40G 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



required, for consecutive days, and 

 careful observations were taken. 



At a range of temperature from 48° 

 to 62° Fatir., according to the humid- 

 ity of the atmosphere in the cellar, 

 bees, according to a rule of nature, 

 enter into the hibernating state. 

 After repeated trials over a wide 

 range of temperature, at 41° Fahr., I 

 found the shape of the cluster most 

 permanent. AVhile that degree of 

 temperature was maintained, little 

 change in the shape or location of the 

 clusters could be seen, and functional 

 activity on the part of individual 

 bees, and of the whole colony as well, 

 seemed to have reached the minimum 

 degree of manifestation, even respira- 

 tion seemed to be suspended. The 

 change in the form of the cluster was 

 determined by outline drawings on 

 paper. The colonies presented sub- 

 stantially the same outline for days 

 together when a uniform temperature 

 of 41° was maintained. I placed some 

 colonies in a darkened building late 

 in the fall of the year, and when the 

 temperature was 4CP Fahr. natural 

 heat on a dry day above the ground, 

 the same phenomena were observed. 



The temperature of the cellar was 

 lowered by admitting the air through 

 an outer room, so that no perceptible 

 currents entered the apartment where 

 the bees were kept. The degree of 

 unrest and activity increased in pro- 

 portion as the temperature neared 

 the zero point. Thirty seven degrees 

 Fahr. in a very dry cellar is a danger 

 point, the danger increasing in pro- 

 portion as the temperature is lowered 

 or the humidity of the atmosphere is 

 increased. 



The degree of activity shown by 

 bees when the temperature in the 

 repository or cellar is 44° Fahr., is 

 not much greater than at 41°, all other 

 conditions being the same. 



At intervals of about one week 

 the bees arouse to activity, the form 

 of the cluster changes, and after three 

 or four hours of cheerful and content- 

 ed humming, having in the mean- 

 time appeased their hunger, the 

 cluster is reformed into a compact 

 body, the humming ceases, respira- 

 tion becomes slow, profound silence 

 reigns in the hive until change of 

 temperature or the demands of hunger 

 rouse the bees from the coma in 

 which they have been bound. The 

 more perfect the conditions for hiber- 

 nation the longer the periods of in- 

 activity. 



As the activity of bees is not much 

 greater when the temperature in the 

 cellar or repository is steadily main- 

 tained at 44" than it is at 41°, and as 

 41° is too near the danger point, I find 

 it safer to keep the temperature in 

 dry winter repositories, whether above 

 or below the ground, at 44° Fahr., and 

 I find it better that the variation 

 from the standard degree of 41° Fahr. 

 should be in proportion of 2° above 

 rather than ]'- below. If the reposi- 

 tory be damp a degree of temperature 

 higher in proportion to the dampness 

 should be maintained. The hive 

 should incline from back to front, 

 and the entrance should be left wide 

 open. 



It has been the practice of many to 

 raise the temperature in winter re- 

 positories in order to stimulate breed- 

 ing toward the close of the hibernat- 

 ing period. I have tried this, and in 

 my experience I find it better to main- 

 tain as nearly as possible an even 

 temperature until the bees may be 

 safely placed on the summer stands. 

 What is gained in early breeding is 

 more than lost in the waste of vitality 

 on the part of the older bees. In the 

 case of bees wintered on the summer 

 stands or in a clamp, the packing of 

 dry forest leaves, chaff, or sawdust 

 placed above the quilt should be 

 closely packed about the edges, and 

 should be from 7 to 12 inches in thick- 

 ness. Indeed, it would be difficult to 

 get the packing above the cluster too 

 deep, provided the ventilation above 

 the packing is sufficient to carry ofi 

 moisture. 



For ttie American Bee JoumaL 



Bee-Territory for Bee-KecBers. 



OLIVER FOSTER, (296—298). 



I have just read Wm. F. Clarke's 

 article on page 377, about "Legisla- 

 tion on Priority of Location," and it 

 seems to me that he presses his point 

 rather strongly with regard to Dr. 

 Miller's position regarding "priority." 

