364 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. 16, 



inches wide. and long enough to reach 

 the bottom board of the hive in front. 

 Tack the half-inch strips to the top; 

 next tack on the bottom. This formf 

 a communication from the inside os 

 the hive to the outside, through which 

 the bees can pass at any time when 

 the weather is mild enough for them 

 to fly. A foot plank. 16 feet long, set 

 up on the top of the fence-board above 

 the winter fly-holes, forms the balance 

 of the front of this winter receptacle. 

 Two more such boards forms the back, 

 placed 3 inches away from the back 

 ends of the hives. Nail the front and 

 back at the ends to pieces of scantling; 

 put in end pieces to fit, and nail to the 

 same corner pieces. 



You now have a tight box 16 feet 

 long, 18 inches high in front, 2 feet 

 high at the back, and 28% inches wide 

 in the inside, without a bottom. This 

 rests upon the ground, around the 8 or 

 nine hives, and when the entrances 

 are nut in, is to be packed full of chaff 

 in front, rear, underneath, and be- 

 tween the hives, up to and even with 

 the top of the honey-board. Take off 

 the honey-board, and spread over the 

 whole top of the frames a coarse cot- 

 ton or linen cloth, to keep the bees 

 from flying out when the top chaff- box 

 is removed. Make a frame the. exact 

 size of the top of the hive, 2 l 4 inches 

 deep, and tack on the under side the 

 same kind of a cloth for the bottom, 

 and then fill this box with chaff and 

 set it upon the hive, in contact with 

 the other cloth. Fill all the spaces be- 

 tween the top boxes, and the back and 

 front, with chaff also, and the hives 

 are now completely isolated from the 

 weather, except by the tubular fly- 

 holes, which are only %\'2 inches, and 

 6 inches long. 



Cover the outside box with any kind 

 of a lid that will keep out the snow 

 and rain, but have it so that the lid 

 can be raised on any sunshiny day, 

 when it is desirable to have the bees 

 fly out for an airing. On such a day 

 raise the lid and prop it up, so that the 

 sun can shine in upon the cloth cover- 

 ings of the hives in full force. Then 

 lift off the top boxes of chaff, set them 

 in any convenient place to dry out the 

 dampness, and let the, sun's rays fall 

 directly upon the cloth coverings 

 above the frames. This will warm up 

 each colony in a few moments, also 

 evaporate all the dampness in a few 

 hours, and give the bees their neces- 

 sary airing at the same time. 



At the approach of nightfall replace 

 the top boxes of chaff, make all snug 

 again by leveling off the chaff, close 

 the lid, and your bees are in good con- 

 dition for another winter nap of 6 or 8 

 weeks. 



The top chaff box affords all the up- 

 ward ventilation necessary, while the 

 bees are quiescent in their semi-torpid 

 state ; and the long tube will not let 

 sufficient frost enter to accumulate in 

 the combs. 



The above is the only chaff casing 

 which I would trust, in as severe a 

 season as last winter. In the place of 

 chaff, one could substitute dry leaves, 

 sawdust, oat hulls, tan-bark or fine 

 chip-manure, or any other substance 

 which is a good non-conductor of heat, 

 and a good absorbent. In case the 

 bees need feeding during winter, put 

 a half inch thickness or more of gran- 

 ulated white sugar upon the cloth im- 

 mediately over the cluster of bees, set 

 the chaff box over it, and the breath 

 of the bees will slowly dissolve it, and 

 they will suck the syrup through the 

 cloth as they need it, and any surplus 

 will be stored by the bees within reach 

 of the cluster. 



In the above outside casing and chaff 

 tilling, I have combined all the excel- 

 lences of the various hives, and means 

 of protection for out-door wintering, 

 that I have ever seen suggested thus 

 far. and at the same time secured the 

 requisite means of disposingof damp- 

 ness, which accumulates in winter 

 from the breath of the bees. In short, 

 it converts the whole nine into com- 

 plete frost- proof hives, prevents moldy 

 combs, and secures the requisite heat, 

 so that the colony can reach any part 

 of their stores without being chilled. 

