600 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



solidated together the less suscepti- 

 ble are they to a low temperature ; 

 hence by the tirst of November re- 

 move a frame and put the remaining 

 ones farther apart, also cut passage 

 ways through the combs to enable the 

 bees to communicate freely through 

 each sheet of comb. 



3. Quietness is essential to their 

 prosperity, hence the hives need to be 

 placed in a dark cellar, and if the cel- 

 lar is used for other purposes put a 

 partition across the room so the light 

 may not disturb them. 



4. A current of air continually pass- 

 ing from beneath up through the hive 

 is detrimental to the health of the 

 bees ; then contract the entrances and 

 leave small spaces between the combs 

 and bottom board ; place quilts upon 

 the top of frames, remove the caps 

 from the hives and keep at a tempera- 

 ture of 40 Fahr., higher than this 

 will cause uneasiness, lower will do 

 no harm. 



5. Be sure that each hive contains 

 at least 15 pounds of honey ; disturb 

 as little as possible until spring. 

 These rules followed your losses will 

 be less than in any other way. 



Augusta, Me. 



London Journal of Horticulture. 



Effect of Cold and Consumption of Food. 



A. PETTIGREW. 



On page 566 of the American Bee 

 Journal we have, through the kind- 

 ness of Mr. Alfred Neighbour, tlie 

 opinions of Dr. Dzierzon on other 

 questions of importance. * He says, 



The milder the winter the more 

 complete will he tlie repose of the 

 beeSj and the lower will they be able 

 to allow the temperature to bect>me 

 even when they have their winter 

 quarters, while increasing cold stimu- 

 lates them to breathe more fi'equently 

 and to consume more food ; in otlier 

 words, it stimulates their vital powers 

 to greater activity in order to be able 

 to offer the necessary resistance to 

 cold in winter." 



Theory and experience, as well as the 

 last mild winter, demonstrate to me 

 practically the fallacy of this opinion. 

 Exposure of the bees to extreme cold 

 certainly causes them to crowd to- 

 gether into as thick a cluster as possi- 

 ble, but it does not send them into a 

 sleep-like state of repose ; on the con- 

 trary, it startles them out of their 

 rest, compelling them to hum more 

 loudly, while previously they were in 

 perfectly silent reixise. Nor does se- 

 vere cold prevent premature breeding. 

 There is generally more brood to be 

 found in the hive in January and Feb- 

 ruar)[, when the weather is very cold 

 or after the temperature has been 

 very low, than during a continuance 

 of mild weather. Dr. Krasicke ac- 

 knowledges this fact, but explains it 

 in a peculiar manner by saying, " that 

 because bees consume more food when 

 temperature is low the production of 

 chyle would also l)e greater." All 

 this and more than this seems to be 

 no more than theory and speculation, 

 and not supported by facts or expe- 

 rience. 



My own experience, extending over 

 a period of fifty years, and the expe- 

 rience of many practical and observ- 

 ing bee-keepers, go quite in an oppo- 

 site direction, and prove that the 

 colder the winter or weather is, the 

 less honey is consumed bv bees, and 

 this stands to reason as well as expe- 

 rience. In cold winters bees sit closely 

 together for weeks and hardly move. 

 Tliere is in such seasons little waste 

 and wear, and little food is required 

 to make good the waste. In warm 

 winters there may be heard a hum 

 night and day in good hives— the bees 

 set loosely together, move about 

 among one another, and often take 

 outdoor exercise. The waste of body 

 is greater, and a greater quantity of 

 food is required and eaten to make 

 good the waste. 



The last warm winter is referred to 

 by Dr. Dzierzon in support of his new 

 theory. English bee-keepers know 

 that during the last open winter the 

 consuption of food was great— un- 

 usually great, and hives were unusally 

 light in the spring months of tliis 

 year. That bees consume much more 

 food in warm winters than they do in 

 cold ones is a fact well known long 

 ago, and every year's experience con- 

 firms it. This theory of Dr. Dzierzon 

 reminds me of the strange notion of a 

 Swiss clergyman, who boldly stated 

 that two swarms of bees united do 

 not eat more in winter than each of 

 the swarms would do if kept separate. 

