Oct. 26, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



675 



here. We get some ten French and German bee-journals 

 here, besides one Spanish and one Italian. The French in 

 particular are very interesting-. Their printing- is extremely 

 accurate, an error being- almost unknown, -which remark 

 applies to all the foreign journals I have seen. — Gleanings 

 in Bee-Culture. 



Concerning- Bee-Repositories for Winter. 



BY C. P. D.^D.\NT. 



I WAS just preparing to write an additional article con- 

 cerning bee-repositories for winter, when I noticed, on 

 page 626, the article by Wm. M. Barnes, whom I know to 

 be a practical bee-keeper, and L would suggest that those 

 readers who are interested in this matter re-read his state- 

 ment. I do not believe that I would build exactly as he has 

 done, and as he kindly invites criticism, I will state where I 

 would suggest changes, but I take notice that he reports 

 success, and this is sufficient to give his cellar a good point. 

 As I said before, the proper temperature is the main need, 

 tho a moderate ventilation and good, dry quarters are also 

 important. 



Mr. Barnes very probably had good reasons for build- 

 ing his stone wall only part of the way down. But if I were 

 building I would build the entire wall of stone, or all of 

 dirt. If the spot is dry, and there is no danger of any leak, 

 a dry earth wall boarded up and left slanting outward to 

 prevent caving in would certainly be the most economical 

 and the quickest built. But if there is danger of any mois- 

 ture, the earthen wall will prove annoying after a few 

 years. M_v experience with a cellar-wall placed like that of 

 Mr. Barnes, above the level of the cellar, is that it will, in 

 the course of a few years, cause the dirt to settle, and will 

 eventually be deteriorated thereby. So I would say, make 

 all stone or no stone. 



His cellar entrance is good. Double doors, when con- 

 necting with the outside, are a necessity. 



Mr. B. does not say how the ceiling above is made. It 

 is probably a double floor with sawdust between the joists. 

 If the cellar is all made of earth, it would probably be 

 cheapest also to make the ceiling of earth in a method simi- 

 lar to that used in most of the Western storm-caves, and 

 commonly used for keeping milk or vegetables. If the frost 

 can be kept out it will not be difficult to cool the atmos- 

 phere of the cave by a little extra ventilation when needed. 



A window or two might be made, with double window- 

 frames a foot or more apart, and the space between the two 

 filled with straw. It is necessary that the cellar be fixt so 

 one may readily enter it without disturbing the bees or 

 causing- much change in the temperature. This is only so 

 that the bee-keeper may be enabled to ascertain the exact 

 conditions. 



As a rule, our bee-keepers are not over-supplied with 

 ready cash, and it will very often happen that the cheaper 

 cellar will be decided upon. But if I were to advise, I would 

 rather recommend the stone-wall cellar, for two or three 

 reasons, the most important of which is its durability. 

 Then a stone wall is more easilj- made rat and mouse proof. 

 A cellar, dug in cla3', will probably be free from vermin for 

 a year or two, but in the course of time it will become more 

 and more unsafe in this respect. 



I could not sleep well, winter nights, if I knew that my 

 bees were housed in a cave or a room in which either mice 

 or rats cong-ref*ated in any quantity. Their depredations 

 might not do much harm to the bees directly, but they 

 would be sure to disturb them more or less, and by this 

 means cause a greater or less number to become restless 

 and wander away from the cluster. Combs that were not 

 covered by the bees would be more or less gnawed by them, 

 especiallj' if they contained honey, of which mice are very 

 fond. With a good stone wall, and a well-made double floor 

 above, it is not difficult to have a rat and mouse proof cellar 

 if the sills have been carefully laid in a bed of cement. Such 

 a cellar would last a lifetime. 



The cellar or cave need not be large. The hives may 

 be piled four or five in a tier. We usually take them with- 

 out bottom or cap. Our hives are all supplied with straw 

 mats over the frames. In the summer we have an oilcloth 

 or enamel-cloth between the brood-combs and the straw 

 mat. In the winter the enamel-cloth is removed, and the 

 straw mat is laid directly over the frames, and this straw 

 mat is quite sufficient to separate the hives that are piled 

 upon one another. 



