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THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



Many people waste a great deal of senti- 

 ment and rhetoric over the " barbarism " of 

 killing bees. They forget that it is much 

 less cruel than to allow them to starve. 



Moreover, as all animals are placed on 

 this earth for the good of man, and as we 

 kill other animals, not simply for our neces- 

 sities, but for our comfort or convenience, 

 we should apply just the same standard to 

 the question of killing bees. 



In many localities bees are practically 

 valueless in the fall, as bees can be bought 

 in the spring for less than the value of the 

 honey consumed in wintering, with the at- 

 tendant risk. 



However, it would hardly be safe to depend 

 on anything of the kind, so, if you are a bee 

 keeper, winter all the bees you possibly can. 

 The next season's work may pay you well 

 for it. 



There is one very important use to which 

 bees may be put after a failure of the crop, 

 which you have failed to mention. That is 

 the rearing of queens. 



There is no better time to raise queens 

 than during August and September, and if 

 you cannot raise queens for sale you can at 

 least raise enough to re-queen your apiary 

 with young queens raised from the best 

 stock. Then with strong colonies presided 

 over by vigorous young queens, let us hope 

 your dish is right side up for next season's 

 honey. 



Dayton, 111. 



Sept. 5, 1890. 



Wintering Bees, Using Both Cellar and Chaff 

 and Raising the Frames from the Bot- 

 tom. — Avoiding Trouble from Mice. 



MBS. L. O. AXTELL. 



UR plan of cellar wintering, the past 

 four years, has been very successful, 

 since we raised the frames from the 

 bottom board from an inch and a 

 half to two inches. I don't think we have 

 lost a colony of l)ees when there has been 

 enough to cover a brood frame. 



A few have been found queeuless in the 

 spring, but I do not think that was on ac- 

 count of wintering poorly, probably they 

 were queenless in the fall. 



The weak colonies that we do not wish to 

 unite, but leave to care for their queens, we 

 tack pieces of some bright cloth to their 

 hives, and set them in the center of the cellar, 

 and leave them in longer in the spring. A 

 piece of new cotton factory of two thick- 

 nesses is layed over the brood frames. 

 Underneath the cloth covering is a Hill's 

 device or sticks layed across to form winter 

 passages. We use the cotton cloth until it 

 has too much propolis on it. Cover all with 

 dry chaff that is preserved from year to year 

 in the barn. Fresh chaff of any kind is apt 

 to have grain in it, and draws the mice so 

 badly that we prefer all old chaff. The mice 

 may get into the hive in different ways 

 while on the summer stands. Sometimes 

 we have been at a loss to know how they 

 could get into the hive when the entrance 



was contracted ; finally concluded that they 

 were put in with the chaff packing ; were in 

 the chaff after the grain and gnawed holes to 

 get out and so let others in. 



They increase very rapidly while in the 

 cellar, and gnaw holes through cellar walls 

 to get out, and this lets others in, and we 

 have never succeeded in finding any poison 

 that they would take, although we have tried 

 many kinds, and they won't pay attention to 

 traps either. Probably it was because of the 

 grain in the hives, they had enough to eat 

 without eating suspicious food, so that we 

 had almost come to the conclusion that we 

 would discard chaff, but as the bees seemed 

 to winter so well, even if the mice did work 

 in the chaff somewhat, we have continued its 

 use, and by using old chafif most of the 

 trouble is avoided. 



By tilting the hives forward the bees can 

 more easily throw out their dead, though I 

 think it not nearly so necessary in the cellar 

 as in wintering out of doors, as in the cellar 

 we give a large entrance by lifting up the 

 whole front of the hive. We use the closed 

 end Quinby fi-ames, the ends resting upon 

 the bottom boards. As the lower bar is 

 nailed a bee space from the bottom board of 

 the hive, we, to raise up the frames two 

 inches, simply take down the back and front 

 boards of our hive, then lift up the front 

 part of the frames and set under a block 

 with a cleat nailed under each end, making 

 something like a small bench two inches 

 high. Then lift up the back end of the 

 frames and set a block under. As the frames 

 all stick together at that time of the year, a 

 man can lift them all up at one time without 

 breaking them apart. In the spring, when 

 we set the colonies out, we take down the 

 front board and blow in a little smoke, and 

 pry out the front block, and replace the 

 front board, then take down the back, and 

 pry out the block, and the combs will slip 

 down to their place without disturbing the 

 bees badly ; if done quickly they are hardly 

 aroused. We then lay a heavy quilt on top 

 of the straw, and leave it there until we take 

 out the chaff to hunt out the queens to clip 

 their wings. Then we leave the chaff out 

 and replace the heavy quilts and leave them 

 on until we put on the surplus receptacles. 

 We never burn up a propolised quilt or cloth, 

 but tack several together, making a thick, 

 warm one, that will hang down to the side of 

 the brood frames. 



RoSEVILLE, 111., 



Jan. 28, 1890. 



Who has the Yellowest Bees 'i 



L. L. HEARN. 



IDITOR of the Review.— Will you 

 please allow me space to reply to Mr. 

 Henry Alley in the American Apicul- 

 tnrisf for Sept. 1st. ( )n page 138 he 

 says " We can show handsomer yellow Carni- 

 olan worker bees than any of those western 

 fellows can of the five banded Italians," 

 " and what is more, the color of our Carnio- 

 lan bees is not produced by in-breeding as 

 is the case with the five banded Italians." 



