632 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



manner : Two holes, each 2V^xJ^ 

 inches, are made in the lower edges 

 of one of the sides of the stand, and 

 two similar holes in the wall of the 

 "winter cover" opposite. Wooden 

 tunnels are now constructed to con- 

 nect the holes in the stand and cover, 

 and through the passages thus made, 

 the cold air has access to the interior 

 of the stand, and from it to the hive 

 above. But, it the cold air only tias 

 access to the hive, and no outlet be 

 made for the descending columns of 

 heated air subcharged with the vapor 

 of water, carbonic-acid gas, nitrogen 

 gas, etc., one of our most valuable 

 features in the proper ventilation of 

 the house is lost ; hence we construct 

 another passage through the opposite 

 walls of the stand and " winter 

 cover," to that containing the others, 

 and tlnis the ventilation of the hive 

 is perfected. This last passage is 

 placed at about 1 inch from the upper 

 edge of the stand whereon rests the 

 brood chamber, and in size it is %x4 

 inches. 



The general utility of the enclosed 

 stand for the brood-chamber will now 

 be recognized by providing a large 

 air-space beneath the cluster. The 

 ventilation of the hive is far more 

 effectively secured than if the entry 

 and exit of air all took place through 

 the ordinary passage for the bees at 

 the base of "the side- wall of the brood- 

 chamber ; and, further, by employing 

 this stand and the ventilation it af- 

 fords, we, at all times, have a concen- 

 tration of lieat in the upper part of 

 the brood chamber — keeping the honey 

 warm, and everything dry and com- 

 fortable around the cluster ; besides 

 which, by elevating the brood-cham- 

 ber to the height off the ground that 

 it does, instead of being back-aching 

 labor to tiandle the brood and extract- 

 ing-frames, it is converted into a com- 

 parative pleasure. What apiarist is 

 there with his 75 or 100 colonies in 

 one-story, or one-story-and-a-half 

 hives, that will not hail this as an 

 advantage ? 



3I0ISTURE. 



The fourth point has also had its 

 strenuous advocates, as being the 

 prime factor in unsuccessful vvin- 

 tering, but whether it is so or not, we 

 leave it to others to demonstrate; 

 however, of one thing we are certKin, 

 that unless its formation is under- 

 stood and provided against, mischief 

 will be the penalty of neglect. The 

 moisture in a bee-hive in winter is 

 generated exclusively by exhalation 

 from the respiratory organs, and. pos- 

 sibly, the bodies of the bees, the air 

 entering the lungs of the bees (or 

 what answers thereto), becomes sat- 

 urated with the vapor of the water 

 continually evaporating from the 

 pulmonary tissues. In this condition 

 it is then thrown off, and unless re- 

 moved by a proper ventilating cur- 

 rent, condenses on the colder portions 

 of the hive and combs, which, in the 

 case of many hives not so well pro- 

 tected as my own system calls for, 

 becomes converted into a hoar frost, 

 or runs down and freezes into a solid 

 mass on the bottom-board, and seal- 

 ing up the entrance which furnishes 



air to the cluster, thus smothering the 

 bees ; and further, by condensing on 

 the combs, it often causes the honey 

 which is in them to sour, and the bees 

 feeding on this, disease is induced 

 among them, and frequently, also, 

 the combs become moldy and almost 

 spoiled. 



How. then, is this condition of 

 things to be remedied V A well-pro- 

 tected hive like the one we advocate 

 partially meets the question, and a 

 thorough system of ventilation almost 

 solves it ; but to get rid of the rem • 

 nants of the evil, place pieces of 

 broken brick well dried, or still bet- 

 ter, two or three lumps of quick-lime 

 on the bottom-board under the stand, 

 and this having a powerful affinity for 

 water, will absorb any particles not 

 carried olf through the ventilator, 

 thus the hive is left dry and healthy. 



Just here we should like to notice 

 one thing in connection with upward 

 ventilation, and how frequently does 

 it occur. The moisture in its pas- 

 sage through the chaff cushion is con- 

 densed in the same, and gradually in- 

 creasing in quantity, forms at last a 

 wet, soggy mass, immediately over 

 the cluster, and exhaling at the same 

 time a musty effluvia, thus, in our 

 opinion, giving rise to the most favor- 

 able circumstances for the dtvelop- 

 ment of disease and death in the 

 colonv. 



