19'4 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 31, 



too warm to suit me. The temperature runs from 45^ to 60^ 

 when the bees are in the cellar. It is a small room, parti- 

 tioned off from the main cellar, has a board floor, and Is lined 

 on three sides with boards and leaves. 



My bees were taken to the cellar in November, 1897 — 

 the 21,«t, I think. They had a nice flipht the day before, when 

 the temperature was 66- in the shade. It would have been 

 just as well to have left the bees out till about the first of 

 December, or later. I like to put bees in late and take them 

 out early, as nearly as possible to the first of March. In 1897 

 I sot them out the latter part of February. It was an ideal 

 day for bees to fly, being over 60^ in the shade, and no wind. 



I prefer to watch the temperature and other conditions, 

 and take out the bees in the daytime, and when they can fly 

 at once. To make them do this I use smoke In the cellar. I 

 puff some into the entrance of each hive when ready to be 

 taken out. This drives the bees back amonp; the combs and 

 stirs up the entire colony. I can now take the colony out-doors 

 with no danger of stings, and as soon as the bees are on the 

 stand they are ready to begin to By. I want all the bees to fly 

 that wish to at once, and I pay no attention to the stand, or 

 part of the yard the hives were on in the fall. It matters not 

 to me whether the bees get back to their own hives or not. 

 There will be no fighting when first put out, and the bees will 

 be in the apiary somewhere. If some colonies get more than 

 their proper share of the bees this can be remedied six weeks 

 or two months later, by simply exchanging strong colonies 

 with weak ones. I find this the best way possible to equalize 

 an apiary and make all colonies of nearly equal strength. If 

 the exchange be made when the bees are flying freely, and 

 bringing in honey, there will be no fighting nor no loss of 

 queens. Try this plan by and by, as indicated, and satisfy 

 yourself. When honey is as cheap as it is to-day, it won't pay 

 to equalize the strength of an apiary by the slow-poke way of 

 exchanging combs of brood. Truly yours, 



Kane Co., III., March 11. M. M. Baldridge. 



♦ 



The question as to the rght time to take bees in the cellar, 

 and the right time to take them out, is one of great interest 

 to Northerners. Mr. Baldridge wants to get his bees in late 

 and out early. A strong argument for that is the fact that in 

 such case the time of confinement is shorter, and cold and long 

 confinement are the two factors leading to diarrhea. Cold 

 alone will not produce diarrhea. Confinement alone will. If 

 the confinement be long enough. The more severe the cold 

 the shorter the confinement they can boar. So if all other 

 things are equal, the later the bees are taken into the cellar 

 and the earlier they are taken out the better for the bees. The 

 trouble is that other things are not always equal, and you 

 don't know enough ahead to guess how other things will be. 



Quite a number who cellar bees are now advocating tak- 

 ing them out earlier than has been generally considered advis- 

 able. So many are they, and men of such good repute, that 

 I have been led to question whether I may not have been in 

 error in keeping mine in so late as I have been in the habit of 

 doing, so this year, as an experiment, I have taken out 20 

 colonies before the usual time. N. D. West, of New York, 

 some of the Canadians, Mr. Baldridge, and others in his 

 vicinity, are among the advocates of taking out early. 



First, as to taking in. Mr. Baldridge lives less than 30 

 miles from me in a bee-line, and yet I suspect that the lay of 

 the land is such that he has a somewhat milder place than I 

 to winter bees. He says Nov. 20 gave him a fine flight-day at 

 (i6^. Only 2^ less with me, and my bees also had a fine flight, 

 and we both hustled them into the cellar immediately after. 

 He says it would have been just as well to have left the bees 

 out till about the first of December, or later. Then why didn't 

 he leave them out later '? I know that it would have been not 

 only "just as well," but a good deal_ better, to have left them 

 out till Dec. 9, for on that day, at t)2^, they would have had 

 a good flight. Why didn't I leave them out till that time? 

 Just because we didn't know beforehand that they could have 

 a flight as late as Dec. 9. Indeed, I drew a long breath of re- 

 lief when they had the flight Nov. 20, for I was just a bit 

 afraid they wouldn't have a flight again before spring. I 

 have known such a thing as there being no flight after the 

 first of November. 



I am In entire accord with Mr. B. in wanting to put bees 

 in late, if by that he means as late as possible and yet let 

 them have a flight immediately before cellaring — that is, 

 within a day or two. But it's always a matter of watching 

 and guessing. When it begins to seem like settled weather I 

 am always uneasy for fear It may stay cold, and I have a 

 strong feeling that when cold jiveather sets in every day they 

 are left out is as bad as five day's confinement in the cellar. 



