200 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 28, 



of holes bored in it for a swarm-catcher. When about two 

 quarts of the bees have clustered, put the box up and shake 

 them in, and turn the open end out so the others can fly in, 

 and if you don't do this too soon, they will all go right in, or 

 on the box. You can just lean the box up against the tree if 

 the pole is the right length, and prepare the hive, if not ready. 



Right here let me say the hive must be large enough so 

 the bees will have reasonable room, and the entrance large 

 enough, and the hive must be well shaded or they will not stay. 



When the bees are all settled in the box, you can carry 

 them where you wish. To hive them, take the top of the hive 

 ofl, and the queen-excluder, and put a quart or two in to start 

 them ; put the excluder and covers on carefully, and shake 

 some in front of the entrance. They will soon go in. You 

 can hurry them up by brushing them carefully. When you 

 pour some of the bees out, hold the box out of the way, or it 

 will draw them to it. Gently tapping on the hive will help 

 to get them in. Y'ou can put sections on immediately, or ex- 

 tracting super over a queen-excluding honey-board. 



Should the bees be very cross while swarming, the smoker 

 is the best remedy. If you shake them off the tree, and they 

 fall some distance, they will be angry. I have kept bees on 

 the above plan for 17 years, and have found it reliable. I 

 seldom, if ever, have any "runaways." Ouo, Wis. 



Comb Honey — Wintering, Etc. 



BY EDWIN BEVINS. 



I am glad that the American Bee Journal has been giving 

 its readers a series of articles on the production of comb honey. 

 from the pen of Mr. Abbott. In addition to what I have 

 gleaned from the text-books, I have gotten some valuable 

 information on that subject from the writings of Hutchinson, 

 Hilton, and that man of sturdy common sense who stands 

 guard so near the northern frontier of beedom — B. Taylor. 



Mr. Abbott does not live very far away, and I am looking 

 for something from him that will have a special value for the 

 bee-keepers of northern Missouri and southern Iowa, besides 

 what he may write that will be of value to bee-keepers every- 

 where. My five years' observation of this field leads me to 

 believe that it has some advantages for the production of white 

 honey, and I hope that Mr. Abbott will, before he closes, give 

 his impressions of it. 



BLACKS vs. ITALIAN BEES. 



In Mr. Abbott's first article I notice that he puts in a 

 claim for the blacks, that they cap their honey much whiter 

 than the Italians. I have a decided partiality for anything 

 having a German origin over anything having its origin south 

 of the Alps, but truth compels me to say that in this matter of 

 whitening cf comb the superiority of the blacks over the 

 Italians begins and ends. When there is an abundant and 

 continuous flow of nectar the blacks will do some fine work at 

 comb-building, but let the flow be scant, or intermittent, and 

 they will do the most inartistic job of patch-work of any bees 

 in existence, with the exception, perhaps, of the bumble-bee ! 



WINTERINe BEES. 



A good many bees will probably die this winter, through 

 this section of country. Many are kept in log and box hives, 

 and their owners never think of feeding under any circum- 

 stances. All bees in this section came to the winter deficient 

 in stores. A neighbor told me that he looked late in the fall 

 into the hives of a man who uses the Langstroth hive, and 

 that there was no honey to be seen along the top-bars of the 

 frames. The man told him that he should not feed. His bees, 

 of course, will die. When one gets a realization of the possibil- 

 ilities there are in bees it does not seem that he would let them 

 die of hunger when sugar is so cheap. I know that they call 

 for some labor and some outlay of money in seasons when 

 there is no return, but I am equally confident that the man 

 who has the bees at the right time will be more than repaid. 



It is with much trepidation that I venture to write any- 

 thing on the old, old subject of wintering bees. What I have 

 to say may amuse the veterans, and perhaps not be helpful or 

 instructive to anybody, but, nevertheless, the method I am 

 about to describe proved a success with me last season, and at 

 this writing (Feb. 4) my bees are all in perfect condition. I 

 have always had a strong dislike for cellar-wintering, and so 

 concluded that I would try to find a way to winter without 

 moving the bees at all. 



For the Dadant hives, which are double-boarded on the 

 north and west, I just put a straw mat or piece of burlap on 

 top of the frames and a chaff cushion on top of that, and then 

 pack straw a foot or so thick on all sides of the hive except 



the front, tramping it as solidly as possible and holding it in 

 place in any way most convenient. 



