156 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



can be predicated on that fact for or against 

 either kind of food. 



The following figures show the weight of 

 each hive at each season and the difference 

 or amount consumed by each in pounds and 

 ounces : 



THE SET WITH SUGAE STOKES. 



Fall Weight. Spring Weight. Am't Cone'd. 



33-12 29-4 4^8 



31 28-8 2-8 



30 2G 4 



33-4 30-8 2-12 



29 26-4 2-12 



29-8 26-8 3 



32-4 29 a-4 



32-4 29-8 3-12 



26-12 23-4 3-8 



26-8 24-4 2-4 



31-4 



THE SET WITH HONET STORES. 



61-12 

 The amount of stores here shown to have 

 been consumed during the winter is, I think, 

 remarkably small, at least it is smaller than 

 any thing I have hitherto become acquainted 

 with and this proportion seemed to hold 

 throughout my apiary. Indeed, in most 

 cases examined, the stores seemed scarcely 

 touched and though I lost a considerable 

 percentage, not a colony perished of starva- 

 tion. But the important point brought out 

 by this experiment is the economy of feed- 

 ing sugar syrup for winter stores instead of 

 honey where feeding is necessary. From an 

 examination of the figures we find that the 

 average consumption of sugar stores was but 

 3V lbs. while that of honey was 6''^ lbs. 

 nearly, or more Ihan twice as much. This 

 has added importance when we remember 

 what has been well established, that gran- 

 ulated sugar syrup is fully equal to the best 

 honey as winter food for bees and far safer 

 for that purpose than any inferior honey. 



AN EXPEEIMENT IN OUT-OF-DOOE WINTERING. 



With a hope of learning something bear- 

 ing on the subject of out of door wintering, 

 I made the following experiment : In No- 

 vember, at the time when I was putting the 

 bees into the cellar for the winter, I selected 

 six colonies of good average strength, each 

 in a single story Heddon hive, then the hives 



were placed one above the other with noth- 

 ing between them except a single sheet of 

 wire cloth so prepared that each colony was 

 provided with its proper entrance. Of course 

 the lower hive retained its bottom board and 

 the upper one its cover, but the rest of the 

 covers and bottom boards were entirely re- 

 moved. The lower hive was raised about 

 ten inches from the ground, then the whole 

 was well packed below and with about four 

 inches of dry planer shavings on top and on 

 all sides except about four inches in width 

 of the front left for the entrances. The 

 cover was left sufficiently loose to allow the 

 escape of moisture into the packing and the 

 entrances were closed to within about an 

 inch in width. During the winter these bees 

 had comparatively frequent flights and 

 seemed to be doing well. About the 20th of 

 March some of the upper ones brought in 

 considerable pollen, but the two lower ones 

 exhibited but little signs of life. Then came 

 the blizzard in the last of March and first of 

 April and when that had passed and other 

 colonies began to bring in pollen these re- 

 mained ominously silent — indeed the silence 

 seemed chronic and an examination revealed 

 that it really was so — they had all passed 

 away. The combs were dry and clean and 

 the stores abundant, but there were no live 

 bees and very few dead ones. There was 

 very little if any appearance that any had 

 finally perished in a cluster. Unless the ar- 

 rangement of the hives and the thorough- 

 ness of the packing had deluded the bees into 

 thinking that it was so warm that they might 

 with safety try the open air and thus ulti- 

 mately perished, I know not how to account 

 for their utter destruction. 



Though the stores of five of the six colonies 

 was largely sugar syrup, the six colonies con- 

 sumed an average of 5 lbs. 13 oz. over and 

 above the we'ght of the bees which had per- 

 ished outside. 



Lapeee, Mich. May 21, 1894. 



Catching, Holding and Clipping Queens. 



O. H. TOWNSEND. 



yjHE method of clipping queens as given 

 ±^ in April Review I used to consider the 

 best way, having clipped a great many in 

 that way, until Mr. Frank Benton showed 

 me what he considered a better and safer 

 way. When I tried his way, I, too, soon 

 thought it superior to my way. It is as fol- 



