482 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



If your bees are out-doors now, close 

 up the entrance so that the bees will 

 have just room to pass in and out with- 

 out crowding. See that there are no 

 openings at the top of the hive, to allow 

 cool draughts of air to pass up through 

 the bees. 



It is very necessary to have your bees 

 fixed up just as snug and warm as pos- 

 sible at this time of the year, if you 

 would have a large working force for the 

 clover. 



Worcester, Mo., March 22, 1891. 



[The National Bee-Keepers' Union is 

 an organization created to defend bee- 

 keepers when their rights are assailed. 

 To allow it to " lobby " for bounties, or 

 prosecute adulterators, it must first alter 

 its constitution and laws, and that will 

 require a majority vote of all its mem- 

 bers. Until then, it will be useless to 

 expect it to do anything more than to 

 defend bee-keepers in their lawful rights 

 and privileges. — Ed.] 



f liy Bees are Restless in Winter, 



REV. STEPHEN ROESE. 



Rest is the condition of life for the 

 honey-bee during Winter. Temperature 

 in harmony with the nature of the bees, 

 will be like sweet repose, after long and 

 hard labor, to man. Such conditions 

 should be maintained in the bee-house 

 or cellar, until the opening of the season, 

 to keep the colonies healthy and strong, 

 and prevent diarrhea and Spring dwin- 

 dling. 



All unnecessary tinkering, and noise, 

 in and about the bee-house or cellar, 

 should be carefully avoided by • the bee- 

 keeper, if the future prosperity of his 

 apiary is his sole object. Arousing a 

 colony of bees from its state of slumber 

 and sweet repose, too often means death 

 in the end, for it is the nature of the 

 bee, whenever aroused to activity, to fill 

 itself with honey, and, having no oppor- 

 tunity for a cleansing flight, the intes- 

 tines become filled with accumulated 

 faeces, which, if too long retained, will 

 form a sort of mucus, which condition in 

 a cool, damp atmosphere, will result in 

 diarrhea. 



Therefore, if colonies, during the Win- 

 ter months, manifest restlessness, run- 

 ning and buzzing about the entrance, as 

 if in search of something, and finally 

 flying off to perish on the floor, there is 



no question but that something is wrong, 

 for a bee will not leave the cluster at the 

 risk of her life while all is well, for life 

 is as precious to the bee as to man. 



This restless condition of a colony is 

 ample proof that something is amiss in 

 the hive, and unless the proper remedy 

 is applied, the bees, one by one, will 

 leave the hive and perish, and the result 

 will be that, at the opening of the sea- 

 son, there will not be enough bees left 

 to protect the brood and care for the 

 young, and Spring dwindling will result, 

 which has taught many bee-keepers a 

 lesson they will not soon forget. 



Beginners, and the inexperienced, are 

 not always aware of the cause of such 

 restlessness among their colonies during 

 the Winter months, and experienced bee- 

 keepers cannot write too much, nor too 

 often on this topic, for the proverb, " a 

 stitch in time saves nine," is here very 

 thoroughly exemplified, and the writer 

 is not too proud to acknowledge it to 

 have been a fact in his own case, when a 

 novice in apiculture, that timely hints 

 and advice from those who were not 

 averse to imparting instruction, saved 

 him many dollars. 



These questions now arise : What is 

 the cause of restlessness among bees dur- 

 ing the long Winter months, and. How 

 can we relieve their wants, and keep 

 them safely until Spring ? They are 

 questions that have puzzled many minds 

 for years, and baffled the skill of the 

 most experienced apiarists, and still the 

 problem is unsolved. 



First, low temperature is very in- 

 jurious to bees, for they are natives of a 

 warm climate, and warmth is the essen- 

 tial life-element of the colony, and with- 

 out it they cannot exist. This fact 

 should be borne in mind by every bee- 

 keeper in the land, and yet there are 

 many who claim that the cooler the 

 atmosphere, the more quiet the bees will 

 remain. This has proved too true with 

 many who cruelly left their bees unpro- 

 tected on the summer stands, the result 

 being that they remained quiet forever, 

 with a hive full of honey. 



Moderate cold will not injure bees ; 

 especially, if well provided with stores 

 on each side of the cluster, and a few 

 empty frames in the center for them .o 

 cluster upon and keep warm, with Hill's 

 device overhead, a woolen blanket cover- 

 ing next to packing of forest leaves, fine 

 shavings or chaff, and, if inside a reposi- 

 tory, the hive raised % of an inch from 

 the bottom-board. Bees thus cared for 

 will not suffer from cold nor dampness, 

 and will not run restlessly to and fro. 