We set the first hive on the floor, or on timbers, for 

 support, a little above the floor. This first hive has its own 



bottom-board, but is slightly raised, or if the bottom is 

 nailed fast, as much ventilation is given as the entrance 

 will allow. The other hives are then piled on top of this 

 with only the mats between the different brood-chambers. 

 In this way a hundred hives may be placed in a verj' small 

 compass. 



The time best suited for removing the bees to the cellar 

 cannot be given exactly, but only approximately. It must 

 vary according to the latitude and the weather. In this 

 latitude the first cold spell, after a warm day, towards the 

 middle or latter part of November, has always proven the 

 best. We want a cold day because the bees are less apt to 

 fly about and worry the operator ; and we want this to be 

 as nearly following a warm day as possible, because on 

 that warm day the bees have had a chance to empty their 

 bowels and feel fresh and vet quiet. The longer you wait 

 after the weather has turned cold the more chance there 

 will be of the bees having begun to eat and load their ab- 

 domens with food. When they are once confined in the 

 proper repository, their consumption is exceedingly limited, 

 and they can stay month after month without stirring, if 

 the food that they do consume is of good quality. 



The entire winter problem may thus be summed in a 

 very few words : Have good, healthy food, an even tem- 

 perature, quietness, and a fair amount of ventilation, and 

 your bees will come thru in good order in the most rigorous 

 climate. Hancock Co., 111. 



Uniting- Wealc Colonies in the Fall. 



BY MORLEY PETTIT. . 



WEAK or queenless colonies maybe united in such a 

 way as to make strongs queened ones. There are va- 

 rious conditions which render this necessary. 



A colony preparing to swarm builds a number of queen- 

 cells and rears young queens. When these are within a 

 few days of hatching, the swarm issues, accompanied by 

 the old queen. Of the queens that hatch, the one which 

 becomes queen of the " parent " colony takes her mating- 

 flight and becomes impregnated. The parent colony is left 

 quite weak by the departing swarm ; but if this happens in 

 the honej' season it is soon repopulated by the progeny of 

 the young queen. If, however, the swarm issues late, very 

 little breeding is done, and we have a young queen in a 

 weak colony. Many claim these late queens to be the best 

 layers for the following- season. 



Queenless colonies usually become so during the mat- 

 ing of the queen. A cold wind may keep her at home and 

 hinder her mating or prevent her return to the hive if she 

 does fly out. This, of course, cannot be avoided; but it 

 points out the necessity of examining every " parent " col- 

 ony before the end of the breeding-season to be sure it has 

 a queen. The presence of a laying queen can easily be de- 

 tected by eggs or very young brood in the middle combs of 

 the hive. Again, the young queen returning from her 

 flight may become confused and enter the wrong hive. To 

 avoid this, the hives, if uniform and in even rows, should 

 be interspersed with boxes or other landmarks placed every 

 fourth or fifth hive, and projecting in front of the row. 



When two colonies are to be united, go to them in the 

 evening and remove half the combs from each. Leave the 

 fullest and best-formed ones, spacing them to one side of 

 the hive with a dummy, to separate the last one from the 

 empty half of the hive. If they both have queens, find and 

 destroy the poorer or older one. In 24 hours the bees will 

 have discovered their loss and will be willing to accept a 

 new queen. 



The following evening carry the queenless colony and 

 set it beside the other. Open each hive by removing the cloth 

 or honey-board, using as little smoke as possible, and 

 sprinkle the bees freely with sweetened water scented 

 strongly with peppermint. Almost drench them. They fill 

 themselves with sweet, the peppermint counteracts the dis- 

 tinctive scent, and the bees of two colonies mingle in one 

 hive without stinging. Some advise smoking at the en- 

 trance and jarring before opening to cause them to fill 

 themselves with honey ; but this excites the bees and does 

 more harm than good. Removing the dummies, lift the 

 combs from the queenless hive and set them, bees and all, 

 in their original order, in the empty half of the other. The 

 dummies are used to prevent the bees making a bulging 

 cluster on the outside comb, which interferes with proper 

 spacing when the hive is filled. Close the hive and blow a 

 little smoke in the entrance. 



As half the bees in this new hive are on a strange 



