152 



XH© MMERICSFf BE® JQ(\Smwmi^, 



dusty, and the hives and walls are as 

 dry as when taken in, on Oct. 1, 1887. 

 I have visited them only twice since 

 then, and I found the temperature at 

 40°, the same as when they were put 

 in. 



The water was dripping from the 

 upper ventilator into the tile sub-earth 

 ventilator below, and on frost}- and 

 cold mornings the vapor may be seen 

 escaping from the outside ventilator 

 like smoke from a chimney. The win- 

 ter was quite mild until Jan 1, and 

 since then it has been quite severe, 

 with considerable zero weather, and 

 some sudden changes, which affects 

 out-door wintering of bees. But of 

 course from now on will be the " nip 

 and tuck " with bees. 



After 9 years of cellar or in-door 

 wintering of bees, I concluded that 

 such wintering is best ; I believe that 

 it will yet attain perfection, and that 

 our pets will be wintered as easily as 

 tliey are summered. By giving to the 

 latest swarms, and also to the old colo- 

 nies that did swarm, the extracting 

 combs, they were nicely cared for, as 

 to food of a nice article. 



The demand for honey here is good, 

 with none to supplj- it ; but with hope 

 for a good season to come this year. 



Insuring Colonies of Bees. 



In regard to insuring bees, I wish 

 to say that I have insurance on the 

 bee-house and honey-house attached, 

 on all the implements, and $5.00 per 

 colony in the bee-house, or within 100 

 feet from the building, outside, if de- 

 stroj-ed or damaged by fire from the 

 burning of the building. 



Our bees are situated between two 

 main traveled roads ; the hives all face 

 to the centi'e of the bee-yard, and quite 

 near to the road tra\'eled the most, as 

 it is the main line to the railroad and 

 to town, but being fenced, and quite 

 an ascent, it elevates them above all 

 pedestrians, and we have never had 

 any trouble or any complaints. As 

 for our neiglibors, we keep them, or 

 their tempers, sweetened up with an 

 occasional section of honey, which has 

 never failed to conquer the most ob- 

 stinate with us. 



We combine blacksmithing with our 

 bees, which works well, as Mr. H. and 

 I have two boys to help. 



South Dayton, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1888. 



[Insurance of bees against loss by 

 fire, especially when in a cellar, is veiy 

 difficult to obtain in the West. There 

 are but fcnv fire insurance companies 

 that will take the risk. When such 

 can be obtained, we think it ought to 

 be done, for it is much easier to pay 

 for the insurance than it is to stand tlie 

 lo.ss, in case of fire. — Ed.] 



NEW YORK. 



The Third Day of the State 

 Convention — Jan. 19. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY G. H. KNICKERBOCKER. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 9:30 a.m. by President Clark. The 

 Secretary then read an essay prepared 

 by Mr. R. F. Holtermann, of Brant- 

 ford, Ont., as follows, entitled, 



Shading and Ventilating Hives, and 

 Obtaining Extracted Honey. 



In my experience, and the experi- 

 ence of the Germans in particular, 

 shade and ventilation form no mean 

 factor in securing a good honey crop. 

 At the present time, where the price 

 of a colony in the spring is no more 

 than the price of the hive, its combs, 

 and the number of pounds of stores 

 required to winter the bees, to winter 

 successfully and sell, is no gain ; and 

 to lose a colony is only a loss of the 

 value of the stores consumed in winter. 

 Tlierefore, everj- pound of honey we 

 lose through increase, beyond what is 

 absolutelj' necessary, is mismanage- 

 ment. What we must aim at, is to 

 manage our apiary in such a way that 

 increase will be prevented bj* employ- 

 ing methods which will not diminish 

 the honey yield. 



There are methods recommended, 

 and particularly so amongst begin- 

 ners, which I hold are a positive waste 

 of time and an injury to the colonj'. 

 To break down queen-cells to prevent 

 swarming is such a waste ; to use per- 

 forated metal for this purj^ose is also 

 a waste of time and material, and I 

 incline to the opinion that to resort to 

 any method to prevent swarming, after 

 the bees have received the impulse, is 

 also worthless ; but I would not be 

 positive about the latter, and leave the 

 question with the convention. 



What must we then aim at to pre- 

 vent swarming, and how does it in- 

 fluence our honey yield ? Prevent the 

 very first step, namely, the impulse. 

 How shall we do this ? By shade and 

 ventilation. I have at present, trees 

 of such a height, and trained that the 

 morning and late afternoon sun can 

 strike the hive, and but little if any of 

 the hot middaj' sun. I have ventila- 

 tors in some of tlie bottom-boards, and 

 the lids of the hives are raised at the 

 back to permit a current of air passing 

 over the quilt which lies upon the 

 combs. I want a shade-board upon 

 every hive, which shall be used with 

 discretion. 



The ground is covered witli grass, 

 carefullj' kept from growing suffi- 

 ciently long to prevent ventilation at 

 the entrance ; earUi and sand cause 

 more radiation, especially the latter. 



and are very trying on men and bees. 

 I want no high board-fence, to exclude 

 every current of air from the yard. 



Then I find if a colony is left beyond 

 a certain stage without supers to store 

 honey, and receives, even though not 

 yet indicated, the swarming impulse, 

 giving of room will generally not 

 check this impulse, but they will swarm 

 before filling such a super, and this 

 must be carefully avoided. Give room 

 as required. This can be done more 

 easily whilst working for extracted 

 honey than comb honey. I use the 8- 

 frame Langstroth, and with good colo- 

 nies and during a good flow I use two 

 full supers, allowing honey always to 

 ripen or he capped. The first super is 

 raised and the second put between it 

 and the brood-chamber. 



I use perforated metal ; care should 

 be taken to have a bee-space on both 

 sides of the board. From colonies not 

 so good, extract four combs out of the 

 super, leaving the remainder until 

 ready, when they are extracted, leav- 

 ing the first four, and so on. In this 

 way I have been veiy successful in 

 preventing much increase and secur- 

 ing a lai'ger yield per colony than my 

 neighbors. Last summer my strongest 

 colony gave me 270 pounds of honey, 

 with no attempt. I have thus far 

 handled 25,000 pounds, and know 

 what a vast difference there is in 

 honey properly and improperly taken. 

 R. F. Holtermann. 



Ventilation of Bee-Repositories. 



The "Ventilation of bees in winter 

 repositories " was then taken up. Mr. 

 P. H. Elwood read an essay on this 

 subject, which was very attentivelj' 

 listened to, and showed that the au- 

 thor was thoroughlj- posted in everj- 

 particular, and was a vex-y close ob- 

 server. 



N. N. Betsinger — I have an improved 

 method of wintering bees, by burying 

 them. The ventilator that lets in fresh 

 air is the same height as the ventila- 

 tor that carries off the impure air ; in 

 this way I can maintain a more uni. 

 form temperature, and by the use of 

 slides in the ventilators, the tempera- 

 ture can be kept from changing 

 scarcelj' a degree from the time of 

 putting them in, in the fall, until tak- 

 ing them out in the spring. I believe 

 that bees can be wintered perfectly in 

 this way, consume but very little 

 honey, and not liave a handful of dead 

 bees from each hive. 



Mr. Elwood — I believe that most of 

 us err in having too much ventilation 

 in our bee-repositories. When I left 

 home, the ventilators of exit were all 

 closed, and the entrance ventilator left 

 open. From the best authority, I can 

 conclude that the air which would be 

 required by one person,is sufficient for 

 250 colonies of bees. 



