318 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 16, 



with a head sufficiently large would overcome this objection, 

 but would not be so good in other respects. 



As everything connected with the prevention of brace- 

 combs is of interest, it would be desirable to have Mr. Moore 

 tell us what other difference there was to account for the 

 smaller number of brace-combs than with the V-edged Hoff- 

 man. I don't see how it is possible for this kind of apparatus 

 for spacing to make any difference in the amount of brace- 

 combs. If the top-bars were the same distance apart, and of 

 the same width and thickness, I should expect the brace- 

 combs to be the same. By the way, he speaks of the top-bars 

 being 9s inch apart. Is not M inch considered the better dis- 

 tance nowadays? 



A BIG CONVENTION. 



Here's an item from the Australian Bee-Bulletin: "A 

 bee-keepers' convention was held at Mrs. Atchley's, Beeville, 

 in December, at which some 3U0 delegates were present." We 

 have the credit of doing some tall lying on this continent, 

 esteemed Australian, but you seem to have struck the cham- 

 pion liar. Please tell us who gave you that 300, that he may 

 be properly crowned. 



T SUPER vs. THE SECTION-HOLDER. 



Dr. Miller has a tilt with the editor of Gleanings as to the 

 respective merits of the T super and section-holder, the 

 former stoutly maintaining that the T super is better, and the 

 latter rather hinting that the doctor is somewhat old-fogy. 

 Many section-holders are ordered and few T supers, but the 

 Doctor claims that is because Root's catalogue says section- 

 holders are the best. Perhaps the editor gives the chief 

 reason for his preference for the section-holder when he says : 

 " T supers formerly had the lead ; but they were not very well 

 adapted to the Dovetailed hive, without making supers of dif- 

 ferent lengths from the regular hive-body." Strangely 

 enough, the Doctor says nothing about the special advantage 

 that the T super has in being adapted to sections of any 

 width, while the section-holder can take only one width. 



ConcZucted by " BEE-MA.STEIt." 



Bce-Kcepiiig on a Small Scale. 



Here in Canada, far more than in the United States, bee- 

 keeping is practiced in a small way, and apiaries of two or 

 three colonies are quite common. In Britain, even more than in 

 this country, apiaries of small extent abound. In the United 

 States leading bee-keepers discourage this kind of thing. In 

 Britain it is the other way, and the cottager is advised and 

 helped to carry on a little apiary as an adjunct to his means 

 of getting a livelihood. Why bee-keeping ou a small scale 

 should be frowned upon, it is not so easy to perceive.- The 

 extensive gardener does not try to put down gardening on a 

 7x9 area. The dairyman does not object to householders 

 keeping a family cow. Nor is it easy to see why objection 

 should be made to a family producing its own stock and store 

 of honey. 



What does deserve to be discouraged is entering on bee- 

 keeping, whether on a large or small scale, iu utter ignorance 

 of the pursuit. It is the height of folly for people to suppose, 

 as many do, that it is only necessary to get a colony of bees 

 and then leave them to shift for themselves. The home gar- 

 den and the family cow will not thrive if thus treated. There 

 is a " know-how " connected with everything which is essen- 

 tial to success. This must be acquired in some way or other, 

 or it is folly to attempt gardening, cow-keeping, bee-keeping 

 or any other pursuit. 



As illustrative of bee-keeping on a small scale, attention 

 is called to a communication published herewith under the 

 heading, " How Two Colonies Wintered." The writer evi- 

 dently has the " know-how," and the details of his manage- 

 ment and experience are interesting. I hope he will give 

 more of the history of his two colonies later on in the season. 

 I do not think he will change his mind as to the advisability 

 of out-door wintering in the latitude of Toronto. Farther 

 north, say Muskoka, the cellar may be preferable, but in the 

 milder parts of Ontario, wintering as described by Mr. Grant 

 is quite practicable, and far less trouble than cellar-wintering. 



As a scientific pastime, bee-keeping on a small scale is 

 greatly to be commended, apart from any economical or finan- 

 cial reasons. I know a doctor in Montreal who for several 



years kept an observing bee-hive on a balcony opening from 

 an upstairs window, and derived no end of pleasure from 

 observing and studying the ways of " the little busy bee." It 

 is well if our recreations can be made to increase our stock 

 and store of useful knowledge. 