 This was received as the truth by a 

 large circle of apiarists, some of 

 whom tried to explain it on scientific 

 principles. Of course they failed, and 

 when told years afterward that 10,000 

 bees required twice as much food as 

 5,000, they believed this and said no 

 more about the discovery of the Swiss 

 clergyman. 



If bees eat more food and breed 

 sooner in a cold house and in a cold 

 winter than they do in a warm house 

 and winter, the system of contracting 

 space in bar-framed hives cannot be 

 too soon abandoned and condemned, 

 and hives with cavity walls are quite 

 a mistake if Dzierzon's views are 

 correct. 



Bowdon, England. 



West Texas Bee-Keepers' Association. 



In consideration of the great inter- 

 est that is now being taken in scien- 

 tific bee-keeping in Western Texas, a 

 number of bee-keepers met at the 

 oHice of T. C. Greenwood, in Luliiig, 

 on the 2d inst., for the purpose of 

 effecting a temporary organization to 

 be known as the West Texas Bee- 

 Keepers' Association. Although with 

 only a few days' notice, there were 

 420 colonies of "bees represented, with 

 a product up to date of about 32,000 

 U)s. of honey. After some spirited 

 discussion, it was deemed advisable to 

 postpone the organizing of the per- 



manent Association until the 1st of 

 November, 1882, so that those living 

 at a distance may have an opportunity 

 to come and take part in said organi- 

 zation. 



The following gentlemen were 

 elected officers of the temporary or- 

 ganization : J. S. Tadlock, President; 

 T. C. Greenwood, Vice President; 

 Thos. Balcomb, Secretary ; P. II. Cal- 

 lahan, Treasurer. 



We respectfully invite all the read- 

 ers of the Bee Journal living in 

 West Texas, or any part of the State, 

 to try and make it convenient to be 

 present, tliat we may permanently or- 

 ganize and discuss tlie many interest- 

 ing topics in connection with the best 

 management of bees for our Southern 

 climate. Thos. Balcomb, Sec. 



To all Bee-Keepers in Wisconsin.— 



At the next annual meeting of the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety to be held Oct. 3d, in Cincinnati, 

 Ohio, Vice Presidents of each State 

 are expected to report the condition 

 and industry of bees in their respect- 

 ive States. This can only be done by 

 the help of bee-keepers living in dif- 

 ferent parts of the State, and I 

 wish that every bee-keeper interested 

 would, as soon as possible, send me a 

 report of the condition of bee-culture 

 in their section, to wit: How many 

 colonies had you in the spring ? How 

 many on the 1st day of May V How 

 many did you sell after the 1st day of 

 Mayy How many have you now, and 

 have they enough honey to winter 

 without feeding V How much sur- 

 plus honey did you take ¥ How much 

 of this was extracted, and how much 

 comb V How much wax did you get'i* 

 What hive do you use ¥ How do 

 you increase — bynatural or artificial 

 swarming y How was the weather in 

 the spring, summer and fall — wet or 

 dry, cold or hot 'f I hope all bee- keep- 

 ers in this State will respond and give 

 me an answer to the above stated 

 questions, so I will be able to make a 

 correct report from this State. 



CiuiisTorHER Grimm. 

 Vice Pres., for Wisconsin. 

 Jefferson, Wis., Sept. 14, 1882. 



^■The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention will meet iit Chicago, 111., 

 on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 17 

 and 18, 1882. The office of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal has been kindly ten- 

 dered as a place of meeting. A cordial 

 invitation is extended to all bee-keep- 

 ers, and especially those of the North- 

 western States, to be present. The 

 meeting tiikes place during the last 

 week of the Inter-State Industrial 

 Exposition, to enable all to obtain re- 

 duced railroad rates. First session at 

 10 a. m. C. C. Miller, Pres. 



C. C. COFFINIJEIIKY, t>ec. 



^ The bee-keepers of Boone Co.» 

 Ind., are cordially invited to meet at 

 the office of Barton Higgins, in Leba- 

 non, Oct. 9, at 9 o'clock, a.m., to com- 

 plete the orgatiizalioii of the auxiliary 

 County Bee-Keepers' Society. The 

 bee-keepers of Hendricks county , Ind., 

 are invited to be present. By request 

 of the Committee. 



