1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



883 



VENTILATION BETTER THAN SHADE; RAIS- 

 ING HIVE- COVERS INSTEAD OF 

 SHADING HIVES. 



Much has been said of late regarding- the 

 advantage of sheds and shade-boards for 

 bees. I find no use for either. To me, 

 shade-boards with rocks to keep them in 

 place are most unsig-htl}' unless they are 

 of uniform size and neatness, besides the 

 extra tons of lifting- one has to endure all 

 through a honej' season. 



As to sheds such as I see pictured in 

 Gleanings, it would completelj' rob mj' 

 bee-yard of all its attractiveness. Experi- 

 ence with my apiary of 153 colonies, spring- 

 count, now 204, from which I have extract- 

 ed over 12 tons of honej', has demonstrated 

 to me that mj- bees need neither shade- 

 boards nor sheds. Early in June we had 

 a hot da}'. My bees clustered outside their 

 hives. I discovered several combs melting- 

 down. I did what I have practiced other 

 years. I hurried through the apiary, and 

 in a few minutes had every cover lifted, 

 and resting on its cleat. In this condition 

 the}' have been and will remain until the 

 end of September, when cooler weather 

 prevails. During extracting, the heat oft- 



en reached from 105 to 115°, much to the 

 discomfort of the apiarist; but apparently 

 it was just to the liking of the bees. Who 

 wants sheds or shade- boards if this method 

 is practical? John Bowen. 



Calabasas, Cal., Aug. 28. 



[Ventilating at the top has been advocat- 

 ed before; and in some localities, where 

 the temperature runs above 100, the practice 

 is a ver}' good substitute for shade-boards 

 and sheds. Indeed, I am not sure but it is 

 even better; but it would not answer in lo- 

 calities where the temperature is below 100, 

 for it is verj' seldom that supers will be too 

 warm for comb-building (especiallj' for 

 fancj' well-filled combhonej'), and particu- 

 lar!}' at night: and I should question wheth- 

 er top ventilation would work in some of the 

 deep canyons of California. In the one 

 where M. H. Mendleson is located I remem- 

 ber the nights were quite cool, and a thick 

 woolen blanket over us at night was very 

 comfortable. 



For the production of comb honey I should 

 somewhat question whether top ventilation 

 in any locality would be desirable. In 

 Arizona, for example, bee-keepers run very 

 largely for comb honey. Comb- building, to 

 progress satisfactorily, should have a warm 

 tight super. If it gets too hot, and the en- 

 trances be sufficiently large, the bees will 

 cool the hive by fanning at the entrance, a 

 cold-air current going in and a warm one 

 coming out. I should be glad to hear from 

 bee-keepers in various portions of Califor- 

 nia, Arizona, and other parts of our country 

 where the temperature runs up to 100 or 

 more. — Ed.] 



STANLEY QUEEN-CELLS REARED ON STANLEY GUN-WADS; SEE MAY loTH GLEANINGS. 



