Mortality Among Bees. 



o. CLUTE. 



In all bee-keeping records there is no 

 parallel to the losses of bees during the 

 past winter. North, east and west all 

 report that a very large part of the 

 bees are dead. In some cases old bee- 

 keepers, who had scores or hundreds of 

 colonies, have lost all. Nearly every 

 bee-keeper has suffered, but some es- 

 cape with a loss of 25 or 30 per cent. 

 The losses are due to several causes : 



1. The season last year was a very 

 poor one for honey. During fruit-bloom 

 there was much wind and rain, hence 

 honey was washed out of the flowers, 

 and bees were also prevented from fly- 

 ing to get it. As but little honey was 

 secured during fruit-bloom bees reared 

 but little brood, and so wei e weak when 

 the white clover season begun. 



2. Last year the white clover was a 

 very short crop. The previous winter 

 was quite open, and the white clover 

 was largely killed. Probably there was 

 not 1-10 of the usual amount ; some say 

 not 1-20. Even if the colonies had been 

 strong they would have secured but a 

 short crop of honey. Weak as they 

 were the crop was doubly short. 



3. Linden-bloom last year seemed to 

 yield but little honey, and this little was 

 largely washed away by rains during 

 the opening of the flowers. 



4. The severe drouth in July and Au- 

 gust cut off a large part of the plants 

 that yield honey in the fall. Spanish 

 needle, golden rod, asters, heartsease 

 and buckwheat were much less abun- 

 dant than usual. As a result the fall 

 crop of honey was very light. 



5. From these causes the hives were 

 but partially stored with food for win- 

 ter. If the winter had been a warm 

 one the losses would have been heavy. 



Hut winter began the first of Novem- 

 ber and there was no let up until nearly 

 the middle of April; more than 5 months 

 of cold weather, during which bees 

 must consume much honey to keep up 

 the heat of the hive, soon exhausted 

 the small supply, and very large num- 

 bers of bees soon had every particle of 

 honey eaten. 



6. Some report their bees dead with 

 plenty of honey in the hives. This 

 may haypen in 2 ways : 1. In cold 

 weather bees collect in a dense cluster 

 just beneath the honey in the combs. 

 They eat the honey above them, grad- 

 ually going up the combs until they 

 reach the top. Now, if the weather is 

 very cold they cannot go around the 

 edges of the combs to get at combs con- 

 taining honey, and may starve with 

 honey within 3 inches of them. 2. Bees 

 do not usually void their feces in the 

 hive ; this is done outside on the wing. 

 In very cold weather they had to eat so 

 much to keep up the heat that they 

 soon became gorged and diseased. They 

 are compelled to void in the hives, the 

 hives become damp and filthy, the bees 

 get what is called "bee-dysentery " or 



bee-cholera," and perish miserably, in 

 spite of plenty of honey. 



Probably all these 6 causes have been 

 operative in bringing to bee-keepers the 

 disastrous results of the winter just 

 passed. It is quite probable, too, that 

 there are other causes whicli have thus 

 far escaped the notice of the acutest 

 observers. Whatever the cause, bee- 

 keepers are painfully aware of the sad 

 fact that most, or all, of their bees have 

 perished. They have, it may be, a few 

 weak colonies left ; they have a dis- 

 couraging array of hives with no bees, 

 from which the soiled combs send forth 

 a sickening odor. The winter has put 

 a check upon the bee-keeping industry 

 from which it will take years to recover. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Introducing Queens. 



ROBERT DOWNS. 



There are many methods for introduc- 

 ing queens, some of which require too 

 much unnecessary labor to suit me, 

 and I will give my method. I do not 

 say that my way is best, but it has 

 proved good enough for me thus far. I 

 have, during the past 2 years, intro- 

 duced a hundred queens or more, for 

 my neighbors and myself, without the 

 loss of a single queen, by this method : 



I put the queen to be introduced into 

 the introducing cage, which is an Oat- 

 man cage or one similar, with a stopper 

 in one end, and a small, clean sponge, 

 soaked with honey and water, in the 

 other end, in such a way that the bees 

 from outside cannot get to it. I then 

 find and remove the old queen ; if rob- 

 bers are. likely to cause trouble, I move 

 the hive into some building, and I find 

 by so doing that it makes the bees 

 more docile and less apt to sting. 



