260 



I'HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



mm off Snmliis Honey. 



Qnery, No. 242.— The greatest trouble I 

 have is in talking off the surplus honey from 

 the hives. Which is the best way of doing 

 It and save the most bees ?— N. Y. 



I do not understand what you are 

 " driving at." All the bees should be 

 saved by any method.— G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



Smoke the bees down in the case of 

 honey. Then remove it quickly to 

 the honey-house, having a bee-escape 

 window.— G. L. Tinker. 



Place the cases in a box or room, 

 and the bees will soon leave the 

 combs and fly back to the hive. Of 

 course in a room there must be holes 

 at the tops of the windows, or else 

 windows that open out easily.— A. J. 

 Cook. 



The best way to do it is to have 

 light, shallow surplus-cases, and 

 shake out nearly all the bees, and put 

 the cases where the remainder will 

 leave, yet where robbers will not 

 enter. I use a screen-house. I never 

 heard of destroying bees to get them 

 out of the supers.— James Heddon. 



finteriiiE Bees in a House-Apiary, 



Query, No. 243.— A friend of mine has a 

 house apiary. The bees enter by large 

 chutes which are flush with the weather- 

 boarding on the outside : on the inside end 

 of these chutes are placed the hives, which 

 are tall box-hives. The house is double- 

 walled, with two large ventilators, in the 

 bottom 2 feet square, and one overhead of 

 the same size. Also, on the back end of the 

 chutes, and underneath the hives, arc holes 

 covered with wire-cloth. His bees wintered 

 very poorly with plenty of good stores. 

 What was the cause ? There is a strong 

 current of air passing continually in at the 

 entrance and out of the holes at the back 

 end of the chute. Was this a detriment ? 

 Each hive is surmounted by a cap packed 

 with hay, and there was not the least bit of 

 moisture collected in the hay, while the 

 glass and combs were often frosted over. 

 Why was this ? Would it be a good plan to 

 close the outside entrances altogether, open 

 the air holes in the hives on the inside of 

 the house, and keep the room warm, say 4.)°, 

 all winter ? If not, how should they be pre- 

 pared to winter well ?— D. B. U., Ohio. 



I do not know. I think that house- 

 apiaries have failed in most cases to 

 give satisfaction.— A. J. Cook. 



I should say that the room was too 

 cold, and the iBees had too much ven- 

 tilation also. Forty-flve degrees with 

 little ventilation, seems to do the best 

 with me.— G. M. Doolittle. 



How do you know that the stores 

 were goodV Did other bees in the 

 immediate vicinity winter well, when 

 prepared in a different manner 'f I 

 cannot say that the current of air was 

 a detriment; it might have lowered 

 the temperature, otherwise I cannot 

 see what harm it could do. The heat 

 arising from the bees probably kept 



the hay above them dry. I would do 

 as suggested.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



I believe that winter losses are 

 caused by low temperature and bad 

 food. I should close up the " chutes " 

 and give the bees ventilation from the 

 inside, and keep the temperature of 

 the room up to 40° to 50°.- James 

 Heddon. 



All currents of air are disturbing to 

 bees in winter continement, especially 

 when entering that condition I am 

 pleased to call hibernation. The fact 

 that there was frost in the hives is 

 evidence enough why the bees did not 

 winter well. Raise the temperature 

 in the bee-house by all means, closing 

 the outside entrances. If the room be 

 heated the ventilation will take care 

 of itself, and the air be made pure and 

 dry— two of the conditions of success. 

 — G. L. Tinker. 



If we were to advise, we would say 

 take the bees out of that house alto- 

 gether, or open the side so the bees 

 can have sunshine when there is any ; 

 or else keep them at 45° during cold 

 weather. This last way would be the 

 hardest to put into practice. — Dadant 



&S0N. 



Cellar Winterins of Bees, 



Query, No. 244.— Would a cellar under a 

 residence be a good place to winter bees 't 

 It never freezes vegetables.— T. J. 



Most likely it would.— C.C.Miller. 



" Yes," if the bees will not be 

 affected by the jar from the closing of 

 doors.— H. D. Cutting. 



It might be a very good place, and 

 it might be a very poor place. I have 

 used two such cellars this winter. 