 The entire cost of such basing, be 



per colony. This is much cheaper than 

 double chaff hives, and ten times as 

 effective as a protection. 

 Wilton, Iowa, Nov. 8, 1881. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Bacteria and Bee-Bread. 



WM. F. CLAUKE. 



I have the greatest respect for Mr. 

 [Ieddon's opinions, and it is with no 

 small diffidence that I step into the 

 arena to break a friendly controver- 

 sial lance with so formidable an an- 

 tagonist. But it seems to me his ar- 

 ticle on " Pollen Detrimental to Win- 

 tering," in the. American Bee Jour- 

 nal of Sept. 7, is very vulnerable at 

 several points. No doubt the motto 

 placed at the head of the article in 

 question is a true one, and " in our 

 common ignorance all have an equal 

 right to guess;" but until absolute 

 proof is obtained, let us remember 

 that we are only guessing. 



This, it seems to me, Mr. H. forgets, 

 for no sooner has he announced his 

 new " guess,"' than he becomes al- 

 most, and then apparently quite cer- 

 tain that he is right. He "stands 10 to 

 I"' in favor of his new theory, and in 

 the course of a few lines, waxing more 

 confident, finds " it comforting to feel 

 satisfied," flatters himself that " a step 

 has been taken up the hill of science," 

 and proceeds to argue on the basis of 

 "allowing this to be the cause." He 

 says : " I have settled down on the 

 belief, strong and positive." Now 

 what proof does Mr. II. furnish in 

 support of his consumption-of-bread 

 theory ? 



1. That the unaccountable phe- 

 nomenon of Smith's bees all dying, 

 while Jones' treated the same, and 

 only 3 miles distant, all, or nearly all 

 live, is yeton our hands, and he thinks 

 his new theory will solve it. But he 

 fails to show how it does so. 2. "The 

 preference for honey during all that 

 period when bees must void no excre- 

 ment, except by sensible or insensible 

 perspiration, is a fixed fact." Varia- 

 tion from that rule, he thinks, is the 

 cause of dysentery. I would ask, is 

 there any period during which bees 

 "void no excrement ?" Duringthe pe- 

 riod of rest they void very little, but is 

 it not generally conceded that the 

 ridges of dust which fall on the bot- 

 tom board during winter, consist of 

 dry feces? Probably, when wintered 

 in perfect condition, bees obtain all 

 the relief they need in this way. 



L. C. Root, in his new edition of 

 Quinby's Mysteries, page 255, men- 

 tions a case of wintering so satisfac- 

 torily, that the bees, though impris- 

 oned from Nov. 17 until May 3, voi- 

 ded no feces in a liquid state on being 

 set out. Did those bees wholly ab- 

 stain from the use of bee-bread ? 

 There is no proof of it. It is not that 

 bees void no feces during winter, but 

 that their diet is so wholesome, and 

 they come into a state so nearly dor- 

 mant, that exercising but little, thev 

 eat sparingly and void only a small 

 quantity of excrement, and that in so 

 dry a condition that it does not befoul 

 the hive. 



Mr. Heddon's argument based on 

 the assumption that during a certain 

 period "bees must void no excrement" 

 except in the form of perspiration, is 

 without force. They may and do void 

 some excrement, but it is in minute 

 dry particles that accumulate harm- 

 lessly on the bottom board. I cannot 

 suppose that Mr. II. considers these 

 minute particles dried drops of per- 

 spiration. What huge drops they must 

 be when they ooze out of the body of 

 the bee. if, after evaporation has dried 

 them, they are of the size we find 

 them. 3. The third proof of his new 

 theory is, that he has found no dead 

 colony that had " not either plenty of 

 bee-bread showing signs of late work 

 with it, or brood in all stages, and gen- 

 erally both, but nearly always brood." 

