1196 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



with the extractor, as it is impossible to let 

 all see the "performance" with the extrac- 

 tor standing vipright in a crowd. 



With the idea that others who might wish 

 to make such demonstrations might draw at 

 least some idea as to how to arrange it, 1 

 have gone into details. The subject matter 

 must, of course, be changed to suit the occa- 

 sion. 



A successful feature in such demonstrations 

 is to arrange for several persons, experts in 

 their lines, to take part, letting each handle his 

 own subject brieiiy. This creates a better 

 interest and closer attention of the audience 

 every time a new speaker "trots out" with 

 something new. Besides, each speaker starts 

 out with something "fresh." It has a great 

 advantage over just one person covering the 

 whole subject, as it becomes monotonous to 

 the audience and tiresome on the part of the 

 speaker to keep up an interest for an hour 

 or more, on the same subject. People want 

 a variety, so we must provide for that. 



CELLAR WINTERING. 



The Effect of Disturbance; How to Man- 

 age so that there will be but Few Dead 

 Bees on the Floor. 



BY E. W. ALEXANDER. 



[This article, as will be seen, came late last March; 

 but as the subject for discussion would be more sea- 

 sonable we have held it until now.— Ed.] 



It seems rather strange to me that Mr. 

 Bingham, on p. 407, March 15th issue, should 

 question the importance of perfect quiet in 

 bee-cellars during the long cold months of 

 the northern winters. 1 think our experiences 

 must be taking diverging lines For a long 

 time I have thought that this subject of per- 

 fect quiet was one upon which we could all 

 agree, but it seems there is a difference of 

 opinion even here. 



Now, before entering into an argument I 

 will admit that there are certain times when 

 the conditions are such that a disturbance 

 among the bees is not in the least harmful. 

 For instance, the disturliing inliuence of the 

 sun on a warm balmy day in early Novem- 

 ber, even though it causes every bee in the 

 colony to take a fly, can not be considered 

 detrimental; but if on a cool cloudy day we 

 open the hive with a snap and a jar, using 

 smoke to enable us to replace the light combs 

 with combs of honey, thus breaking up the 

 winter cluster, causing the bees to fill them- 

 selves with honey, then certainly we have 

 sown the seed of winter losses and spring 

 dwindling. And, while it might not do our 



bees much harm to enter their cellar and 

 quietly remove the dead bees from the floor, 

 1 do think it would be a great mistake to take 

 off the bottom-boards and tops with a sudden 

 jar, and then carry the hive- bodies to anoth- 

 er part of the cellar, using smoke to keep the 

 bees in, causing them to gorge themselves 

 with honey. Then carefully sliding a dish 

 holding a pound of warm honey under the 

 cluster of a colony, and withdrawing from 

 the cellar as soon as possible, might disturb 

 them but little, as but comparatively few 

 bees would be engaged in taking up the 

 honey. But if you remove some of the cen- 

 ter combs, and pour the honey into them, re- 

 turning these wet combs to their hive, caus- 

 ing all the bees to fill themselves with honey, 

 and to scatter through the hive, then again 

 there would be cause for future restlessness 

 and loss. 



The injurious effects of disturbing bees in 

 winter depends to a great extent upon how 

 often and to what an extent it is practiced. 

 When we wintered our bees in the cellar of 

 our dwelling-house, with four rollicking chil- 

 dren playing over them, it was no uncom- 

 mon thing for many colonies to be badly af- 

 fected with dysentery in February and March. 

 Then it was " Hobson's choice " to leave them 

 in the cellar and see them waste away and 

 die, or set them out for a fly and have the 

 most of them die after they were put back, 

 for the bees never again quieted down into a 

 compact cluster, but continued restless and 

 uneasy until they were set out to stay. 



In regard to the effect of a continued jar- 

 ring noise over a cellar of bees, as in the case 

 of The A. I. Root Co.'s bee-cellar under the 

 machine-shop, I would say that 1 have al- 

 ways believed this disturbance was very 

 closely related to the necessity of so many 

 mid-winter flights. 



As to giving bees a sleighride of fifty or 

 sixty miles in mid-winter, I am quite sure 

 that there are not many that would care to 

 have their bees handled in that way for much 

 less than their actual value. I have brought 

 home on a sleigh bees that 1 bought in the 

 winter, and then put them into a cellar; but 

 without a single exception I had to set them 

 out early in the spring in order to save them. 

 Bees handled in that way never will stand 

 five months or more of confinement. I have 

 never thought that it did any particular harm 

 to enter a bee-cellar occasionally for a few 

 minutes, if as little noise is made as possible. 



But when from any cause a disturbance is 

 made in winter to the extent that the cluster 

 is broken up and the bees get frightened, fill- 

 ing themselves with honey, then because of 

 the unnatural condition they are injured very 

 much and only a chance to fly will restore 

 them to a normal state. 



We have to-day, March 23, 750 colonies in 

 our cellar, and the bees are so still with the 

 thermometer at 45° that, when I entered this 

 morning with a lamp, it was almost impossi- 

 ble to hear the least noise, and there seems 

 . to be less than 4 quarts of dead bees in the 

 cellar, and not a spot of dysentery on any 

 hive. 



