THE AMERICAN JJEE JOURNAL. 



119 



placed on the hive, and thus secure 

 our honey in both of the popuhxr sec- 

 tions, and satisfy the most exacting 

 customer. 



(Juite a number advocate only s 

 frames in the brood chamber. I much 

 prefer tlie regular 10-frauie hive for 

 this reason : With a division-board 

 we can contract the brood-chamber to 

 hold S frauies, or as many less as we 

 may desire ; and, if we wish, we can 

 put in one or two wide frames filled 

 with sections for side storing. With 

 only an s frame brood-chamber, lliis 

 is not possible. E.xtra space for two 

 nnn-e frames adds but very little more 

 weight to the hive, and I consider any 

 hive liaving a brood-chamber of less 

 than 10-frame capacity (provided the 

 frames contain no more than 150 

 square inches of surface) to be " just 

 that much off." 



X. Indianapolis, Ind. 



For the American Bee Journal 



Topics of the Day. 



.J. A. BUCHANAN. 



There seems to be an inchnation on 

 the part of the beekeeping fraternity, 

 to take up certain questions pertain- 

 ing to the art, and for a time, all con- 

 versation and correspondence hinge 

 on these points, until they eitlier be- 

 come exhausted, or have been so 

 thoroughly discussed as to have 

 brought out all that is known or has 

 been developed on the subject. This 

 is well, since the experience and 

 knowledge of each one made known 

 to all, tends to a more generally in- 

 formation. Of the leading topics of 

 present interest, I have two or three 

 to be treated on in this article. 



WINTERING. 



This old question is not long at a 

 time " laid on the table." One terri- 

 ble cold winter is all it takes to freshen 

 up the subject. Some bee-keepers 

 think they have solved the problem, 

 but by-and-by a severe winter, accom- 

 panied by an unfavorable spring, 

 catches them, and cleans ont their 

 bees as well as their conceit. Where 

 the conditions are favorable, and the 

 bee-keeper understands his business, 

 cellar or in-door wintering may be 

 best ; but for the masses, I am pretty 

 sure the better way is to leave them 

 on their summer stands, and it the 

 conditions I shall, in this article set 

 forth be complied with strictly, I feel 

 safe in saying your chances for safely 

 wintering your bees will be as good as 

 any, if not a little better. 



I would give the double-walled hive 

 the preference ; not so much on ac- 

 count of its better wintering qualities, 

 but for tlie more uniform tempeiature 

 it secures in the cool spring months 

 when bees are weak in numbers, and 

 desire to rapidly extend their brood. 

 Herein lies the principal advantage of 

 the double-walled hive. Since com- 

 paratively the single- walled Kive is the 

 one generally used, I will give a few 

 simple directions for its preparation, 

 which apply equally well to the ar- 

 rangement of the chaff hive. 



I deem it all folly to removing part 

 of the frames of comb, and use divis- 

 ion boards. Tlie frames of comb pro- 

 tect just as well as anything that may 

 be used. WliCTi you nave a good col- 

 ony of healthy bees, with plenty of 

 hoiiey storetl around the bees in the 

 natural way, you have not much 

 i\eeded preparation to make. I would 

 advise the use of some device placed 

 across the frames that the bees may 

 nain free access to all their stores, and 

 that there be used to cover the frames 

 a clean cloth of good thickness on 

 which should be placed a cushion 

 tilled with chaff or dry leaves, and 

 that the whole hive be effectually pro- 

 tected from wet by a perfect cover. 



There is one more important point, 

 and that is the means of ventilation, 

 which, according to my experience, is 

 l)est secured by the use of a large en- 

 trance. This should be, if mice are 

 not troublesome, from % to ^i of an 

 inch deep, and about tlie full width of 

 the hive, and kept open. If any have 

 the entrances to tlieir hives narrowed 

 down, I say go right now and open 

 them up, no matter how cold the 

 weather. The winter of 1880 was the 

 most trying on bees of any we ever 

 experienced here, and the only one 

 that wintered all his bees was an old 

 farmer who had (i colonies, and they 

 were raised from the bottom-board by 

 one-inch blocks placed under each 

 corner of his hives. One colony, that 

 winter, went through in splendid con- 

 dition, and swarmed very early, which 

 had an entrance over two inches deep, 

 and the full width of the hive. 



