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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



that next the outer wall cools and settles; 

 thus there is a constant circulation that 

 robs the inner wall of its heat. 



BOXES FOR CHAFF PACKING. 



If chaff hives are not used, how shall 

 the packing be kept in place ? I know 

 of nothing better than boxes made of 

 cheap, thin lumber. If there is lack of 

 room for storing them in Summer, they 

 can be so made as to be easily " knocked 

 down " and stacked up when not in use. 



Of course, bees can be packed more 

 cheaply by setting the hives in long 

 rows, building a long box about them, 

 and filling it with the material used for 

 packing. With this method the packing 

 must be postponed until there is little 

 danger of the bees flying again— until 

 they have forgotten their old locations ; 

 else some bees will be lost, or some 

 colonies get more than their share of 

 bees. 



When the bees have a "cleansing 

 flight " in Winter, there is also a likeli- 

 hood of bees returning to the wrong 

 hives. Then when the bees are un- 

 packed in the Spring, and moved to 

 their proper places, there is more con- 

 fusion and mixing ; but I do not look 

 upon this as so very sen'ous a matter. 

 At this time of year, other things being 

 equal, a bee is worth just about as much 

 in one hive as in another. If there is 

 any difference in the strength of the 

 colonies, the weaker ones might be left 

 nearest to where the bees were un- 

 packed. 



_D EARLY PACKING. 



Speaking of being compelled to wait 

 about packing the bees until they were 

 not likely to fly again until some time in 

 the Winter, reminds me that advantages 

 have been claimed for early packing ; 

 that the bees in single-walled hives only 

 wear themselves out with frequent 

 flights that are to no purpose, while 

 those that are packed are not called out 

 by every passing ray of sunshine ; that 

 the early-packed bees sooner get them- 

 selves settled down for their Winter's 

 nap, and are in better condition when 

 Winter comes. 



It is possible that there is something 

 in this, but there were two or three 

 years in which I tried feeding a colony 

 or two as early as the first of September; 

 and I continued to pack a colony every 

 two or three days until the forepart of 

 November, and I was unable to discern 

 any advantage in very early packing. 

 If the bees are protected before freezing 

 weathei" comes, T believe that is early 

 enough. 



SPACE BELOW THE COMBS. 



There is one other point that ought 

 not to be neglected in preparing the bees 

 for Winter, whether indoors or out, and 

 that is the leaving a space below the 

 combs. 



When wintered out-of-doors, there 

 ought to be a rim two inches high placed 

 under each hive. This allows the dead 

 bees to drop away from the combs to a 

 place where they will dry up instead of 

 molding between the combs. 



Then if there is an entrance above the 

 rim there will be no possibility of the 

 entrance becoming clogged. This space 

 under the combs seems to be a wonderful 

 aid in bringing the bees through in fine 

 condition, and I am not certain ivhy. 



Weak colonies can seldom be success- 

 fully wintered out-of-doors. They can- 

 not generate sufficient heat. In the 

 cellar, where the temperature seldom 

 goes below 40^, quite weak colonies can 

 be successfully wintered. 



SUMMARY. 



As I understand it, this whole matter 

 of outdoor wintering of bees might be 

 summed up in a few words : Populous 

 colonies, plenty of (jood food, and thor- 

 o».(//fc protection. Simple, isn't it ? Yet 

 there is a world of meaning wrapped up 

 in these few words. — Country Oentieman. 



SecurlDS the Necessary Rainfall, 



H. L. PENFIELD. 



I read with considerable interest the 

 editorial on the above subject, on page 

 278. Mr. E. Sandford, on page 518, 

 calls attention to the experiments in 

 Texas, and seems to be impatient about 

 the result. 



I would say that it takes time to ar- 

 range what has already been observed, 

 and proceed with some system in the 

 matter. The object, no doubt, is to get 

 a result that will be practical at mini- 

 mum cost. 



Although the last experiment at Camp 

 Powers, Texas, looks favorable, yet it 

 will be some time before the people can 

 depend on following up what has been 

 outlined by the Government. The bal- 

 loons will, I think, cut an important 

 figure in several advantageous ways. 

 The oscillations of the balloons willshow 

 when the disturbance in the upper air 

 commence, and, I think, electric com- 

 munication with the ballooons thus em- 

 ployed will determine several important 