How Two Colonies Wintered. 



" Bee-Mastkr," Dear Sir ; — Being a reader of the Ameri- 

 can Bee .Tournal and a bee-man of fairly long standing, and 

 successful to boot, though not in this hemisphere, I take much 

 pleasure in perusing its contents. In the old country — Britain 

 — from which I hail, we have, as you know, no such extremes 

 of climate as are experienced here, and consequently the bees, 

 iu winter time especially, are left much more to themselves. 

 I have two colonies, the result of one I bought last spring, and 

 these have come through the winter in tip-top condition. I 

 could not have desired anything better. I didn't have re- 

 course to the cellar as a protection against the rigorous winter 

 through which we have just come. The hives stood on the 

 summer stands. 



In the autumn I made a box large enough to hold both 

 hives and admit of a space of six inches or so all round them. 

 This space I filled with forest leaves firmly packed, and on 

 top of the hives I placed four or five inches of cork-dust ; 

 about this again more leaves. The box was filled to the top 

 and nailed down. In the one case I made no accommodation 

 for ventilation from beneath. This hive was also virtually 

 full of bees in autumn. In the other case the hive was not so 

 full of bees, yet I gave two inches or so of space below the 

 frames. Both hives were closed from the beginning of Decem- 

 ber until the break up of winter the end of March, making 

 altogether nearly four mouths. 



By closing up I mean, I put on in front of the hive wire- 

 gauze, so that no bees could by any means get out. I gave 

 them no further attention until I took off the wire. 



I found in the case of the former hive a very large num- 

 ber of dead bees and still a strong colony. A large propor- 

 tion of the dead bees were absolutely black and shiny, minus 

 wings, etc.; the result, I think, of some disease which I 

 slightly noticed in the autumn, though I can't explain the 

 nature or cause. This colony is entirely healthy now, how- 

 ever. 



In the other case I found about a hundred or so dead 

 bees, and a colony much stronger than when closed up in 

 autumn. This hive besides was perfectly dry in every corner 

 — not so the other, yet it was not bad. Had I done the same 

 with bees in the old country, I should have had two colonies 

 either dead or dying with dysentry. But here they seem to 

 suffer no inconvenience whatever from long confinement. 



I forgot to say that I shaded both hives from the rays of 

 the sun, and that the entrance was the whole width of the 

 hive. I am inclined to think that bees will, under favorable 

 conditions as to food and protection from damp, stand any 

 amount of cold. My experience of a year ago bears me out in 

 this. I had occasion to be visiting friends in the State of 

 Rhode Islaud a year ago, when by accident I discovered a 

 colony of bees in a gate-post. I went to work at once to get 

 them out, as I had only a day or two longer to stay, and this 

 was in March, just after the break up of a month of the cold- 

 est weather I have as yet experienced. To my great astonish- 

 ment, I got as large a number of bees as I ever saw in any 

 individual colony in raid-summer. The entrance I may say 

 to the nest was from the top of the post, immediately below 

 the head-cope, which jutted out all around far enough to fully 

 protect the bees from wet. There was an ample supply of 

 stores and no end of brood. 



I would not for a minute say that it is not necessary to 

 use cellars for protection, which reduces to a minimum the 

 large amount of labor necessary to proper protection from 

 dampness, yet it seems to me that no care need be taken in 

 keeping up a uniform degree of heat around the hives, in 

 order to have strong colonies in spring. No doubt this is not 

 the case everywhere, and 1 may yet have to change my mind 

 in regard to wintering, as doubtless bee-keepers throughout 

 the Dominion of Canada have tried all places and found the 

 cellar the most reliable. 



There seems to be a good prospect for bee-keepers this 

 year in this vicinity. G. W. Grant. 



Toronto, Ont., April 26. 



'I'lisil i^cM" i^oiig' — " Queenie Jeanette" — which is being 

 sung everywhere, we can send you for -JO cents, postpaid, or club 

 it with the American Bee Journal for one year — both for only 

 $1.10. Or, send us one new subscriber for a year (with $1.00), and 

 we will mail you a copy of the song free. 



