68 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Witb Replies thereto. 



[It is quite useless to aek for answers to 

 Queries in this Department in less time 

 than one month. They have to wait their 

 turn, be put in type, and sent in about a 

 dozen at a time to each of those who answer 

 them ; get them returned, and then find 

 space for them in the Journal. If you are 

 in a " hurry " for replies, do not ask for 

 them to be Inserted here.— Ed.1 



Feeiliiig Bees in the Surini. 



Query, No. 368.— When feeding bees in 

 the spring, that were wintered on the sum- 

 mer stands, at what degree of Fahrenheit 

 should the weather be to make it safe to 

 open the hives to feed the bees ?— C. L.,Iowa. 



Almost any spring weather will do, 

 if you do not leave the hive open un- 

 necessarily.— Dadant & Son. 



If the sun shines, at 50" and above. 

 If the day is cloudy, it had better be 

 60° and above.— G. L. Tinker. 



If they need spring feeding, you 

 can do it any bright sunny day. Close 

 the hive as soon as possible.— H. D. 

 Cutting. 



I should choose a " warm day," say 

 with the temperature not below 55° 

 or 603. X do not think, however, that 

 this is important.— W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son. 



If in the morning, 60° to 80°, ac- 

 cording to clouds and wind. If late 

 in the evening, any temperature will 

 do. The main point is not to excite 

 the bees to fly out to become chilled 

 to death.— C. W. Dayton. 



I do not like to open the hive to 

 takeout frames, etc., at a lower de- 



§ree than W- in the shade. But why 

 isturb the brood-nest in feeding V It 

 is not necessary. — G. M. Doolittle. 



Just that temperature when the 

 bees can fly out with safety. At least 

 that is my opinion, and it works well 

 with me, in carrying it out in prac- 

 tice.— J. E. Pond. 



I place the feeder above the cluster, 

 and I can feed at any temperature. 

 This is why I like the Smith feeder, 

 as described in last editions of my 

 book.— A. J. Cook. 



Sixtv to 70=' and upwards. Much 

 depends upon whether or not the sun 

 strikes the hive, as it should. I always 

 reckon degrees on a thermometer that 

 stands in the shade. — James Heddon. 



It is best to give enough feed in the 

 fall. About 50= I think is best. If in 

 great need of both, I would quickly 

 raise the quilt and lay sticks of candy 

 between and across the frames over 

 the cluster. As soon as warm enough, 

 feed sugar syrup in atmospheric feed- 

 ers over the cluster. If they will take 

 it up, keep on until they get enough 

 to last until they can gather from 

 natural sources, then stop " tinker- 

 ing."— J. P. H. Brown. 



I feed them soft candy or candied 

 honey on top of the frames at any 

 time, if I know they need feeding. 



Of course I do not keep the hives 

 open but a moment of time, and cover 

 the bees up warmly after the feed is 

 placed in position. If it is a mere 

 question of handling bees in the 

 spring, I do not disturb them unless 

 it is warm enough for the bees to fly 

 in the oi)en air. I do not handle them 

 when it is so cool that the bees are 

 likely to be chilled if they are dropped 

 from the combs. You cannot always 

 tell when this would occur, by the 

 degree of Fahrenheit.- G. W. Dem- 



AREB. 



You cannot go altogether by the 

 thermometer. On a clear, dry, bright 

 sunshiny day, a lower temperature 

 will do than on a cloudy, damp day. 

 You had better not disturb bees much 

 when they cannot fly freely. Still, if 

 they are likely to run out of stores, 

 you can put some feed where they can 

 get at it even when quite cold. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



It is quite unnecessary to open the 

 hives in order to feed the bees. If 

 you must open the hives, let the tem- 

 perature be at 50°, Fahr., if it is a 

 bright day ; or more, if it is cloudy.— 

 The Editor. 



Ventilating Bee-Cellars, etc. 



Ct«€ry,No.3j69,— l.If bees are wintered in 

 a cellar tliat is kept at a temperature of 40° 

 to 50°, is other ventilation than is ordinarily 

 given a fruit and vegetable cellar essential '/ 

 2. In such a cellar is absolute darkness es- 

 sential ?— B., Iowa. 



I think not.— James Heddon. 



1. No. 2. No.— H. D. Cutting. 



1. No. 2. Yes. There are excep- 

 tional instances, though. — C. W. 

