AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



483 



buzzing about the entrance until life is 

 extinct. 



Warmth is essential to the life of the 

 honey-bee, and without it, it cannot ex- 

 ist. If the immediate surroundings, or 

 repository, does not furnish it, artificial 

 means must be resorted to (Pastor 

 Weigandt, of Flacht, Germany, is not 

 far from the mark in advocating such) ; 

 otherwise, the bees themselves will be 

 compelled to create the essential degree 

 of warmth for their comfort, by consum- 

 ing more honey, which will create a 

 higher temperature in the hive. 



But as artificial heat is created by 

 means of fuel, be it coal or wood, a refuse 

 is left (ashes), so with the honey-bee. 

 According to the consumption of honey, 

 the intestines will become filled with the 

 refuse matter (faeces); and if no cleans- 

 ing flight can be had, the over-filled 

 intestines will cause swelling of the ab- 

 domen, and result in diarrhea, the effects 

 of which many bee-keepers have experi- 

 enced to their sorrow. 



No bee-keeper should allow the least 

 sign of diarrhea to remain in hives or 

 frames for present use, nor in bee-houses 

 or cellars, for the disease will prove con- 

 tagious the following season, unless the 

 germs are destroyed by scrubbing with 

 strong soap-suds, or by fumigating. 



It is the duty of every bee-keeper to 

 provide agreeable repositories for his 

 bees, frost-proof and dry, with tempera- 

 ture not bplow 350 or 40^ above zero, 

 nor higher than 50° at any time, as in 

 either case, by the excessive consumption 

 of honey, there will be danger — in the 

 higher temperature too-early breeding 

 will be encouraged, which in most cases, 

 will prove fatal. 



Another cause of restlessness in the 

 hive, is the want of pure air. Much has 

 been said and written on this subject, 

 many bee-keepers claiming that fresh 

 air is not essental for bees in winter 

 quarters. The fallacy of such argument 

 is patent to all, as animal life cannot ex- 

 ist in a healthful state without pure air, 

 any more than vegetable life can. Each 

 bee-house or cellar should be supplied 

 with ventilators sufficient to supply pure 

 and carry off foul air. 



Last, but not least, another cause of 

 restlessness among bees, is the lack of 

 water. A colony in need of water will 

 sometimes act as though mad, for thirst, 

 in all cases, is more painful than hun- 

 ger. Some colonies are affected more 

 than others in this respect, owing to the 

 condition and quality of the honey in the 

 hive. Bees wintering on buckwheat 

 honey will rarely be affected with thirst, 

 for it contains more moisture, and is 



thinner than other honey, and will keep 

 longer in the liquid state. 



Should honey become granulated in 

 the hive, the boos will be in search of 

 water, and quite frequently the bottom- 

 board of such hives will be covered with 

 granulated honey. A sponge or rag, 

 saturated with water and placed at the 

 entrance, or on top of the frames, will, 

 in most cases, give rest and quiet to the 

 bees. 



Maiden Rock, Wis. 



SDrln£ Manapment of Bees. 



WM. C. WOLCOTT. 



A letter from Mr. L. C. laessing, of 

 Maumee, Lucas county, Ohio, requests 

 me to explain in the American Bee 

 Journal, my method of managing bees 

 in 10-frame Langstroth liives, during 

 the Spring, and until after swarming 

 time. It should have been answered 

 sooner, but I have been absent from 

 home for three weeks. 



I take my bees out of the cellar when 

 it is warm enough for them to fly well. 

 After they have taken their first flight, I 

 examine them, clean out the hives, and 

 see if the queens are all right, at the 

 same time taking out the drone combs 

 from all the colonies from which I do not 

 wish to rear, drones, uncapping them 

 (thus shaving off their heads), and put- 

 ting the frames back in the hives, and 

 the next morning the drones are all lying 

 on the ground, the bees having carried 

 them out. The empty drone combs I 

 put in the upper stories for extracting. 

 In that way I reduce the drones greatly, 

 and save the honey they would eat. 



The supers that I use for comb-honey 

 are made from %-inch lumber, the same 

 size as the top of the hive, the sides and 

 ends being 4:}i inches wide, for one- 

 pound sections. 



I do not put anything between the 

 brood-chamber and the supers, and put 

 in 4 rows, 7 sections in a row, making 

 28 in all. Then I take fine wire and 

 stretch across the narrow way, two 

 wires for each row of sections, and use 

 staples, such as are used in window 

 blinds, to fasten them. I do not use 

 division-boards at all, and in hiving 

 swarms I do not contract the brood- 

 chamber. 



I make my own foundation, and when 

 I have plenty of it I put in full sheets ; 

 if not, I cut them lengthwise, and put in 

 half a sheet. I have never used queen- 

 excluders, but have some now, to use in 