PHYSICAL CHAKACTEKISTICS 



Under this caption, the fifth and 

 last topic on our list, we shall notice 

 briefly two things: 1. The hiberna- 

 tion of bees. 2. The duration of bee- 

 life. To ^Ir. W. F. Clarke, undoubt- 

 edly, belongs the priority of having 

 specially called the attention of bee- 

 keepers to the subject of hibernation 

 of bees ; but whether in reality it is a 

 truth, in our opinion, remains yet to 

 be proven. True, Mr. Clarke has 

 struck some heavy blows, but the 

 nail yet remains to be clinched. How- 

 ever, be the issue as it may, every 

 bee-keeper knows that bees certainly 

 do pass the winter in a condition very 

 much resembling, if not altogether, 

 that of hibernation ; hence, it be- 

 comes the scientific and progressive 

 apiarist to study well and supply all 

 the conditions "favoring this state of 

 repose, and to remove everything ob- 

 noxious to it. 



Bees live during the honey-season, 

 from 30 to 4o days ; but all bees 

 hatched about the time hasswood 

 bloom closes, and after that time, 

 will probably live from 8 to 9 months, 

 their energies not being exhausted in 

 the field, are spent, so to speak, in the 

 prolonging of life. However, after 

 the first out-door activities of spring 

 are set in, these rapidly die out, and 

 then, unless a good queen is present 

 and is filling the frames with brood 

 to take their place, " spring dwind- 

 ling." as it is termed, is the inevitable 

 result. To make sure that all is 

 right in this respect, and that the 

 bees have plenty of stores in the hive, 

 examine all the colonies on some fine 

 day as soon as possible after the snow 

 has gone off the ground. Note the 

 condition of each colony, and if any 

 require aid, supply it immediately. 



And now in conclusion we would 

 observe that if the objection should 

 be raised to the foregoing methods, 

 that they involve a great deal of 

 labor, and, hence, are not suited to 

 the practical apiarist, to this we would 

 make a threefold reply : 



1. That in reality very little extra 

 labor is entailed beyond any good 

 method of wintering. 



2. Xothing pays better than a care- 

 ful preparation of the colonies, year 

 after vear, and hence the most practi- 

 cal apiarist will be the most careful. 



3. If any one enters the bee-busi- 

 ness under the delusion that it is all 

 play, that he has only to sit down and 

 watch the bees put money into his 

 pocket, and is unprepared at certain 

 seasons of the year to perform down- 

 right hard labor from daylight till 

 dark, if he owns 7.5 or 100 colonies and 

 expects to succeed therewith, then I 

 say, the quicker he gives it up, the 

 better it will be for his bank account 

 and his peace of mind. 



Brussels, Out., Sept. 17, 1884. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Lake Shore, N. Y., Convention. 



Pursuant to a call by the President 

 of the Lake Shore Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, it met at Fredonia, K. Y., on 

 Sept. 6, 1884. Mr. U. E. Dodge was 

 elected temporary chairman, and Mr. 

 .J. A. Benedict, Secretary vro tern. 

 Those present then engaged in the 

 following discussion : 



Mr. Case : I would like to inquire 

 how to take care of my bees to secure 

 the best results possible. 



Mr. Davis : You can get more sur- 

 plus honey from old than new colonies. 



Mr. Wilcox : I think Mr. Case has 

 done well if he has doubled the num- 

 ber of his colonies this year 



Mr. Dodge : There is a great differ- 

 ence in different kinds of bees. We 

 cannot tell whv Mr. Case did not get 

 more honey, lie did well, at least, as 

 he has doubled the amount of his 

 capital invested in profit therefrom, 

 the present season. He ought to be 

 satisfied. One hundred colonies would 

 not be a bad investment if they 

 cleared five dollars per colony. If I 

 can get my bees through tlie winter 

 safely, I can generally succeed well 

 enough the remainder of the year. 

 Last winter out of 139 colonies I lost 

 only 4. 



Mr. Davis : I have had colonies near 

 each other that varied greatly in pro- 

 ductiveness. From one colony I ob- 

 taiued 3 swarms and 12 boxes of 

 honey, and the next colony, standing 

 near, did nothing. 



]\lr. Hall : IIow did this prolific col- 

 ony do the next season V 



Mr. Davis : It did remarkably well. 

 I divided one of my colonies and it 

 produced 12 boxes of honey and the 

 old colony did well also. I would like 

 to know if it is good policy generally 

 to divide bees V 



Mr. Dodge : People differ on this 

 question. If you wish honey, keep 

 tMe old colony at work and let the 

 division alone. But if you want bees, 

 then divide the colony, etc. 



