158 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



August, 



WINTERING BEES IN SAVARTH- 

 MORE MATING BOXES 



With Little Over a Half Pint of 

 Bees to Each Box. 



Do not disturb them again until spring 

 when they should be examined and 

 supplied with more honey if needed 

 by changing the comb containing the 

 least brood, for one of honey. 



To prevent any possibility of the 



BY E. L. PRATT. queens wandering away from the clus- 



OR YEARS the northern queen ter place a piece of queen ex. '"Tin^ 



breeders have been hunting for a metal over the the flight holej 



plan to winter over extra queens inside. A three-quarter inch fl^^ 



in an economical way in order that 

 they might enter the market and com- 

 pete with the soutTiern breeders in the 

 early-queen trade. It is in spring that 

 the demand for queens is heavy and 

 owing to the northerner's inability to 

 furnish queens before the month of 

 June, prices naturally range quite 

 high and many a queenless colony has 

 suffered because of the inadequate sup- 

 ply of queens in early spring. 



is none too large for wintering 

 in Swarthmore mating boxes. ; 

 Swarthmore, Pa., March ISj; 



J 

 A HIVE OPENING Tf 



T 



BY M. F. REEVE.. r 



ERE is a haudy imple' 



have around at exti'acti' 



or any time when you h'*' 



to open. It is powerful enougi. 



If the honey producer could winter ^j^^ ^^^,^^. ^^ ^ j^j^e or ^j^e •» 



a numbei-^ of e^tra queens to supply ^^ i^^^^q jf you only have levt 



to 

 at 

 le 

 k' 



ough 



The idea was obtained fromi 



lar's jimmy at Philadelphia: 



headquarters. 



The one I had made cost me , 

 'nts. '-' 



I picked up a piece of nan 



riage spring from scrap pile 



the blacksmi 



from it. In shape it was H 



two ends to a sharpe edge so as 1 

 allow for inserting it in narrow crev 

 ces. It worked well with propolize 

 frames. 



Rutledge, Pa., Sept. 13, 1904. 



CHAUTAUQUA SEASON. 



The New York State Summer Inst 



winter losses at just the right time 

 many a good colony might be saved 

 which would mean at the close of the 

 season vso much more honey for mar- 

 ket. 



I have successfully wintered queens (^pj^^"^" 

 in Swarthmore mating boxes with less 

 than a pint of bees to each queen and 



have, I believe, solved the problem of t^e^ blacksmith"forge'"the"tooI 

 early queen traffic for the northern 

 breeder. 



It is surprising how well these lit- 1 



tie clusters of bees withstand the cold I 



and blow of our severe northern lati- rj.^^ ^^j^^,^ j^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^21- 

 tude-the rate of death seems much ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ blacksmith tapered tb 

 less in proportion to the strong stand- 

 ard colony — but being in compact clus- 

 ter directly on full combs of select 

 honey, I suppose, they have every 

 chance. Where the full colony may 

 become separated these little clusters 

 are closely confined in a given space. 

 I have not found it necessary to even 

 cellar them. I of course pi'ovide shelter 

 from the wind and storm, either by 



placing the boxes inside a standard tute at Chautauqua will be open f( 

 hive body with a tight roof (four to four weeks, from July 10 to Augui 

 a hive) and a flight hole on each side; 4th, and again arrangements have bee 

 or, inside a shed or small house with made whereby members of the inst 

 flight holes bored through the board- tute will be entitled to free gate he] 

 i„ ets at Chautauqua and to the privi 



In making up these wintering boxes eges of the classes of the Chautauqu 

 I take up two or three cupfuls of young Institution Summer Schools during ti 

 bees as explained in my boolv "Baby entire six weeks of the session. Tt 

 Nuclei" and just before winter actual- conditions of these privileges are gi" 

 ly arrives l' iiive each box two fat en below. Members of the lastitu^ 

 combs of good honey— do this on a will be exempt from gate fees J 

 warm day to give the bees a chance Chautauqua July 8th-August 19th u 

 to <?ettle as they like upon the combs, elusive. 



{ 



ing. 