 Dayton. 



I think that your cellar is all right 

 as it is. It is better to be dark.— J. 

 P. H. Brown. 



No ; but I would prefer a little ven- 

 tilation in mild weather, and darkness 

 at all times.— G. M. Doolittle. 



1. In my opinion, no. 2. I think 

 that absolute darkness is an essential 

 requirement for cellar wintering. — J. 

 E. Pond. 



If there are many hives it will need 

 more ventilation than if there are 

 only a few. Absolute darkness is not 

 essential, but it is far the best, as f evper 

 bees will try to go out.— Dadant & 

 Son. 



I cannot comprehend why an abund- 

 ance of pur air should be objection- 

 able ; neither do I know that any more 

 ventilation is needed than that ordi- 

 narily given a fruit and vegetable 

 cellar. I do not think absolute dark- 

 ness objectionable ; neither am I cer- 

 tain that it is essential— W.Z.Hutch- 

 inson. 



No ; my cellar is 25x30, and 7 feet 

 deep. It is closed up as tight as I can 

 make it, so that no perceptible cur- 

 rent of air comes in anywhere. Not- 

 withstanding, there is an active circu- 

 lation of air in the cellar, owing to 

 the presence of a fire in one of the 

 rooms overhead.— G. L. Tinker. 



1. Yes. 2. Not as long as the bees 

 are quiet. Bees in the best condition 



are not likely to be disturbed by full 

 daylight, but when they get uneasy, 

 darkness will, I think, keep bees in 

 the hive that otherwise would come 

 out. On the whole, I prefer to have 

 my cellar perfectly dark, generally. — 

 C. C. Miller. 



I do not think that any other venti- 

 lation is required for a few bees. For 

 many, I should like sub-earth venti- 

 lation, so as to be sure of the right 

 temperature and good air. I would 

 have the cellar perfectly dark. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



Other ventilation is not necessary. 

 Though " absolute darkness " may 

 not be positively essential, it is gen- 

 erally desirable.— The Editor. 



WliyMtlieBeesPerlsli? 



Query, No. 370 Late in the fall of 1884 



I had 3 light colonies of bees that I fed sugar 

 syrup by putting it in combs and placing 

 one hive (American) on top of another, for 

 the bees to carry the syrup down. But 

 within 24 hours it became intensely cold, 

 and remained so for about 20 days. When I 

 opened the hives I found them nice and 

 clean, but to my surprise the bees were 

 dead, with plenty of honey within reach. 

 The hives were packed from 3 to 4 inches on 

 all sides, but not on top. They had a screen 

 6x6 inches in the bottom-board, and the top 

 was on each hive. 1. Can you account for the 

 bees perishing ? 2. Will bees freeze when all 

 the conditions are right ?— S. B., Ind. 



1. No. 2. No.— James Heddon. 



In all probability they starved. 

 When bees become very cold they 

 will not leave the cluster for food, but 

 remain and starve. — H. D. Cutting. 



I guess they starved to death. It 

 was so cold that they could not leave 

 the cluster to get the honey.— C. C. 

 Miller. 



The bees starved to death. Next 

 time put the food where the bees can 

 get it— at the clxister— and not away off, 

 separated from the bees by a barrier 

 of freezing atmosphere. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



The bees were not able to reach the 

 honey, and starved. If bees can get 

 to their stores they are not liable to 

 freeze.— G. L. Tinker. 



Bees will not freeze when all the 

 conditions for successful wintering 

 are right.— G. M. Doolittle. 



The bees may not have gotten their 

 stores in proper shape for so long- 

 continued and severe cold. I do not 

 think that bees will freeze " when all 

 the conditions are right."— W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



The cold was so intense that func- 

 tional activity ceased. The bees per- 

 ished with the cold. This is why I 

 E refer cellars to packing or chaff 

 ives. — A. J. Cook. 



Twenty days of intensely cold 

 weather without any let-up would 

 perhaps wear out the constitution of 

 almost any colony of bees, situated as 

 you describe the colony in question. 

 I have frequently had the opportunity 

 to learn that bees in the cluster can 

 endure intense cold for a few days at 

 a time, but this does not argue that 

 continued cold will not wear them 

 out.— G. W. Demaree. 