 I have probably not read quite all that 

 has been published on this question 

 in the various bee-papers, but if I 

 have understood Dr. Miller's position 

 from first to last, I heartily agree 

 with him, although it seems to me 

 his position has never been clearly 

 defined. As I am neither a lawyer, 

 nor the son of a lawyer, and know but 

 little about civil government, I have 

 taken no part in this discussion ; nor 

 shall I now, as far as it relates to legal 

 practicability ; but what I would like 

 to see, I will try to imagine as follows: 



Let the authorities of Linn county 

 (in which I reside) assume the con- 

 trol of the territory of the county as 

 far as bee-pasturage is concerned, in 

 something the same way that a 

 patentee assumes the control of his 

 territory as far as his patent is con- 

 cerned—the authority being derived 

 from government. Let it be adver- 

 tised several months in advance, that 

 the county will be sold upon a certain 

 date by townships as bee-keepers' 

 territory, for a term of years (say 10 

 years) to the highest bidders, with 

 certain regulations and restrictions, 

 one of which might be that all pres- 

 ent owners of bees may have the 

 privilege of keeping their present 

 number of colonies by paying to the 

 owner of the township in which their 

 bees are kept, a specified tax per 

 colony, which should be something 

 more than the price paid for the town- 

 ship, divided by the whole number of 

 colonies in it. 



Other regulations may be added if 

 necessary to secure perfect justice to 

 all. Any new party wishing to keep 

 bees could purchase a limited right to 

 do so from the owner of the township, 

 provided that the owner chose to sell 

 such right. 



If some such legislation were prac- 

 tical, though I fear it would not be, i 

 the enterprising specialist would j 

 "bid off" his own and adjoining ' 

 townships. He could then safely invest 

 in artificial pasturage, and in perm- 

 anent buildings and appliances. 

 Should the foul brood scourge invade 

 his territory, he could fight it with 

 some hopes of conquering. He could 

 control the blood of his bees, breed- 

 ing up improved strains to an un- 

 limited state of perfection. 



If we undertake to buy up all the 

 bees in box-hives in our neighbor- 

 hood, we will probably find parties 

 who can sell us more such bees than 

 we can buy, and at a high price ; and 

 we may also find the same spirit an 

 obstacle to the successful treatment 

 of foul brood, or the introduction of 

 improved blood. 



If there would be any injustice to 

 any one in some such legislation as 

 the above for bee keepers, I fail to 

 see it. 



Mt. Vernon ,©♦ Iowa. 



ror tue Amerlcaii Bee Journal-. 



Tlie Non-Use of Comli Founilation. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



This question is the one great one 

 which Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Doo- 

 little have the honor of bringing to 

 the front. In his little book, Mr. 

 Hutchinson has treated the subject 

 in a comprehensive and masterly 

 manner. It seemed to be left to Mr. 

 II. to deal with the principles which 

 make the non-use of full sheets of 

 foundation in the brood-frames a suc- 

 cess or failure. 



By way of digression, allow mo here 

 to say tliat I consider Mr. Hutchin- 

 son's book the work of a master, and 

 an intensely practical treatise— one 

 that hinges on close to doUar-and- 

 cent success in our calling. Further, 

 I wish to publicly recognize his rigid 

 integrity in giving credit where he 

 believed it due. But to return to the 

 question in hand : 



I will say that years ago I found 

 that all that was claimed for comb 

 foundation as a labor-saving material 

 was not true ; that there were some 

 hidden principles somewhere in the 

 problem that offset much of the sup- 

 posed and claimed value of founda- 

 tion as material for the bees. I found 

 that in some cases, under certain 

 conditions, the use of full sheets of 

 foundation paid a handsome dividend 

 on the investment ; while in others it 

 seemed to be almost of no advantage. 



I have used full sheets of founda- 

 tion in the sections for many years, 

 and also full sheets of foundation in 

 the brood-frames ever since the 

 " wiring system " came about, and I 

 am still adhering to such use, except 

 as I am experimenting in keeping 

 with Mr. Hutchinson's teachings, as 

 laid down in his book and other writ- 

 ings. The results of my experiments 

 I will publish in this paper (with the 

 consent of the editor) in the near 

 future. It is a matter of great econ- 

 omy to know how to get as nice, 