 The place I thought the most perfect 

 gave the poorest result. A trial of 

 such repositories is the best test -of 

 their fitness for such a purpose. — H. 

 R. Boardman. 



Yes, if the temperature can be reg- 

 ulated so as to be uniform the whole 

 season, and be kept about 4-5", Fahr., 

 above zero. Unless a uniform tem- 

 perature can be maintained, it will be 

 for.nd far safer to winter bees on the 

 summer stands. This question of 

 wintering, however, is the bugbear of 

 the business, and as yet it is not well 

 understood, even by the most expert. 

 —J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Yes.— James Heddon. 



Bees Packeil on tlie Summer Stands, 



Query, No. 245.— My bees are in hives 

 packed on the summer stands with the 

 brood-chambers contracted, hay chaff all 

 around and above, and burlap over the 

 frames, with no top ventilation. Above the 

 burlap is a half-story filled with hay chaff, 

 which is very damp, and in some cases 

 moldy, but the burlap is dr.v. Would you 

 liave recommended taking off the burlap by 

 March 1, and putting in its place enameled 

 cloth, also replacing a dry chaff cushion ? 

 Wouldit have forwarded breeding and less- 

 ened the chances of spring dwindling ?— 

 Rhode Island. 



This dampness is, probably caused 

 by lack of ventilation above the hay 

 chaff. I should remove the damp 



packing and replace with dry, I am 

 not certain that it would forward 

 breeding or lessen the chances of 

 spring dwindling. — W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son. 



No, I should have left them without 

 any disturbance. — A. J. Cook. 



A better plan would be to remove 

 the damp, moldy chaff and substitute 

 dry chaff. I prefer burlap to enam- 

 eled cloth until settled warm weather 

 comes.— G. M. Doolittle. 



I think that I should have put in 

 dry chaff, leaving on the burlap. — C. 

 C. Miller. 



We do not know that it would have 

 made anv material difference with 

 the breeding, but we would always 

 recommend the removing of the pack- 

 ing in March, and using a tight-fitting 

 cloth and a straw-mat over it. — Da- 

 dant & Son. 



On warm, pleasant days the covers 

 of hives should be taken off, and the 

 cushions exposed to the sun. In no 

 case would I recommend enameled 

 cloth over the brood-frames either in 

 winter or spring. It rapidly conducts 

 away the heat of the bees and pre- 

 vents all moisture from arising. When 

 laid upon frames closed up tight with 

 wooden strips in winter, the frames 

 will be found soaking wet. On other 

 hives prepared the same, but without 

 the cloth, all would be dry, showing 

 that 14-mch of solid wood is no hind- 

 rance to the escape of moisture, and 

 it is, in my opinion, the best winter 

 covering next to the bees that can be 

 used, as it confines the heat and per- 

 mits the free upward escape of mois- 

 ture.— G. L. Tinker. 



My rule is to clean out hives and 

 put on enameled cloth as early as it is 

 safe to examine the colonies. Two 

 points are thus gained, viz : 1. The 

 heat generated is all retained in the 

 hive. 2. This I consider of impor- 

 tance, the moisture is retained also, 

 and the bees enabled to get water 

 therefrom for the brood, when, per- 

 haps, they could not get it outside. — 

 J. E. Pond, Jr. 



If the burlap is all right leave it for 

 the present. Throw out the damp 

 hay and replace with dry, or open the 

 tops of the hives and let in the sun, 

 and it will be all right. It is a benefit 

 to open up the tops of hives to let in 

 the sun and warm it up and dry it 

 out.— H. D. Cutting. 



If the bees were dry and healthy I 

 would have left theiii just as they 

 were. But if there was evidence of 

 dampness inside of the apartment 

 occupied by the bees, I would have 

 removed the damp chaff and let the 

 sunsliine dry out the upper story of 

 tlie hive, and repacked it with dry 

 material. I make it a rule to remove 

 the covers from all hives that show 

 dampness in the early spring, and let 

 in the sunshine for a few hours. It 

 puts new life into the bees.— G. W. 

 Demaree. 



I should have made the change you 

 mention, but I should have put on a 

 good board, and discarded the emam- 

 eled cloth once and forever.— Jasles 

 Heddon. 