A great many advise stimulating 

 the bees to breed late in the fall, that 

 the bees may be young to winter well. 

 I regard this as all nonsense, and a 

 useless expenditure of time as well as 

 the vital forces of the queen. I have 

 had ample experience in this matter. 



EXTRACTED HONEY. 



A few words on the question of 

 selling extracted honey, and I will 

 close. There is no use to try to con- 

 ceal the fact that liquid honey is now 

 and always will be a drug on the mar- 

 ket. It may be Ijoosted up for a time 

 in some markets and sold for a while 

 at fair prices, by being placed on the 

 markets in small packages, nicely 

 labeled, but its everlasting tendency 

 to granulate in cool weather, just 

 when it ought to be looking its best 

 and selling well, will always entitle it 

 to a back seat and a bad reputation. 

 Its fate is sealed. It is not much liet- 

 ter sale now than when first intro- 

 duced. See the men who used to take 

 all their honey in this way that have 

 turned their attention and skill to the 

 production of comb honey in its most 

 attractive form. 



Visit the retail stores where honey 

 is handled, ask the proprietor about 

 that honey sitting around in jars, 

 looking for all the world just like 

 bottles of prepared horse radish, and 

 see if he does not say every time, 

 " Slow sale." " That's a fraud." 

 " The stuff has all gone back to su- 

 gar." " Guess we won't want any 

 more." Again, see quotations of 

 honey in liquid form in almost all the 

 markets,"extracted dull, as usual. etc." 



All things considered, I think it will 

 hereafter be more profitable for the 

 bee-keeper to turn the most of his 

 attention to the production of comb 

 honey — getting it up in the most at- 

 tractive and convenient manner, and 

 placing it on the market in the best 

 possil)le shape. If it will not pay to 

 do this well and truly, it will not pay 

 to engage in this, or, indeed, in any 

 other branch of business. So much 

 honey has been put on the market in 

 that careless, indift'erent, don't-care- 

 liow-it-looks way, causing loss to both 

 producer ad dealer, I have thought I 

 would write an article on this very 

 subject at another time. 



Ilolliday's Cove, W. Va. 



To Bee-Keepers of Illinois and Iowa. 



The regular annual meeting of the 

 Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois 

 'Bee-Keepers' Association will be held 

 at Moore's Hall, No. 110 East Third 

 street, on Thursday, Friday and Sat- 

 urday, Feb. 21. 22 and 2S, 1884. 



:Mr. T. G. Xewman, of Chicago, 

 editor of the Weekly Bee Journal, 

 will be with us, and has been engaged 

 to give two lectures on " Bee-Keep- 

 ing " on the 22d and 23d. 



It is hoped that the members of the 

 Association, and others will bring or 

 send honev, apiarian supplies, etc. 

 Any shipment of these, sent to Mr. 

 Israel Hall, Treasurer of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, Davenport, will 

 be taken from the express office, re- 

 moved to the Hall and cared for. 



Also be ready to report results of 

 last season's work. 



Invitation is hereby extended, not 

 only to the members, but also to their 

 friends. 



We want you to just swarm. 



J. V. McCagg, Pres. 



I. J. Nagle, Sec. 



For tlie Aiuericiin Bee Journal. 



The Successful Wintering of Bees. 



GEORGE A. TAYLOR. 



There has been a great deal said in 

 regard to wintering bees successfully, 

 but still a great many are not very 

 successful. In this latitude I consider 

 a cellar very necessary. In my judg- 

 ment the thini; most needed for suc- 

 cess in wintering bees is a warm, even 

 temperature. Some consider a wet 

 cellar preferable to a dry one. I would 

 not take an extreme either way, but 

 would prefer a moderately-dry cellar 

 (not dusty), the temperature not going 

 below 40° or 50^. I believe, when bees 

 are wintered in this way, we need have 

 very little fear of dysentery. I quite 

 agree with Mr. Ira Barber in regard 

 to bees not eating enough pollen to 

 give them dysentery, if they are kept 

 in a warm temperature. Our cellar is 

 neither wet nor very dry. Our bees 

 usually store a large quantity of pol- 

 len, yet we have wintered bees 13 win- 

 ters,' in this cellar, without loss from 

 dysentery. The temperature, so far 

 this winter, has stood from 40° to 52°, 

 and the bees, at present, are as small 

 and bright as when put into the cellar. 



