THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



103 



further depreciation of prices. They 

 would of course have to establish 

 honey depots in all the principal 

 cities and towns of this country, and 

 perhaps eventually open up markets 

 in foreign lands. Then let no honey 

 be sold at any price except through, 

 or by the consent of this company, 

 and each member be allowed to ship 

 in honey in proportion to the amount 

 of stock he has. 



You can call this a " corner," pool, 

 or what else you please, but I am con- 

 vinced that if rightly organized and 

 ably managed, a company of this kind 

 could not fail to be of immense ad- 

 vantage to the bee-keepers of this 

 country , without working to the detri- 

 ment of any one. The railroad com- 

 panies pool issues ; the great manu- 

 racturing and mining companies or- 

 ganize and combine for their own 

 financial safety and protection, and 

 why not we V Xo doubt there would 

 be obstacles to remove and difficulties 

 to surmount, and many a " Doubting 

 Thomas " to silence. It might even 

 take several years to fully organize 

 and equip a company of this charac- 

 ter, but perseverance and persistent 

 effort would in due time accomplish 

 the desired end, and lift the vast 

 honey interests of this country out of 

 the slough of despondency and place 

 them upon the solid basis of perma- 

 nent prosperity. The hour is ripe — 

 the opportunity of a life-time is be- 

 fore us. Will we improve it V What 

 say you, fellow bee-keepers ? 



Columbiana, (J O. 



For tbe Amencan Bee JouraaL 



How to Sell Honey, etc. 



W. J. CULLINAN. 



As to fixing the price of honey, I 

 think it would be difficult to do, al- 

 though much might be done toward 

 keeping up the price. I am of the 

 opinion that if bee-keepers would 

 organize themselves into commercial 

 unions in every State, gather up the 

 honey of their specified territories, 

 grade, crate, and offer it in attractive 

 shape and at stated prices, it would 

 be a big stride toward success. 



In the meantime, each individual 

 honey-producer should thoroughly 

 canvass his (or her) own neighbor- 

 hood, and thus build up a trade of 

 their own. There is no apiarist but 

 who has lots of customers all around 

 him, and he will surprise himself if 

 he will but make an effort to bring 

 them in contact with his product and 

 solicit their patronage. 



Tell them (your customers) that 

 honey is good for the lungs and liver ; 

 that they will not cough so much nor 

 be so bilious ; that it is a blood purifier, 

 a mild laxative, in fine a thorough and 

 harmless renovator of the whole sys- 

 tem ; that they will live longer, feel 

 better, be more at peace with them- 

 selves, their Maker, and with man- 

 kind ; die happier, and leave a greater 

 legacy to their children, if they will 

 but consume honey in lieu of other 

 sweets. Remember, ■' you know not 

 what you can do until you try !" 



On Nov. 27, 1886, 1 carried 16 colo- 

 nies of bees into the cellar, the tem- 

 perature of wliich I have tried to 

 keep as near 42", Fahr., as possible, 

 although at one time it sank to the 

 freezing point. I find that the bees 

 keep the most quiet at from 38° to 

 42°. On Jan. 20 I carried 3 colonies 

 out of the cellar, and found, upon ex- 

 amination, that they were in splendid 

 condition, with scarcely a dozen dead 

 bees to the colony, and hardly any 

 perceivable diminution in their stores. 

 I never saw bees lookcleaner,brighter 

 and happier at this season of the 

 year. It is too soon to crow, but I 

 must say that I am highly pleased 

 with cellar wintering, so far ! 



Mt. Sterling,o Ills., Jan. 27, 1887. 



For tbe Amertcan Bee JoumoL 



Effects Of too Mncli Ventilation. 



C. W. DAYTON. 



Though I have always argued in 

 favor of ventilation, I did not always 

 find it entirely satisfactory. Many of 

 the readers probably know that I 

 practiced suspending the colonies in 

 " mid-air" in the cellar. 



When I began keeping bees I 

 thought if I could get the bees safely 

 through the winter I should be satis- 

 fied. This was only partly the case. 

