•THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



585 



discussions followed on various use- 

 ful topics. 



Ttie next meeting was appointed to 

 be held in Arcadia, on the lirst Thurs- 

 day in Nov., 1S8-1, at 10 a. m. 



John Fuitz, Sec. 



Prairie Farmer. 



Killing Drones. 



MRS. L. HAKRISON. 



Bees are very energetic little insects, 

 and if tliej' cannot tind one kind of 

 work to do. they will find another. If 

 honey is not to "be found in th^ floral 

 kingdom, they seek sweets elsewhere, 

 and penetrate groceries and ware- 

 houses, gathering up leakage from 

 sugar-barrels and hogsheads. They 

 even turn outlaws, and pillage their 

 neighbors of their garnered treasures. 

 When their out-go exceeds their in- 

 come, they reduce the number of 

 consumers "by killing off the drones. 

 It is pitiful to see the poor drone led 

 out, like a drunken fellow with a 

 policeman at each side. His pleading 

 buzz does .not cause them to relax 

 their hold, and occasionally another 

 comes and jumps upon his back. The 

 drones band together for self-protec- 

 tion, running their heads under one 

 another, until they look like shingles 

 over-lapping each other. Their piti- 

 less persecutors have no mercy, and 

 they are doomed to die of starvation 

 and cold, clustered in the portico of 

 their former home, where they had 

 been reared so tenderly. Bees have 

 been busy, lately, driving out the 

 " dead-heads," carrying water, and 

 gathering bee-bread. They collect a 

 little honey each morning, and keep 

 from having the dyspepsia by propo- 

 lising the cracks and crevices of their 

 hives, making all snug and warm for 

 the approaching winter. 



Peoria, 111. 



For tbe American Bee JournaL 



Theories About "Wintering Bees. 



LEVI C. JOHNSON. 



•* Some words on theories may be well applied. 

 And take them icindly, tbouKh they touch your 

 pride." 



Dampness, cold, confinement, bad 

 honey, diarrhrea, pollen, each of these 

 and many others have been given as 

 the one cause for the loss of our bees 

 in wintering, and we have had theories 

 based upon each of them. All the 

 theorists have supposed that their pet 

 theory was capable of accounting for 

 all winter losses. The very latest 

 is that brilliant conception evolved 

 from the inner consciousness of Wm. 

 F. Clarke, viz : that our losses are due 

 to the fact that we do not supplj^the 

 conditions favorable for the hibernat- 

 ing of our bees. 



That any one of these theories can 

 furnish an Ariadnean clew which shall 

 guide us out of the labyrinth of win- 

 ter dangers, past the sirens of early 

 spring into the summer of safety, is, 

 I think, not true; because the dan- 

 gers to our bees arise not from one 

 source but from many, and hence 

 there is no one danger-point which, 



being passed, ensures safety from all 

 the storms that blow. 



We may (laik our bees so warm that 

 winter's chilling blasts can no en- 

 trance lind. liut this will not shield 

 them from the deadly carbonic dioxide 

 exhaled from their own lungs into 

 their homes of comfort. We may so 

 ventilate the hives from below that 

 this death-dealing gas (which is 

 heavier than air) will flow out from 

 the bottom of the hives ; but this 

 does not protect them from the mois- 

 ture which, rising from the cluster 

 and condensing upon the top-wall of 

 the liive, flows down upon the combs 

 producing their fungous growths 

 (moldy combs), disease and death. 

 We may by upward ventilation keep 

 them diy, but if we have not seen to 

 it that they were supplied with proper 

 food, from their long continement, 

 there will be inflamation of the intes- 

 tines, diarrhrea and death. 



But even if precautious have been 

 taken against all preventable ills, 

 there remain yet dangers from sud- 

 den and excessive changes of temper- 

 perature, from spring warmth start- 

 ing brood-rearing, then protracted 

 cold and confinemeni; coming upon 

 the colony under unfavorable condi- 

 tions, causing disease and death. So 

 it is altogether unlikely that we shall 

 ever be able to say, ■' jST ow is the win- 

 ter of our discontent made glorious 

 summer " by the valorous Ileddon or 

 Clarke, or I may add, by any other 

 one man, for it is by the united labor 

 and observation of " many men of 

 many minds," in many lands, that 

 the art of apiculture is being put 

 upon a sure and safe foundation. 