Suppose, then, they have a good flight Nov. 15. I know 

 that they can stand the confinement from that time, and I don't 



know that they will have a chance for another flight. If Dec. 

 10 Is a warm day then I've given them 25 days unnecessary 

 confinement In the cellar, and they would be better without 

 it. But suppose I wait for a flight Dec. 10, and It doesn't 

 come — doesn't come till spring. Instead of 25 days in the 

 cellar they've had 25 days out in the cold, which has filled 

 their intestines very mucti more, and done them vastly more 

 harm than if they had been in the cellar. So I'd rather do' 

 the smaller harm than take the risk of killing outright a num- 

 ber of colonies. 



Now, as to taking out. I think I know just when Is the 

 best time to take bees into the cellar, if I could tell before- 

 hand all about the weather, but I'm not so sure about the 

 taking out, even if I had a full chart of the weather six 

 months ahead. For years I've watcht a certain soft-maple 

 tree for its first blooming. Not time to take out till it blooms, 

 and try to judge then what the weather Is likely to be. Some- 

 times it blooms, or at least partly blooms, and then comes a 

 long, cold spell. Nothing so very definite, you see. Watch 

 for the maple to bloom, then guess whether the maple knows 

 what it's about. Something like weighing pork by putting it 

 on one end of a plank across the fence, balancing with stones 

 at the other end, then guessing at the welgnt of the stones. 



March 8 Mr. Baldridge took out his bees, there being too 

 much snow the day before. If I had put mine out March 8, it 

 would have been In a snowbank. But I got 20 colonies out 

 March 14. The question is whether those 20 will be better 

 off or worse than the others which remain in the cellar till 

 later. Will the cold weather after they've had their flight do 

 them as much harm as the longer confinement in the cellar 

 will do to the balance? I don't know. Possibly I can tell 

 something about it after all are out, and possible not. I think 

 I've never had any spring dwindling when bees were taken 

 out late. I have had It when they were taken out early. 



Last year Mr. Baldridge took out the last of ITebruary ; I 

 not till a month later. Mine did well, could hardly have done 

 much better if taken out earlier, but then I can't be sure 

 about it. In 1873 mine were taken out Feb. 22. Two sur- 

 vived out of 50 ! Do you wonder I'm shy of taking out early ? 

 But they were not strong. Sometimes I wonder whether 

 there may not be quite a difference in locations, even tho not 

 many miles apart. Possibly the difference in the shelter of an 

 apiary may make a difference. It is also possible that very 

 strong colonies are better out early, and weak ones not so 

 early. But so long as mine do well when taken out late, I'll 

 go rather slow about pushing them out In the cold till I've 

 tried It first on a few. C. C. Miller. 



McHenry Co., 111., March 15. 



Suggestions on Reuderlug Beeswax. 



BY C. r. DADANT. 



It occurs to me that I might give some Indications to 

 many of our bee-keepers that would enable them to render 

 their beeswax without that greenish, grayish, grainy residue 

 so often found at the bottom of the cakes. I have heard no 

 end of assertions made about this residue. One of our bright- 

 est bee-keepers assured me that it was propolis : another said 

 it was grains of pollen, and that there was a great deal of pol- 

 len in all the beeswax that is produced. Gentlemen, it Is all a 

 mistake. It is beeswax badly rendered, mixt with impurities, 

 of course, but spoilt by water. Smell it, taste, burn it, and 

 you will make sure of this. 



In the January Review, one of the contributors, speaking 

 of beeswax spoilt by water, suggests that this is caused by 

 some chemical change. It is not a chemical change, but 

 simply a mechanical mixture. Take the white of an egg, 

 which is a viscous, ropy, clammy, adhesive substance; beat it 

 awhile with a fork, and its condition will change entirely. 

 You will then have a light, white foam without adhesiveness 

 or viscosity, yet there has not been any chemical change. 

 The whtte of the egg is simply mixt with air and Its capillary 

 attraction is broken or lessened. Beeswax overheated and 

 beaten by steam is in the same fix. Its tenacity is broken, its 

 color is changed, and it may be made to contain as much water 

 mixt with It, and yet not actually apparent, that it will lose 

 25 per cent, of its weight when returned to its proper condi- 

 tion. I once had a half barrel of cappings which had beec^ 

 neglected till midnight, and I tried to render these cappings by 

 simply turning a steam-pipe into the barrel among the cap- 

 pings. Not an ounce of this made good beeswax till I had re- 

 melted it with the sun extractor. Therefore, I strongly 

 urge those who render beeswax to heat their wax slowly with 

 water, of course, but boll it a little. You can boll beeswax 

 till there is nothing left but this fine, grainy residue. 



