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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Replies by Prominent Apiarists. 



[It is useless to ask for answers to 

 Queries in this Department in less time 

 than one month. They have to wait their 

 turn, be put in type, and sent in about a 

 dozen at a time to each of those who answer 

 them ; get them returned, and then find 

 space lor them in the Jouknai.. If you are 

 in a "hurry" for replies, do not asli for 

 them to be inserted here.— Ed.1 



Preiiaring Bees for Winter. 



Query, No. 327.— My bees are all in the 

 style of hives mentioned on page 361. I have 

 been thinking of putting them away for the 

 winter, with first a thickness of muslin, and 

 then two or three thicknesses of quilts over 

 the frames, with enough weights around 

 outside to keep them in place without 

 boards. Will it be the best way ? I winter 

 my bees in a cellar. — J., New Tork, 



With me, bees winter well in that 

 way if the cellar is all right.— G. M. 



DOOLITTLB. 



I have tried the equivalent of this 

 for years with almost absolute suc- 

 cess. Of course the cellar must be 

 right.— A. J. Cook. 



In a cellar we put notliing over the 

 frames except the enameled cloth 

 slightly opened. Quilts cannot in- 

 jure, however. — Dadant & Son. 



If the cellar is all right, I think 

 they might winter well. — C.C.Miller. 



I doubt if such is the best way, but 

 if your cellar keeps at a temperature 

 of about .50'^, 1 think your plan will 

 give good results.— James Heddon. 



That depends upon the tempera- 

 ture. If it ranges from 45° to 50^, 

 there should be free upward ventila- 

 tion ; but if the range is below 4.5-^, I 

 E refer a thin, unpainted board with 

 ee-space allowing no free upward 

 ventilation. In the latter case I 

 should give free bottom ventilation. 

 — G. L. Tinker. 



Winterini Bees in a Straw -Stack. 



<taery. No. 328.-1. How would it do to 

 winter bees in a straw-stack ? 2. How large 

 a stack would it take to keep the tempera- 

 ture above freezing ? :i. Would there need 

 be any provision for ventilation ? — H. A. C, 

 Illinois. 



I consider it impracticable to win- 

 ter bees in a straw-stack, and I would 

 not advise any one to attempt it. — G. 

 L. Tinker. 



I cannot say how such an experi- 

 ment would terminate in the dry cold 

 air of the Xorth, but dampness would 

 accumulate in the hives under such 

 conditions, in this climate, and ruin 

 the coiiibs, and of course the bees 

 with them.— G. W. Demaree. 



1 and 2. That depends much upon 

 your latitude and the severity of the 

 winter. 3. Bees must have air in 

 some way.— C. C. Miller. 



1. Try it and report. 2. Frost would 

 eventually reach the centre of the 

 largest stack unless kept warm by the 

 ground or bees. 3. I should say not. 



— G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



1. If it does not freeze in the centre 

 of the stack it might answer. 3. I do 

 not think any special ventilation 

 would be needed.— W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son. 



The same objection occurs that 

 arises with burying bees. You could 

 not regulate temperature, nor know 

 whether it was right or wrong. I 

 should not dare to submit bees to 

 such an unknown and unknowable 

 condition. — A. J. Cook. 



A friend, a few years ago, put a 

 small stack of corn stalks around 

 each hive, and thought he had just 

 "done it;" and he had, for he lost 

 every colony so treated. When taken 

 out. they were a wet, moldy mass.— 

 H. D. Cutting. 



I think that bees would winter well 

 protected by a straw-stack, if care 

 was taken to prevent excess of mois- 

 ture within the hives. My impres- 

 sion is, as I have frequently stated, 

 that cold of itself does not kill our 

 bees ; but that they are destroyed by 

 excess of moisture which freezes and 

 prevents the cluster from getting at 

 its stores, or else causes the stores to 

 ferment and thus become dangerous. 

 —J. E. Pond, Jr. 



