THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



489 



from rats and mice, and that the 

 temperature is kept as near as may be 

 at 450. If it goes up to 50° occasion- 

 ally, no harm seems to result. If 

 now and then it falls to nearly the 

 freezing point, no harm ensues. But 

 keep it as near as vou conveniently 

 can at 4.5°. 



Bees wintered on the summer stands 

 have probably been protected in some 

 manner. See to it that the protection 

 is all right. Have all entrances small. 

 It is a good plan to put at each en- 

 trance somewhat early in the fall, a 

 screen that will keep out mice but 

 will let bees pass. Then when the 

 mice begin to look about for a warm 

 place in which to pass the winter they 

 find their entrance to the hives barred. 

 Mice have a great liking for making 

 their nests on top of the frames, im- 

 mediately over the cluster of bees. 

 The heat from the bees keeps the 

 nests warm, and the mice are very 

 fond of eating the honey and pollen, 

 and the bees also. If the entrances 

 front east or south they will get less 

 wind than if they front north or west. 

 But a piece of board should always be 

 stood before the entrance, leaning 

 against the hive, so as to keep the 

 wind from blowing directly into the 

 entrance. Keep all hogs and cattle 

 away from the yard where the bees 

 are kept- 



When snow comes it is wise to bank 

 it closely against the hives, all around 

 except over the entrance. Some re- 

 liable men advise putting it over the 

 entrance too, and they relate how 

 they have wintered bees successfully 

 under a snow bank which completely 

 covered the hives. Perhaps snow over 

 the entrance is sufficiently pervious 

 by the air, so that bees will not 

 smother ; but there is always danger 

 that the entrance to the hive will be- 

 come filled with ice, by the freezing 

 of water that runs out from the con- 

 densation of moisture in the hives. 

 If the entrance does thus become 

 clogged with ice the bees will smother 

 and die. Hence I do not advise 

 banking snow against the entrance. 

 If snow drifts all over the hives, I 

 should advise that it be shoveled 

 away from the entrances frequently, 

 and that the bee-keeper assure him- 

 self that the entrances are not clog- 

 ged with ice. Sometimes dead bees 

 collect against the entrance inside the 

 hive, and so prevents sufficient venti- 

 lation. This can be prevented by 

 thrusting a small stick in and moving 

 the dead bees to one side. 



WINTER MEETINGS OF BEE-KEEPERS. 



During the busy season of the year 

 it is difficult for bee-keepers to get 

 out to meetings. Much work keeps 

 them at home. But in the winter 

 they have more leisure. It would be 

 well to have a winter meeting of our 

 State Association in Des Moines, for 

 listening to essays and addresses, and 

 for practical discussions as to methods 

 of work, and as to markets, and other 

 questions of general importance to 

 bee-keepers. In some States such 

 meetings have been held for a number 

 of years, and have proven of much 

 interest and value. Our Iowa bee- 

 keepers have thought much about 



having such a meeting, but thus far it 

 has not seemed possible to arrange 

 one. But as our bee-keeping interests 

 develop we shall doubtless be able to 

 get the co-operation of a sufficiently 

 large number of the most intelligent 

 bee-keepers to make a profitable 

 gathering. 



Some of us find that railway fare 

 and hotel bills in going to Des Moines 

 for a meeting are a serious obstacle 

 to our going. But this objection does 

 not apply to meeting in each county. 

 If the bee-keepers of each county 

 would come together for a meeting, 

 at least once during the winter, and 

 discuss all questions of special inter- 

 est to them, they would find many 

 good results coming from the meet- 

 ing. If an address from a really 

 able man, or one or more essays from 

 practical bee-keepers, can be prepared 

 for such a meeting, it is well. But do 

 not put men on for addresses or papers 

 unless they know something about 

 bee-keeping. Better have no address 

 and no essays than to have the time 

 wasted in listening to men who know 

 nothing. 



Some of the most profitable meet- 

 ings of bee-keepers I have ever at- 

 tended had no addresses and no 

 essays ; but they had a question-box. 

 Each member wrote questions on slips 

 of paper, put them into the box, the 

 chairman drew them out and called 

 on a competent man to answer. This 

 often led to remarks from others, and 

 we got thus the best practical knowl- 

 edge of all on every question that was 

 asked. 



