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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAi... 



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Packing: Hives for Out-Door 

 Winteriiisr of Bees. 



experience, but 



— C. C. MiLLEK. 



a 4-inch saw- 

 frames. — G. M. 



Query 902.— What is the most approved 

 method of packing- hives for out-of-door win- 

 tering, in order to prevent dampness, and 

 secure the best conditions otherwise ?— Provo. 



I have not had experience. — R. L. 

 Taylok. 



The best I know of is Root's chaff- 

 hive. — A. B. Mason. 



Having had no experience, I don't 

 know. — Eugene Secok. 



I cannot speak from 

 might try chaff or leaves. 



I use chaff-hives with 

 dust cushion over the 



DOOLITTLE. 



We put straw mats on all our hives, 

 and fill the top with dry leaves. — Da- 

 DANT & Son. 



I have given but little thought on win- 

 tering bees, as we have no cold weather 

 here. — Mrs. Jennie Atchley. 



Absorbents over and directly around 

 the brood-nest. Outside protection 

 against cold, searching winds. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



Keep the entrance wide open always, 

 and fill the surplus chamber with some 

 substance that retains the heat of the 

 hive. — M. Mahin. 



_A double-walled chaff-hive is now de- 

 sirable. Such an one as Mr. Manum, or 

 Mr. M. H. Hunt, or Mr. Geo. E. Hilton 

 uses, is surely best. — J. H. Larrabee. 



In my latitude, hives need no special 

 packing for out-door wintering. All 

 that is necessary, is to keep the tops of 

 the frames covered with a quilt, with a 

 bee-space under it. — J. P. H. Brown. 



We winter all of our bees out-of-doors. 

 We use a quadruple hive, lined inside 

 with half-inch boards, 1}4 inch space 

 between the outside of the hive and the 

 inside lining ; space filed in with chaflf ; 

 sealed covers, and 6 inches of straw 

 over the bees. — E. France. 



I think a number of dead-air spaces 

 are the best. A good chafif-packed hive 

 is all right. A thin outside packing- 

 case is much better than a thick one, to 

 prevent dampness. — H. D. Cutting. 



It would require a long article to give 

 my ideas on this subject. I explained 

 my methods fully in the American Bee 

 Journal of last fall and winter, and I 

 have not changed my belief since then. 

 — James A. Green. 



I have had the best results in winter- 

 ing bees out-of-doors by packing in chaflf- 

 packing on all sides, top and bottom, 

 except two or three inches at the bot- 

 tom of the front, and ventilating only at 

 the bottom. — S. I. Freeborn. 



Make a frame of M-iu. stuff, 4 or 5 in. 

 wide, to fit over the lower hive inside 

 the cap ; tack a piece of coarse sacking, 

 like coffee-sacking, over the bottom of 

 the frame, thus making a box with 

 straw chaff, or dry leaves. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



Theory, practice, and possibly econ- 

 omy, urge that we approximate four, 

 six or eight hives until all are close to- 

 gether, and then enclose and pack all in 

 one mass. I would use wooden covers, 

 and pack well below and above, as well 

 as on the sides. — A. J. Cook. 



I do not know. Packing is generally 

 that much time wasted. You cannot 

 keep bees warm by packing a little 

 straw or chaff around them. Bees do 

 not freeze. They starve because they 

 do not have plenty of food in the right 

 place — above the cluster. — Emerson T. 

 Abbott. 



Provide an outer box, and pack all 

 around, under the bottom, and over the 

 frames with chaff, dry leaves, or saw- 

 dust. Be sure to put on a good roof, to 

 keep out rain and snow. Of course an 

 entrance for the bees should be left, but 

 it need not be very large ; also a hole in 

 the outer box for dampness to escape. — 



C. H. DiBBERN. 



I am situated too far south to know a 

 great deal by experience about "pack- 

 ing " hives to winter bees. In my locality 

 all " packing " at the sides of the hive 

 is a disadvantage. The warm sun, on 

 clear, sunshiny days, is a greater advan- 

 tage to my bees than side protection is 

 on the cold, cloudy days. No doubt it is 

 different further north. — G. W. Dem- 



AREE. 



Pack in chaff hives on the summer 

 stands with at least two inches of chaff 

 in the sides, ends and bottoms. Spread 

 a new cloth of duck, or something of the 

 kind, over the top of the frames, but 



