758 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



December 1, 



honey as is in the hives between February and December has 

 no idea of what the main Cuban crop is like. 



Dade Co., Fla. 



No. 4.— The Care of Bees for Wintering. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



Some people are of the opinion that if we have a cold, 

 steady winter, in which the bees remain confined to their 

 hives for several months, there is less danger of winter losses ; 

 because less of the bees wander away and get lost. There 

 would be a point in this, if it were not for the danger of the 

 overloading of their bowels with fecal matter which they can- 

 not discharge in the hive, as I mentioned in the previous arti- 

 cle, without greatly endangering the life, or health, of the 

 colony. In a very regular atmosphere, where the tempera- 

 ture is such that they are kept quiet naturally, and neither 

 breed nor have the desire of moving about, as in a properly- 

 regulated cellar, there is little danger of their bowels becom- 

 ing distended ; for they consume a minimum, and if the food 

 be of the proper quality they may remain from three to six 

 months without much danger. But we are now considering 

 an out-door wintering, and, in a climate like that of Illinois, 

 It is urgent that the bees be able to take a cleansing flight sev- 

 eral times during the bad season. 



For this reason we have to keep them in the best possible 

 location as regards warmth, and the hives would best be fac- 

 ing south if possible. We have had much to do with apiaries 

 exposed to all four of the cardinal points, and found great ob- 

 jections to either north, northeast, or northwest exposures. 

 We once placed an apiary on the farm of a friend who had a 

 few hives of his own, most of which faced north, and who had 

 been most unlucky in wintering. He had it in his head that 

 the bees should not be allowed to fly during the winter, and 

 that was the reason of his placing the bees on the north side 

 of his tool-shed. It took but one more winter to convince him 

 of his error. We had a hundred hives located on his farm, 

 and altho the winter was very unpleasant, our loss was small, 

 while over half of his bees died. 



The explanation is very easy. When a warm day came, 

 the hives which were exposed to the rays of the sun began to 

 warm up shortly after sunrise, and in the course of a couple 

 hours the bees were ready for a flight, which they could enjoy 

 while the sun was high. But his hives not being placed so as 

 to have the benefit of the sun's rays, could not get sufficiently 

 warm to stir up the bees, until the greater part of the day had 

 been spent, and those bees which did take a flight were in 

 many cases unable to return, owing to the coolness of the 

 afternoon. Those bees, which enjoyed a good flight, were 

 ready for another siege of cold and storm, and could cheer- 

 fully pass through some very rough weather; while the colo- 

 nies which had no flight soon became restless, and lost their 

 bees steadily till they were all gone. 



Even when the snow Is on the ground, and It looks as If 

 it would be a pity for so many bees to fly and drop on this 

 white sheet, we And that it Is the colonies which take the most 

 lively flight that winter best, and we have paid particular 

 attention to this fact. 



I would not, however, wish to be understood as desirous 

 of having the bees to fly In spite of adverse conditions ; and 

 when snow Is on the ground and the colonies comfortably 

 burled In a deep snowplle, they are probably safer than when 

 exposed to the weather ; but if the snow is thawing, and the 

 bees likely to be restless from the warmth of the air, I would 

 allow them a flight every time. 



Be the weather ever so cold for two, three, four weeks at 

 a time, if your bees can have a good flight once a month, and 

 if their honey is of fair quality, you need fear nothing of the 

 results. 



A few winter flights also have the advantage of Inducing 

 the bees to breed early, and altho this is sometimes dangerous. 

 yet In most cases the early breeding is a favorable sign, for 

 the possible spring losses are partly made up by the young, 

 hatching bees. 



Of all the exposures, I would prefer the south or south- 

 west. Next would be southeast, and then east. But circum- 

 stances alter these rules, and the natural shape of the coun- 

 try must be considered. Where a good fence breaks the force 

 of the winds, something is to be gained. The sole objection 

 we have to the east exposure comes from the steady, drizzling, 

 cold rains of early spring, which seem to do more damage 

 than the dry and brisk west winds. Hancock Co., 111. 



tar See " Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page 765. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. c. O. attiLLEit. auLBiEisiao, rtL, 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct. 1 



Bottoiii-Board§ in Winter — HolTman Frames- 

 Plain Sections and Fence Separators. 



1. How do you manage about taking the hives off tha 

 bottom-boards when you put the bees Into the cellar, without 

 disturbing them ? Of course you must take them off after 

 you get them down cellar. 



2. Have you ever had any experience with the HoffmaD 

 frame ? and do you think a frame with staples for spacing is 

 better? 



3. Did you try no-bee-way sections and fence separators 

 in your T supers the past season ? If so, did they work well 

 in them ? 



4. Will bees winter all right in a good cellar in tight- 

 bottom hives ? or will the honey-board have to be raised up a 

 little? Wisconsin. 



Answers. — 1. I don't take them off. The bottom-board 

 is fastened to the hive by tobacco staples, and in the winter 

 there is a good space under the hive, the bottom-board being a 

 shallow box two inches deep, open only at the front end. 



2. Yes, I have had Hoffman frames in use for a few years, 

 and have more of them than I wish I had. In a place where 

 propolis does not exist they may be all right, but in such a 

 gluey location as I have they are very troublesome. I think 

 staples as spacers are better, altho having had little experi- 

 ence with staples except as end-spacers. I have a great many 

 frames with common nails as spacers, and like them. A com- 

 mon wire nail l^g Inches long, with a head '4 -Inch across is 

 driven in with a gauge that leaves it out just '4-inch. The 

 ideal nail would be one with a head Jti-inch thick, so that 

 without any gauge it would drive In just the right distance. 

 Possibly, however, >4-inch is not just the right space, for with 

 that I get brace-combs between the top-bars. 



3. I put them on, but the honey crop being a failure I 

 can't tell anything about them. 



i. They need too much attention to winter well with the 

 usual summer entrance ; get clogged up with dead bees, and 

 they're better anyway with more chance for air. If the shal- 

 low summer entrance is left, raising the cover a little (why \a 

 the world have you a honey-board on in winter ?) will help to 

 make the ventilation all right. 



One-Year-OId or Tested vs. Young Queens. 



1. Is It true that every queen-breeder knows that tested 

 queen? — or, to be more exact — queens that are as much as a. 

 year old, do not bear shipment as well as young queens that 

 have just commenced to lay ? 



2. Is It true that queens that are one year old are quite 

 apt to turn out poorly ? 



My private opinion is, if the above statements are true, 

 the majority of queen-breeders on this continent are guilty of 

 a lot of deceptiou and falsehood. B. C. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know. 



2. I don't believe It is true. I suppose, of course, you are 

 speaking of queens that are shipt. 



I don't know all about shipping queens, but I see no 

 reason why a queen a year old may not stand a journey as 

 well as a younger queen, providing both queens are in the' 

 same condition. If a queen a year old Is taken out of a strong 

 colony while she Is busy laying 2,000 eggs a day or more, I 

 don't think she will stand the journey so well as a young 

 queen that has not yet reacht 300 eggs in a day. On the 

 other hand, I believe a queen a year old that Is taken from a 

 nucleus where she is laying 300 eggs a day will stand the 

 journey better than a queen three weeks old that Is laying 

 3,000 eggs a day. 



I should be sorry to believe that a majority of queen- 

 breeders are guilty of deception and falsehood. I feel very 

 sure that a lot that I know are honest and honorable men. I 

 confess, however, that I didn't know that a majority of them 

 had exprest themselves as to the relative value of queens at 

 different ages, and I may be wrong in my views, and will be 

 glad If any of them will correct me if I am wrong. 