 Observe the qualification in this last 

 sentence. "Nearly always." " What, 

 never? Hardly ever." Thisisavery 



weak place in the reasoning. I can 



understand that " 



t may, and probably 

 side the work, will not exceed 33 cents ' does interfere with successful winter- 



ing to have brood-rearing carried on 

 too late. It necessitates a good deal 

 of muse work, and more activity gen- 

 erally than accords with that state of 

 quiescence which we know to be so 

 desirable, but, inasmuch as some col- 

 onies died that had no young brood, 

 the argument becomes inconclusive. 

 A chain is no stronger than its weak- 

 est link. There is another weak spot 

 in this argument. It is that every 

 dead colony showed signs of having 

 been indulging in bee-bread. I pre- 

 sume they also showed signsof having 

 been eating honey if there was any. 

 Mr. H. assumes what he, sets out to 

 prove, viz : That eating bee-bread is 

 detrimental to bees. 1, for one, am 

 not convinced of this. They may, 

 from certain causes, have eaten too 

 freely of it, but to assume that bee- 

 bread is poisonous on this account, is 

 as unwarrantable as to conclude that 

 fruit is unwholesome to human be- 

 ings, because some eat too much of it, 

 and become sick. Moreover, we know 

 that bees in storing cells with pollen, 

 fill them out and seal them with honey. 

 May not a dead colony with plenty of 

 bee-bread showing signs of late work 

 with it— having been doing this kind 

 of work, viz: getting the honey sepa- 

 rated from the bee-bread ? 



I am not quite clear whether Mr. II. 

 considers the use of bee-bread to any 

 extent, however small, injurious to 

 mature bees. I am inclined to think 

 he does, because he says : "Some 

 method of causing the bees to abstain 

 from eating pollen during all that 

 period when they are obliged to semi- 

 hibernate, is what I most desire." To- 

 tal abstinence from pollen, would 

 seem to be Mr. II. 's new rule for suc- 

 cessful wintering. If so, I am con- 

 strained to differ from him. I incline 

 to the opinion that as hay, straw and 

 other coarse kinds of food are neces- 

 sary to the best health of horses and 

 cattle, and as oatmeal porridge, Gra- 

 ham flour and the like are good for 

 man. so there may be a necessity for 

 bees to use a proportion of bee-bread. 

 I am aware that there is a difference 

 of opinion among bee-keepers on this 

 point, some thinking that bee-bread 

 is never used by mature bees, except 

 they are driven to it by impending 

 starvation. 



The analysis of pollen would sug- 

 gest that there may be elements in it 

 that are beneficial to mature bees. It 

 contains nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen 

 and oxygen. Seven percent, of it is 

 albumen, and there is quite a per- 

 centage of fat in it. Honey is no 

 doubt the most refined and concentra- 

 ted food for bees. The current idea is 

 that they eat nothing else during the 

 height of the working season, though 

 the Scotch verdict, " not proven," at- 

 taches to that opinion in my mind. 

 But if in the press of hard work 

 they eat only honey, it may be that 

 their case is like that of a horse when 

 put to his greatest exertion of strength. 

 Then for a short time lie may be fed 

 almost wholly on grain, but he must 

 soon return to a partial hay diet, or 

 he will be totally ruined. I cannot 

 prove that bee-bread is a useful and 

 necessary part of the diet of mature 

 bees, but I strongly incline to this 

 view, and see the motto at the head of 

 Mr. H.'s article, " Who shall decide 

 when doctors disagree V " Mr. II. 

 thinks bee-bread the cause of dysen- 

 tery, while other eminent bee-keepers 

 concur with Mr. Von Morlott, who 

 says that "dysentery does not occur 

 among bees in summer, because they 

 have an abundant supply of pollen, 

 and can fly out at all times." If pollen 

 prevents dysentery in summer, does 

 it cause the disease in winter ? 



Well, we have got rid of the bac- 

 teria. Mr. II. has lifted that myste- 

 rious dread from off our minds, and 

 we all feel more comfortable. The 

 " consumption-of-bread theory " is not 

 so terrible an affair as the invisible 

 and impalpable bacteria. 