I believe that bees would gain much 

 protection from being in the centre 

 of a large straw-stack. Turn a board 

 over the front of the hives, and that 

 will insure all the ventilation I should 

 care for. Guard against mice and 

 rats. Have the hives rest on a foot 

 of straw. The stack should be well 

 " stacked," so as to turn water. — 

 James Heddon. 



Boneset Honey for Winter Stores. 



Query, No. 329.— Will bees winter well 

 on honey that is gathered from boneset, 

 when the same is nicely capped over ? Or 

 would it be better to extract the boneset 

 honey out of the combs and feed the bees 

 granulated sugar syrup, or white clover 

 extracted honey to winter on ?— G. H. D. 



I should try the boneset honey if I 

 had it.— G. M. Doolittle. 



Yes, winter them on boneset honey 

 if capped.— Dadant & Son. 



If well cured, boneset honey is as 

 good as any for wintering.— J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



I do not know but I should say at a 

 guess that boneset honey would be all 

 right.— C. C. Miller. 



I have had no experience with bone- 

 set honey, but from what I have read, 

 I should prefer sugar syrup or good 

 honey.— H. D. Cutting. 



I have no fear of such honey. Two 

 years ago I used such honey exclu- 

 sively in several colonies, and all win- 



tered perfectly. Honey from autumn 

 flowers 1 fully believe just as good as 

 that from early bloom. — A. J. Cook. 



I know no reason why boneset 

 honey is not as good for winter stores 

 as is any fall honey. I have wintered 

 bees successfully upon boneset honey. 

 — W. Z. Hutchinson. 



I should consider well ripened 

 boneset honey, well capped in the 

 combs, superior to the syrup of gran- 

 ulated sugar for wintering bees.— G. 

 L. Tinker. 



I prefer properly prepared cane- 

 sugar syrup to any honey, but I have 

 had as good results from boneset, 

 and honey from other fall flowers, as 

 from clover or basswood honey. I 

 should depend upon the boneset 

 honey as soon as any.— James Hed- 

 don. 



If the honey is well ripened, and 

 the hive kept well ventilated and free 

 from excessive moisture, there is no 

 reason why the bees should not win- 

 ter well on boneset honey. I prefer 

 natural stores ; others prefer sugar 

 syrup in any case, no matter from 

 what source the honey comes. Sugar 

 syrup has proved safe for winter 

 stores ; so has honey of all kinds. The 

 advocates of the various theories will 

 each stick to his own so long as his 

 bees winter well.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



I see no reason why they would not. 

 Beyond question they would winter 

 all right on such honey here. Do not 

 feed sugar syrup to bees if you can 

 help it, for it is almost impossible to 

 feed syrup even for stimulating pur- 

 poses without getting some of it into 

 the honey.— G. W. Demaree. 



Laying-Rooni for tlie Qneen. 



Query, No. 330.— I work all my bees in 

 the Simplicity hive for extracted honey. 

 Will the average queen lay as many eggs if 

 she is conliued to the lower story with per- 

 forated zinc, as she would if she had the run 

 of the whole hive of 20 or 30 frames ?— H. L. 



No.— G. L. Tinker. 



No.— H. D. Cutting. 



No, according to my experience. — 

 G. M. Doolittle. 



Not if she is a very proliflc queen. — 

 Dadant & Son. 



I think she will lay just as many. — 

 J. P. H. Brown. 



If confined to the lower story, the 

 bees might take a whim to crowd her, 

 but I think generally not. At any 

 rate I would risk it. — C. C. Miller. 



Just as much. It is much better to 

 keep her from the frames used for 

 extracting.— A. J. Cook. 



I think not, but I can get the great- 

 est dividend upon the capital and 

 labor employed by using the exclud- 

 ing honey-board,' and keeping the 

 queen always in the brood-chamber. — 

 James Heddon. 



Perhaps not quite, but it will be 

 much more convenient and profitable 

 to have the brood in one part of the 

 hive, and the honey in another; and 

 I see no advantage in securing a large 