Iowa City,© Iowa. 



For t&e AmerlcaD Bee JonnuiL 



Resilts of tlie Season So Far, 



I. J. GLASS. 



Being incapacitated for manual 

 labor by a fall from a load of hay, and 

 judging the honey-flow about at an 

 end, I thought it safe to report for the 

 season. I have buckwheat sown, and 

 we generally have an abundance of 

 fall flowers, the principal ones being 

 goldenrod and carpenter's-square, so 

 I anticipate a fall-flow of honey, but 

 not sufficient to expect any surplus, 

 as I always confine my colonies to the 

 brood-chamber, and let them store the 

 fall-flow for their own use. I have 12 

 colonies that averaged a little over 

 100 pounds each ; some of them have 

 stored 150 pounds, and on examining 

 them yesterday I find very little honey 

 in the brood-chamber, it being used 

 to its fullest capacity for brood - 

 rearing. 



Some apiarists claim that it is safer 

 to winter bees on white clover honey. 

 I do not doubt that in the least, yet 

 with me I find it difficult to grade the 

 bees' food to comply with all the 

 whims of the theorists, so I look to 

 having a good, warm receptacle for 

 them, either wet or dry, and not too 

 much ventilation. As to their food, 

 I depend upon the fall flow for the 

 main portion of their winter stores, 

 and I have never lost a colony yet in 

 wintering. Last spring I took from 



my cellar 61 colonies, one of which 

 was very nearly starved, the queen 

 and only about half of the bees being 

 still alive. After they were through 

 swarming out and deserting their 

 hives (a freak to which my bees are 

 addicted in early spring) I had 55 

 left ; I now have 94 colonies, and they 

 have produced 2,000 pounds of ex- 

 tracted and 1,500 pounds of comb 

 honey. I have sold 400 pounds of 

 comb honey for an average of 11 cents 

 per pound, and 360 pounds of ex- 

 tracted honey for 8 cents per pound. 

 I cannot get the big prices that I read 

 about. 



I could have done better with my 

 bees, but being the assessor of our 

 township, which includes the county- 

 seat of 3,000 inhabitants, you may 

 guess it was rather a hard job to be 

 accomplished in two months, al- 

 though I had the advantage of con- 

 siderable experience, as this is my 

 fourth term. 



The season here has been remark- 

 ably good, but at present the long 

 absence of rain has begun to show on 

 vegetation, and unless it rains soon I 

 fear our bees will be short of winter 

 stores. 



Sharpsburg,© Ills. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Two Queens in One Hive. 



E. C. KEPNER. 



I have a colony of bees that cast a 

 swarm about June 10, and at that 

 time it had plenty of brood and sev- 

 eral capped queen-cells. I put the 

 section-boxes back again, and did not 

 look at them until July 19, and, on 

 opening the hive, to my surprise I 

 found neither brood nor larvfe ; and 

 supposing their queen had been lost 

 in mating, I did not look for eggs, but 

 went at once to a good, strong colony 

 and got an old queen and introduced 

 her to the supposed queenless colony. 

 After leaving her caged for 48 hours 

 I turned her loose, and they accepted 

 her all right. 



I thought nothing more of her until 

 I happened to pass by the hive to-day, 

 so I thought I would examine them 

 and see how she was doing. I opened 

 the hive and lifted a frame from the 

 centre, and I at once noticed larvaj 

 which was too old to come from her 

 laying, for she had only been free for 

 three days ; I turned the frame around 

 and I saw a young queen. I then 

 supposed my old queen was dead, but 

 she was not, for on taking out the 

 next frame I saw her on it busily 

 depositing eggs. This proves that 

 there had been two laying-queens, 

 and also that they accepted an old 

 laying-queen while at the same time 

 they had a young laying-queen in the 

 hive. 



I have frequently seen two laying 

 queens in the same hive, but it was 

 the old queen and her daughter, but 

 never before have I known a colony 

 to accept a laying-queen when it had 

 one. • 



Where did this young queen come 

 from y It has been about 44 days 

 since the old queen came out with 



