736 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



lieve that it never starts spontaneously. 

 While we have very little chilled brood 

 here, we do have some, and often brood 

 dead from various causes. 



There is probably no foul-brood within 

 200 miles of me, and this chilled or dead 

 brood never generates foul-brood. Now, 

 if foul-brood could be produced without 

 contagion, there would certainly be a 

 case once in a while. Mr. Robinson will 

 never be able to prove the spontaneous 

 production of foul-brood if he writes 

 until doomsday. 



I wish to say to friend R., that I have 

 as good reasons for my belief, or better, 

 than he has for his. His theory is. un- 

 reason able, contrary to all known laws, 

 and about as rational as the belief of 

 some people that the sun revolves around 

 the earth. He might chill brood here by 

 the ton, then let it rot and ferment, and 

 he never would produce a case of foul- 

 brood without introducing some of the 

 foul-brood germs. 



One point I wish to make is, that no 

 one can be right certain that foul-brood 

 started spontaneously in their apiary, 

 especially when they live within 10 to 

 30, miles of where it is known to exist. 



t have used G. M. Doolittle's queen- 

 cell protectors (see page 569) for the 

 last two years, and find them a great 

 advantage. 



Round Rock, Texas, May 20, 1891. 



Successful Ont-Door Wiiiterins of Bees. 



J. H. LARRABEE. 



In any discussion of the subject of 

 out-door wintering, Vermont should, I 

 am sure, have a voice. All over the 

 State, but more especially in the Cham- 

 plain valley, bees are wintered out-of- 

 doors. Whether those who inaugurated 

 this system do so with a full knowledge 

 of all the advantages to be obtained with 

 light hives and cellar wintering, I know 

 not, but the fact remains that scores of 

 bee-keepers here practice this method 

 with scarcely a desire for a change. 



Our valley is favorably situated, the 

 cold being tempered by warm breezes 

 from the lower Hudson region ; but an 

 examination of the meteorological obser- 

 vations of the Signal Station at Burling- 

 ton, would convince many that this 

 effect is not too apparent. 



But there are other reasons beyond the 

 control of the average bee-keeper, why 

 our bees winter so successfully. 



The character of the honey used for 

 winter stores is generally of the best, as 



so little Fall honey or honey-dew is ob- 

 tained, that the major part of the winter 

 stores, if of honey, must be of the white 

 honey crop. This same lack of Autumn 

 forage also renders late breeding light, 

 and frees the combs of much surplus 

 pollen. It is not a rare occurrence to find 

 no brood of any kind in the hives by the 

 first of October. 



Winter flights are very desirable at a 

 proper time, but may be injurious. A 

 good flight during December is always 

 beneficial, but one between Jan. 10 and 

 Feb. 15 is often extremely injurious, as 

 breeding is induced; and should no 

 flights occur until April 1, as often hap- 

 pens, diarrhea may be the result. 



If Spring protection is of siiiBcient im- 

 portance to repay all the trouble of pro- 

 viding packing, then should we, who 

 winter in chaff hives, congratulate our- 

 selves upon having obtained this pro- 

 tection . without the expenditure of one 

 hour's extra labor. 



The increased consumption of stores 

 in out-door wintering is, I am quite sure, 

 not as apparent at the opening of the 

 clover bloom as on the first of April ; as 

 honey is, I contend, consumed in much 

 larger quantities at this season, by colo- 

 nies wintered in the open air. 



One word more with regard to the 

 method of packing in vogue here : The 

 material may consist of almost any por- 

 ous non-conductor of heat. Chaff and 

 planer shavings having the advantages 

 of lightness, are the general favorites. 

 Care should, I think, be exercised that 

 the packing be perfectly dry ; that it 

 may absorb as much of the moisture of 

 the bees as possible ; moisture being 

 feared next to poor stores as a cause for 

 Winter loss. 



The packing is held in place by an 

 outer case, consisting of two rims of 

 about 10 inches in width each, with a 

 good gable roof .on top. These rims are 

 about 2 inches larger, inside, than the 

 brood-chamber, leaving that amount of 

 space for the packing. 



After the clase of the honey season, 

 the bees are left as much as possible to 

 themselves, the only care being that they 

 have sufficient stores for the Winter, 

 until about Nov. 1, Fall "tinkering" 

 and excitement being avoided as detri- 

 mental. At this time the brood-cham- 

 ber cover is removed, and a piece of bur- 

 lap or cotton placed upon the frames, 

 and the top filled with packing to the 

 depth of about <> inches. Formerly the 

 super packing was used loose, but now 

 sacks, or trays with cloth bottoms, are 

 used to hold the chaff or shavings. 

 These sacks are very handy in Spring, 