 While I was pleased to find the colo- 

 nies strong and healthy it was less 

 pleasing to see them entirely destitute 

 of brood. By experiment it was found 

 that the nearer the condition of the 

 colonies approached the " mid-air " 

 suspension method of ventilation, the 

 more certain was the preservation of 

 the lives of the bees, and their ability 

 to rear brood was proportionately les- 

 sened. 



My cellar is contrived so that any 

 degree of temperature between 40° 

 and 50° can be easily maintained. 

 The colonies were put into the cellar 

 from Nov. 12 to Nov. 2.5, and taken 

 out from April 12 to April 25 in every 

 year. Sometimes 100 colonies win- 

 tered entirely without loss, and when 

 put out they were found without so 

 much as an egg to indicate the pres- 

 ence of a queen. 



When they were put out late in 

 April it would be late in May before 

 young bees could be reared to take 

 the place of those that were fast dis- 

 appearing on account of old age. As a 

 consequence, btrong colonies that con- 

 tinued a month without replenish- 

 ment, became weak, and consisted 

 almost entirely of young bees. Had 

 the colonies come from the cellar 

 weak in bees they would have been 

 very likely to have dwindled entirely 

 away ; but the colonies that were 

 wintered on the suspension principle 

 were almost without exception very 

 strong and healthy when put out, so 

 they built up again after the dwind- 

 ling season was over. 



Having the colonies in their weak- 

 est condition (in number of bees) 

 about the middle of May, and the 

 white clover coming into bloom from 

 June 10 to June 20, it made lively 

 business getting the weakened colo- 



nies in good working condition in the 

 short space of time. Under these con- 

 ditions have I reported successful 

 wintering of the bees, and that they 

 were not ready to sip from the clover 

 when it came into bloom. 



By the suspension method I have 

 wintered strong colonies in all tem- 

 peratures ranging from 30° to 50° 

 above zero, and maintained all the 

 winter, and it was a rare case if the 

 colonies were not well supplied with 

 healthy bees when taken out in the 

 spring. In wintering very small 

 colonies at a temperature of 30°, they 

 gradually dwindled away, yet not so 

 fast but that some bees remained to 

 protect the queen until taken out of 

 the cellar. This experiment was 

 tried many times, and it was seldom 

 that the colonies came through the 

 winter in good condition. 



When the temperature for the 

 small colonies was at 50°, they came 

 out tolerably well, but as they needed 

 warmer and closer packing in the 

 spring, and close attention all the 

 time, I gave up their care as too 

 "puttering" business. I think 60° 

 would be about right for 2frame 

 nuclei in the forepart of the winter, 

 and 75° or 80° the proper temperature 

 to start brood-rearing in March and 

 April. Ten degrees lower than that 

 would do if their brood-chambers were 

 tightly sealed above, but I flud where 

 the brood-nests are tightly sealed all 

 winter, moisture accumulates and 

 disorders the colonies so that 99 out 

 of a loo are in a deplorable condition 

 long before spring comes to their re- 

 lief. The abundant ventilation and 

 consequent conditions seems to re- 

 strict the bees so that they remain 

 tightly clustered for the economizing 

 of heat. 



Bradford, (5 Iowa. 



For tbe Amencan Bee-Joomal. 



Prevention of Swarming. 



J. H. ANDRE. 



The general opinion of those who 

 have spent a life-time with bees, is 

 that there is no sure way to pre- 

 vent swarming, unless the colonies 

 are kept weak by dividing, and then 

 one must use care or the hatching of 

 young queens will frustrate his plans. 

 But if one does not want natural 

 swarms, he will hardly want to divide 

 colonies. My way of preventing 

 swarms (remember, I do not say it is 

 infallible) is -to feed the bees in the 

 spring until the apple blossoms 

 furnish nectar ; if there are no blos- 

 soms, feed the bees later, but discon- 

 tinue the feeding at least a week or 

 ten days before white clover blossoms; 

 this will get the colony strong in bees, 

 and enough should be fed so that 10 

 pounds will be stored in the hive. 



There is usually a short honey drouth 

 between apple bloom and white 

 clover, and if the bees have been fed 

 liberally previous to this, it will be 

 quite natural for the queen to cease 

 laying. This will give a strong colony 

 of bees, and of the right age to gather 

 honey instead of swarming, and when 



