574 



GLEANIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 



seemed to revel in honey to their hearts' content. 

 By this time the basswood blossoms were dried up 

 here at home; but still the honey came, and for 5 

 days more the combs in the sections grew as if by 

 magic, from honey brought from the basswood on 

 that hill 6 miles or more away, which you, Mr. Edit- 

 or, and a few others, have tried to make us believe 

 pur bees never visited; or if they did, they did so to 

 no advantage. On Aug. 11 the bees found the honey 

 nearly gone on the hill, and by the 13th the end of 

 the honey harvest for 188:5 had arrived; for after 

 basswood. the bees obtained scarcely a living (as 

 buckwheat gave no honey), which makes the sixth 

 year it has failed us. The result of our basswood 

 yield proved to be 2388 lbs. of comb honey, and 1922 

 lbs. of extracted, making 4.^10 lbs. in all from the 40 

 stocks in spring, or an avei-age of 107!*^ lbs. per col- 

 ony. Our comb honey was sold to a man buying for 

 a Boston house, at Itic per lb. for most of it, deliver- 

 ed at our nearest railroad station, and our extracted 

 is selling readily at 10c per lb. Adding to our honey 

 the sales of bees and queens, I And I have $1021.30 

 as the net proceeds from my bees for the year 1883, 

 notwithstanding the loss of bees during the winter, 

 and the cold wet summer. As I have 80 colonies to- 

 day in as good condition for winter as they were a 

 year ago, I can safely give the amount above as my 

 salary for one year's work, caring for 80 stocks of 

 bees. G. M. DooLiTTLE. 



Borodino, N. Y.. Oct. 15, 1883. 



Friend D., it is certainly encouraging to 

 hear that you have come but again with a 

 fair crop of honey ; and it enables us to say, 

 when people tell us doleful stories about bad 

 seasons, that there is at least one man who 

 gets a good crop of honey, even during a bad 

 season, and that he does it year after year 

 continuously. Do you mean that you retail 

 your extracted honey at 10 cts. per lb., or is 

 that what you get for it in barrel lots ? If 

 the latter, the price is* very fair ; but if the 

 former, I should think it is getting down 

 pretty cheap. 



QUEER EXPERIMENTS IN WINTERING. 



SOMETHING NOT MENTIONED BY VIRGIL. 



HE have all heard how deadly pollen is for bees 

 to eat in winter; and I had no very great 

 inclination to kick against the doctrine; 

 but then, "I wanted to know, you know. ' If a colo- 

 ny was very strong in numbers, and so protected 

 from cold as to have but little trouble in keeping 

 warm, who knows but they would winter with noth- 

 ing else than pollen to eat? I am afraid I did not se- 

 cure the conditions mentioned very well, but thus 

 and so I did. A pit was dug in sandy soil, between 

 two and three feet cube in size. Within upon four 

 blocks, and with no bottom - board, was set one 

 story of a hive. Eight combs were so spread as 

 to fill the space designed for ten; and six condemned 

 colonies of bees were shaken in higglety-pigglety to 

 form an extra-strong stock. You see, it wasn't 

 quite so naughty as brimstoning the bees — this 

 spending them on an experimen^. The frames of 

 comb used had been run through the extractor, but 

 were heavy with pollen which had been stored by 

 queenless colonies. Three of the comb?, however, 

 contained a little honey, about 5 lbs. in all; so the 

 bees could commence living on honey, and then learn 

 to eat the other fodder. TTpward ventilation was 



left at one side and end of the top, and the rest of 

 the top was covered with enamel cloth reinforced by 

 a number of thicknesses of waste paper. A big 

 sheet of tin arched above made sure against any 

 droppings of water. A board cover was put on the 

 pit, over which earth was heaped up. Another pit 

 was tried the same way, except that all the combs 

 were emptied of honey, and some dirty and partly 

 soured liquid honey, tied up in a cloth, was laid upon 

 the top of the combs. This work was done Oct. 26th 

 and 27th, and on the 4th of April I dug in and found 

 them— all dead as nails. The tirst colony had eaten 

 all their honey, but only a little of the pollen. Some 

 dysenteric excrement was found on the frames, but 

 not very much of it. I " guessed " that the last bees 

 had died in March some time. The second colony 

 looked to me as If they had all perished in Decem- 

 ber. None of the pollen seemed missing, and there 

 were no signs of any of the honey having been stor- 

 ed in the combs. The honey had gradually leaked 

 down and wasted, probably. And still I'm not quite 

 easy in my mind. Like the good man of whom I've 

 heard my father tell, who was confident he could 

 walk on the water, " I think I'll try it again." 



Four more similar pits were dug, and furnished 

 with substantial board covers, on which a big sheet 

 of tin was also laid to keep out the rain. No earth 

 was shoveled upon these, but the covers were prop- 

 ped up in mild weather, and let down in severe 

 weather. This, you see, was a sort of compromise 

 between outdoor wintering and cellar wintering, 

 the hives being perfectly protected against wind, 

 but only partially so against frost. For breathing 

 purposes they had some of the time free outdoor 

 air, and some of the time confined air. You kindly 

 suggested last fall, friend Root, that a tile drain be 

 laid, opening into each pit, for sub-earth ventilation. 

 That would, indeed have been the proper way; but 

 if I had waited for time to do thai , the experiment 

 would not have been tried at all. To occupy each of 

 these four pits, one hive (just as it stood after the 

 sections were taken off) was set in. Enamels and 

 cushions had been put above the frames when the 

 honey was taken, but the frames were not loosened 

 at all. Now for the result. During the fearful 

 ocean of slush we had in February, the surface wa- 

 ter got a channel into one pit, and drowned the oc- 

 cupants. The others came out well— fully as well, I 

 thought, as the average of those packed two and two 

 above ground. The colonies in pits used a little the 

 most honey, I think. With the addition of the tile- 

 drain ventilator, I judge that this would be an excel- 

 lent way to winter a small apiary. For a large apia- 

 ry, the work involved in opening and shutting so 

 many covers so many times would be a serious ob- 

 jection. When the covers are raised in mild weath- 

 er the bees can take flight from the pits, and return 

 again. 



Two other pits were dug. and three poor, light 

 colonies were put in and burled up "for keeps," one 

 in one pit and two in the other. When dug up, Apr. 

 4th, two were dead and one living. The weakest in 

 numbers had died of dysentery before eating half of 

 their honey. The other defunct one also left some 

 honey, and perished with dysentery. The surviving 

 colony was weak, and dwindled out during the 

 spring. 



I had also three late swarms that inhabited holes 

 in the ground, and had never enjoyed the blessings 

 of a hive " at all, at all." Their premises may be de- 

 scribed thus: A trench, about 18 Inches wi<Je by 3 ft. 