For making chaff cushions, I find a sack, such as grocers 

 use to handle a hundred pounds of granulated sugar in, the 

 most convenient of anything. The requisite amount of chaff 

 can be put in and the open end folded so that no sewing at all 

 is necessary. 



For the single-walled hive, 8-frame size, I make a box or 

 outer-case of any old boards that are not worth much for any- 

 thing else, two feet wide, 2}^ to 3 feet long, and as high as 

 the hive with section case and cover on. As soon as cold 

 weather sets in I put on the secton-case, place a piece of bur- 

 lap that will just fit inside of the case over the frames, and 

 then fill, or nearly fill, the case with a chaff cushion. Then 

 as fast as the work can be done I saw a piece 14 inches wide 

 out of the middle of the front of each box or outer case, set 

 the box where the hive stood, and then place the hive in the 

 box so that the front end of the hive shall be just even with 

 the front end of the box. This leaves the whole hive-front 

 exposed to the sun. The box is then filled with chaff, or a 

 mixture of chaff and short, broken straw, tightly pressed in, 

 and a loose cover of boards over all. Last spring my bees 

 were not removed from this protection till settled warm 

 weather in spring, and they all built up rapidly and became 

 strong early, although the spring was an unfavorable one. 



This arrangement makes it very convenient to feed bees 

 that are short of stores in cold weather, as the cover can be 

 taken off, the cushion and burlap raised and a cake of candy 

 placed on the frames at any time in a very few minutes, I 

 have fed some during this cold spell and found them dry and 

 lively. There was some frost on the under side of the hive- 

 cover and upper side of the cushion. The measure of protec- 

 tion given may not be sufficient for higher latitudes, but here, 

 where bees usually fly as often as once a month, I think it will 

 be a success. 



I would like to know what Dr. Miller would think of such 

 wintering at Marengo. I lived for more than 20 years about 

 100 miles west of the Doctor in Carroll County, Ills., and 

 don't think I would try it there. I kept no bees then, but it 

 was there that I purchased the right to make and use the 

 Langstroth hive, though I never made nor used any till long 

 after the patent had expired. 



dodlittle's " queen-eeaking." 



I am pleased with the book "Scientific Queen-Rearing," 

 lately received and read. I had supposed it a book for queen- 

 rearers only, but I believe now that every bee-keeper ought to 

 have a copy, whether he rears queens or not. There is enough 

 incidental information about bees to be worth the price of the 

 book, and, besides, it is worth its price again for the acquaint- 

 ance it gives with the man who wrote it. Leon, Iowa. 



"^ 

 Another Plan of Uniting Nuclei. 



BY WM. STOLLEY. 



On page 116, is a plan for uniting nuclei, given by Philo 

 S. Dilworth. Now I have a much better way to unite nuclei, 

 as well as all sorts of colonies. I have tried it time and again, 

 and always with perfect success, and desire to give other bee- 

 keepers the benefit of it, and thus save trouble. 



If I wish to unite nuclei, I first kill all queens except th& 

 one I wish to retain. Next I put a few slices of onion in each 

 hive containing the bees to be united with the colony or 

 nucleus, including the latter. In 24 hours later, I simply 

 remove all queenless bees into the hive containing the selected 

 queen, placing the queen and her original nucleus in the 

 centre, while those to be united with this nucleus are to be 

 placed on each side of the nucleus with the queeu, until the 

 hive is full. If any more combs covered with bees are left — 

 simply shake them off in front of the hive, and let them run 

 in. A puff or two of smoke out of the smoker, will finish the 

 job, and no bees will be killed — no fighting will follow. 



But it is likely that a number of field be?s will return to 

 the old stand. To catch them, I also put a few slices of onions 

 into the nearest hive to their original stand, and if near by, 

 those bees, trying to return, will unite with the bees in that 

 hive. This is a practicable and sure way to unite bees, and 

 never failed with me. 



From Jan. 23, until Feb. 10, we had zero weather every 

 day. Then it moderated-, and from Feb. 17, until to-day 

 (Feb. 25) bees flew on 7 days, and yesterday the thermometer 

 registered 66'^ Fahr. in the shade. I always winter my bees 

 on their summer stands in my bee-house, and never lost a 

 colony wintering in 14 years. I have double-walled hives, 

 with square deep frames llJ^xllX inches. 