Notwithstanding Mr. II. has "settled 

 down"on his new belief, "strong and 

 positive," I venture to advise him to 

 go slow. I cannot think it would be 

 good policy to eliminate the pollen 

 from our hives next November. It 

 would probably be well to see that our 



colonies have both honey and white 

 sugar syrup. Possibly, a varied diet 

 is good for bees, as well as for some 

 higher orders of beings. It is ours to 

 see that there are stores. We must 

 leave their consumption to bee-in- 

 stinct and bee-appetite. Mr. II. seems 

 to fear that bee-bread may sometimes 

 be more attractive to bees than honey. 

 I doubt it. Provide them with both, 

 and if they partake of any bee-bread, 

 I think it will be from some felt ne- 

 cessity. "When porridge, beef steak 

 and hot rolls are set before me for 

 breakfast, I feel strongly tempted to 

 give the porridge the go-by, but I 

 know that it is good and necessary for 

 me. Perhaps bees are in this respect 

 as wise as I am ; 1 know that in ninny 

 directions they are far wiser. I have 

 no doubt bees like honey better than 

 any other article of diet ; they always 

 act as if they did. With plenty of 

 honey, if they eat bee-bread, I think 

 it is as I eat porridge, from a sense of 

 duty. 



This matter of wintering sorely 

 taxes our best brains. While, so much 

 perplexity hangs around it, let us heed 

 John Banyan's maxim, " to preach 

 only what I know." For all that he is 

 so strong and positive, Mr. H. does 

 not know that pollen, more strictly, 

 bee-bread, is detrimental to winter- 

 ing. Some careful experimenting will 

 be necessary before we dare launch 

 our apiaries out into winter on this 

 theory. But there are several things 

 we do know. We know that success- 

 ful wintering depends very much on 

 timely fall preparation. We know 

 that there is a temperature and a qui- 

 etude which brings bees into a semi- 

 torpor highly conducive to safe win- 

 tering. We know the use of the divi- 

 sion board in contracting space to the 

 occupying and warming capacity of a 

 colony. There is one point which I 

 am inclined to think is not so well 

 known as it should be, and that is the 

 importance of widening the spaces be- 

 tween the combs in the center of the 

 hive. If the frames are kept their 

 usual distance apart, the bees cannot 

 cluster in sufficient numbers between 

 them to generate the desired amount 

 of heat. Oversight of this has. I be- 

 lieve, caused the death of many colo- 

 nies. Probably we shall find out by- 

 and-by that the secret of successful 

 wintering does not lie in any new the- 

 ory, whether of bacteria, bee-bread or 

 anything else, but in a careful con- 

 formity to all known conditions. We 

 may keep the whole law except in one 

 point, and that in a particular season, 

 may be the hinge on which the ques- 

 tion of success or failure turns. In no 

 pursuit is wide-awake attention to de- 

 tails more necessary than in bee- 

 keeping. 

 Listowel, Ont., Sept. 9, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Three-Band Test for Italian Bees. 



E. A. THOMAS. 



On page 285 of the Weekly Bee 

 Journal, Mr. G. M. Doolittle says: 

 ■' We must conclude that the window 

 test is sufficient, or else that no cer- 

 tain purity exists 1p the long-contin- 

 ued home of the v Italian bee." It 

 seems to me that there is evidence 

 enough to prove that there are black 

 bees in Italy, and if so it may readily 

 be seen that some of the queens im- 

 ported from Italy may be hybrid ; and 

 if hybrid queens have been imported, 

 what is the use of trying to make 

 Italians out of them by applying the 

 window test? It seems to me Mr. 

 Doolittle is getting this matter down 

 a little too fine. Perhaps I take the 

 opposite extreme when I say that bees 

 that will not stand the most severe 

 test, and show the three orange-col- 

 ored bauds distinctly, should be con- 

 demned as impure. They are cer- 

 tainly not up to the highest standard 

 of purity. 



Again Mr. Doolittle says : " As far 

 as my experience goes, I have yet to 

 see the queen whose progeny show the 

 three yellow bands under all circum- 

 stances." As Mr. D. is a man of much 