In the middle of the day is the best 

 time, as then a good many of the bees 

 are in the field and out of the way. If 

 the weather is a little cool I examine 

 the center combs first, and very often 

 pick the queen off from the first comb 

 that I take out ; but if it is very warm, 

 I find that she is as likely to be on the 

 outside comb as anywhere. When the 

 old queen is found I put her where I 

 know she will not get back to the hive 

 again. If the weather is cool I spread 

 the combs apart in the center and hang 

 the cage in between, run a small wire 

 through the stopper and let it rest on 

 the frames which holds the cage in 

 place. I formerly held the cage in 

 place by pressing the combs against the 

 cage, but I often found the cage on the 

 bottom board when I opened the hive 

 to liberate the queen, which, though it 

 may be harmless, is not so handy to get 

 out when ready to liberate the queen ; 

 if the weather is warm, which is gen- 

 erally the case, I lay the cage on the 

 frames and, as in the first place, close 

 up the hive and let it remain from 18 to 

 21 hours (not over 24 hours); then open 

 the hive very gently, using a little 

 smoke to drive away the bees from the 

 cage, remove it as carefully as possible, 

 take out the stopper and replace it with 

 one of comb honey, cut to tit. I uncap 

 a little honey near the cage, after it is 

 replaced on the frames, close up the 



hive as before, and the operation is 

 performed. 



The bees will liberate the queen in a 

 very short time and when the hive is 

 closed and everything is quiet she lias 

 the scent of the hive and very soon be- 

 gins business, like all good queens. By 

 this method but very little time is lost 

 in the increase of the colony. After 

 removing the old queen I aim to get an- 

 other one in her place as soon as possi- 

 ble. To let a colony remain queenless 

 for 6 or 8 days is needless, and then to 

 go through a hive and cut out the queen- 

 cells I find is no boy's play. I have put 

 in queens in this way when the bees 

 were made so cross by robbers that I 

 could not go near the hive without veil 

 and gloves, and the queens were re- 

 ceived all right, every time. 



Naugatuck, Conn., May 2, 1881. 



For the American Beo Journal. 



Shall we have a General Report ? 



G. L. TINKER, M. D. 



There will probably never be a more 

 auspicious time to make a general re- 

 port on the various causes of the great 

 mortality of bees during the past win- 

 ter. If bee-keepers are to profit in the 

 future by our late disasters, a classified 

 and summarized report should be made. 

 No names of bee-keepers need be 

 published, but the losses of colonies 

 and those left alive can be classified and 

 utilized to great advantage in promot- 

 ing the science of apiculture in this 

 country. A percentage of all losses in 

 the different kinds of hives by the va- 

 rious methods of wintering can be 

 made so that it is possible to ascertain 

 the most successful winter hive and the 

 best method of preparing for winter. 



The many published reports are 

 indefinite in very important particu- 

 lars, and if anyone will take them alone 

 and endeavor to make out a general re- 

 port, it will soon be found to be imprac- 

 ticable. I have therefore undertaken 

 to make out a general report by ad- 

 dressing a large number of bee-keepers 

 for more definite particulars, and if all 

 I have addressed will answer as fully 

 as those I have already heard from, a 

 report of value and general interest 

 can be made. I hope to receive reports 

 from all whom I addressed, and from 

 many others. 



A full report can be readily made out 

 on a postal card, if the following form 

 be taken as a guide, and may include 

 the living and dead colonies of other 

 bee-keepers in the neighborhood : 



What hives were used 



Number wintered onsummerstands 

 unprotected 



Number alive 



Number protected 



Number alive 



Number wintered in cellar, winter 

 repository or bee house 



Number alive 



It is important that the kind of hive 

 used in wintering be given, and follow- 

 ing it the method of preparation for 

 winter, then the number of colonies 

 lost and the number left alive. 



New Philadelphia, Ohio. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Disturbing Bees in Winter. 



c. A. HATCH. 



Most writers on the subject of the 

 present loss and bad condition of bees 

 are inclined to lay the blame to long 

 confinement. I have an interest in 23 

 colonies 10 miles from home, now in a 

 cellar, where they have been since 

 about Nov. 5, with no flight, making 

 over 5 months' confinement, and yet I 

 never had bees in a better condition. 