The apicultural world owes and 

 gladly pays great homage to the mas- 

 ters of entomology for their solid 

 work for this branch of natural his- 

 tory ; and the names of those brilliant 

 French men, Eeaumur, Latreille, and 

 Cuvier; of the solid German, Swam- 

 merdam ; of the " great Swede," Lin- 

 naeus ; of the unconquerable Swiss, 

 blind Huber ; and of that clear- 

 headed Dane, Fabrieius, will ever be 

 spoken of with veneration and honor. 

 But these were men who by a life-time 

 of earnest work gathered facts from 

 which they deduced broad generaliza- 

 tions of truth which have made strong 

 the foundations of science. Coming 

 to the men of our times, we delight to 

 honor the names of Langstroth, 

 Dzierzon and Quinby as men who 

 sought after truth, and instead of 

 theory they have given us facts. 



While it is true that theory often- 

 times goes before and points out the 

 way whereby we may find the facts, 

 yet we can "much better serve the in- 

 terests of science by each one adding 

 his mite to the sirm of human knowl- 

 edge, than by striving to establish 

 some pet theory as the " ne plus ultra " 

 of our art. We should recognize the 

 fact that we have not only a Scylla 

 and a Charibdis to pass, but that the 

 whole winter voyage is beset with 

 dangers to our bees ; and recognizing 

 this fact, we should not expect one 

 theory or one precaution to carry us 

 through the winter with safety. 



A plan which has been successful 

 with me is to put the bees into the 



lower story of their Simplicity hives- 

 upon a platform 6 inches from the 

 ground, which platform is covered to 

 a depth of s inches with sawdust, on 

 tills the hives are set side liy side in 

 close contact. Side-walls are then 

 placed all around 6 inches from the 

 hives; with an opening one inch in 

 height in front of the entrances of 

 the hives, 6iiich planks are then fit- 

 ted between the hives and side-walla 

 above the entrances of the hives 

 which are thus left open to the full 

 summer-size. The spaces between 

 the walls and hives are now filled 

 with dry sawdust, and well packed. 

 The cover is removed and a cotton 

 cloth spread over the frames, and 10 

 inches of chaff or 8 inches of very dry 

 sawdust put in. The roof-boards are 

 carefully laid on an inch or two above 

 the chaff, and 4-inch alighting-boards 

 are placed ax the entrances, and the 

 thing is done, making a very cheap 

 and, I think, a safe winter protection. 



I do not think it necessary to re- 

 move any of the ten frames, nor any 

 of the pollen, but only see to it that 

 each hive contains 30 "pounds of good 

 honey (or pure granulated sugar made 

 into syrup and given early enough in 

 the fall for the bees to have it sealed 

 in the combs). If this amount of 

 pure food is supplied, I should have 

 no fears about pollen, for if the hives 

 are packed as above stated, there will 

 be warmth enough in them to enable 

 the bees to procure tlieir food from 

 any part of the hive, and their own 

 instinct can be safely trusted to use 

 only such food as their conditions 

 demand. 



The above plan avoids danger from 

 dampness by the upward ventilation 

 through the cloth and chaff; from 

 cold, by the thick packing ; from con- 

 finement, by enabling the bees to fly 

 whenever the weather is mild 

 enough ; and from diarrhoea by the 

 good hygienic conditions surrounding 

 them. Bees having pure air, pure 

 food, and comfortable quarters will 

 very rarely suffer from diarrhoea. As 

 to danger from the want of hibernat- 

 ing: As Mr. Clarke alone has found 

 the danger, so he alone has found the 

 remedy, and I presume he alone will 

 apply it. 



Fountain City, Ind. 



For the American Bee Journal.- 



Planting for Honey- 



CLARENCE M. WEED. 



I have just visited the College 

 Apiary, and have been struck with 

 the practicability of Prof. Cook's oft- 

 repeated advice to plant for honey. 

 Around the hives the Professor has 

 planted a series of beds, about 5 by 8 

 feet, of Rocky Mountain bee-plant, 

 motherwort, flgwort, catnip, mustard, 

 borage and white, Alsike. and sweet 

 clover. 



Ill the present dearth of honey- 

 supply the Rocky Mountain bee-plant, 

 mustard, borage, motherwort and 

 sweet clover are in full bloom, and 

 keep the bees very busy. 



The idea of planting so as to have 

 bloom in a time of general dearth ia 