 Fifty colonies at my home cellar have 

 all had one good flight and part of them 

 two, and they are not in as good condi- 

 tion as the others ; have lost 9. If bees 

 cannot be put out for good in 2 weeks 

 after a flight no good is done, but 

 rather the reverse ; it makes them un- 

 easy ; they come out of the hive and 

 die on the cellar bottom. 



The idea suggested by Mr. Lang- 

 s troth, i. e., that disturbing bees causes 

 them to breed, is true, and in this case 

 (of winter flights) the cause of the 



trouble. Confininglonger than 2 weeks 

 causes excessive consumption of honey, 

 and hence dysentery and all its ills. If 

 the foregoing " lesson of the hour" is 

 true, and facts seem to sustain it, we 

 should regard winter flights as a rem- 

 edy for trouble already begun, rather 

 than a preventive of trouble to come. 

 The cellars in both the above cases are 

 dry, warm and well ventilated ; both 

 lots of bees being in Langstroth hives, 

 of the same stock, and apparently in 

 the same condition in the fall ; why one 

 should need the flight and the other 

 not, I do not know, but it was not the 

 confinement that did it. 



The following table of losses and 

 manner of wintering may be of inter- 

 est. It covers an area of 10 miles, ex- 

 cept such as have already reported : 

 A — 4 colonies, loss 4 C F 

 B— 10 " " 3 C F 



C— 25 " "21 C F 



D— 10 " " 10 S F 



E— 6 " 6 S F 



F— 9 "8 SS B&F 



G— 10 " " 10 S B&F 



H— 4 " 4 II B 



1 — 6 " " 6 H B&F 



Mine, 50 " " 9 C F 



" 59 " "8 C Fob 



" 23 " " C F 



" 4 " " 4 S B 



" 8 " " 4 B F 



228 



90 



The letters indicate different owners; in the col- 

 umn for manner of wintering, C stands for cellar, S 

 for -ummer stand with straw packing, H for house. 

 SS for summer stand without protection, B for bu- 

 ried. In last column F stands for frame hive, B for 

 box hive. 



Ithaca, Wis., April 15, 1881. 



For tho American Bee Journal. 



Success in Wintering Bees. 



A. D. STOCKING. 



As the past winter has been a severe 

 one on bees, and as there has been great 

 losses by both old and experienced and 

 inexperienced bee keepers.the question 

 arises, what is the cause and what the 

 remedy ? 



We have passed through 2 severe win- 

 ters on bees, and one the opposite of 

 the other; the first open, wet and 

 changeable, the last long, and severely 

 cold; the loss of bees both winters be- 

 ing heavy. We need not discuss the 

 method of wintering, for those who read 

 the Journal can see that whether win- 

 tered in the house, the cellar, or on the 

 summer stands, in chaff or packed, 

 there is not much difference in the re- 

 sults ; there has been success and loss 

 in all these modes of wintering, there- 

 fore we must look somewhere else for 

 the cause. 



One year ago I wintered 18 colonies 

 without any loss ; this last fall I had 

 34 colonies and have lost but 3 ; the 

 balance came through all right and are 

 now getting a good deal of honey and 

 are building up finely. I wintered mine 

 on their summer stands, protected 

 only by about 5 inches of fine cut buck- 

 wheat and wheat straw over the 

 frames, and the weakest chaff cushions 

 at the sides, and the entrances closed to 

 about 2 inches ; they had no flight for 

 nearly 4 months. 



I have no extractor, therefore took no 

 honey from the body of the hives and 

 they were full of clover and basswood 

 honey, and the hives full of bees, with 

 the exception of 3 or 4 that were quite 

 light. I got but very little surplus 

 honey. I have come to this conclusion: 

 That the cause of the great loss of bees 

 was lack of young bees, poor stores and 

 long confinement. It is generally con- 

 sidered that the fall honey is usually of 

 poor quality; if we extract the early 

 honey and leave the bees to winter on 

 the fall honey we must expect heavy 

 losses if the winter proves severe ; of 

 course many were short of stores and 

 starved. I attribute my success wholly 

 to my hives being full of bees and hav- 

 ing good honey to winter on. I think 

 many pay more attention to the mode 

 of wintering than to the interior of the 

 hives. If I was using the extractor 

 and my bees had to winter on fall 

 honey and I was not satisfied the honey 

 was of first quality, I would extract it 

 and feed the best sugar, if I had not 

 clover honey to give them. 

 Ligonier, Ind., May 16, 1881. 



