THl© MMERICJKP* BE® JOWRlflSlLf. 



171 



ing, and seldom reclustering in the 

 ' same compact, judicious positions pre- 

 f viously occupied. Detached, strag- 

 gling chimps of bees can be found sep- 

 arated from tlic main clusters, on dif- 

 ferent positions of the combs and sides 

 of the hive, prob;)Jjly expecting the fol- 

 lowing day to assume their proper 

 place and position ; but, alas, the sud- 

 den and severe change, to which tliis 

 climate is subject, proves fatal, for the 

 day of sunshine is changed to a night 

 of frost ! From the chill they seldom 

 I'ecover, so the loss is more than the 

 gain from their brief flight. 



My bees are never taken from the 

 cellar until they are placed in position 

 for their summer campaign. 



I have the utmost patience for what 

 seems the silliest question, when hon- 

 estly set before us for information (the 

 one quoted above is one of the solid 

 ones) ; but I have infinite contempt for 

 the man who parades his opinions as 

 deductions from logic and science. 

 Toledo, Ohio. 



FOUNDATION. 



Fastening it in Sections and 

 Frames. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY ED. S. EDEN. 



It is somewhat interesting to me to 

 read the dift'erent replies to my letter 

 on "Fastening Foundation into Sec- 

 tions," as published on page 790 of the 

 Bee Journal for 1887. Each one 

 claims tliat liis method or machine is 

 just what is wanted. But I fail to see 

 as yet (even after reading Mr. Al- 

 paugh's letter on page 125) that the 

 point of satisfaction is reached. 



One of the faults with the majoritj' 

 of machines is, that they cannot be 

 adjusted to ditierent sized sections. 

 Some macliines (and Mr. Alpaugh's is 

 one of them) can only fasten founda- 

 tion into 4-piece sections, and that be- 

 fore the sections are put together. 

 Each machine must be made for a cer- 

 tain size of section. 



I liave found that a large majority 

 of bee-keepers prefer to fasten tlie 

 foundation after the sections are put 

 together, as it is far better and handier 

 in every respect. I believe that my 

 plan comes nearer to the line of per- 

 fection, for I can fasten foundation of 

 any size, from J-inch to full sheets, into 

 1, 2 or 4 piece sections ; either before 

 or after they are put together, at the 

 rate of 12 to 15 per minute, or from 

 7,000 to 8,000 per day. 



My liees are wintering well ; all are 

 alive so far, and ajjpear to be in good 

 condition. 



Eastwood. Ont., Feb. 24, 1888. 



TEMPERATURE. 



The Proper Temperature or a 

 Bco-Ccllar. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY WILLI A J[ CEOWXEY. 



I have read Mr. Tyn-ell's article on 

 page 25, with very much interest, as 

 it coincides with my experience as to 

 the proper temperature of a bee-cellar. 

 I would like to ask, if bees will break 

 cluster and become restless on the 

 summer stands at a temperature of 45° 

 Fahr., why will not the same condi- 

 tion exist in the cellar at the same 

 temperature ? 



I have wintered bees in my cellar 

 for three winters, and the first two 

 winters I intended ta keep the tem- 

 perature at about 45°, but, like Mr. 

 Tyrrell, I failed to control the ele- 

 ments, and the temperature in the 

 coldest weather went down to 28^, and 

 remained from 30- to 35° the greater 

 part of the winter ; at that tempera- 

 ture my bees remained quiet, but when 

 the temperature reached 40° and up- 

 wards, then the)' became restless, and 

 a great many left their hives and 

 perished on the ground. 



Last summer I had a powerful 

 colony of a choice strain of bees (a 

 prime swarm) tliat stored 140 pounds 

 of comb honey, being about double the 

 average of my apiary. When I took 

 oft" the supers and prepared this colony 

 for winter, the brood-chamber was so 

 full that all the bees could hardly get 

 in. After putting them in the cellar, 

 this colony was very restless, while all 

 the others were quiet, until the tem- 

 perature went down below 40°, then it 

 gi-adually became (juiet. 



When I examined them a month 

 after putting them in, I found that the 

 death-rate in the strong colony was 

 equal to a dozen of anj" of the other 

 colonies. I ofter tliis observation to 

 strengthen Mr. Tyrrell's theory, that 

 we should make tlie colonies as nearly 

 equal in strength as possible, before 

 putting them into winter quarters. 

 When the colony became reduced in 

 numbers, they could endure the same 

 temperature as the others. 



I must go a little further than Mr. 

 Tyrrell ; for I want my bee-cellar to 

 range from 30° to 35°, or as near the 

 freezing point (32-) as possible, to in- 

 sure the best results. How many, 

 from careful fibservation, dare le.ave 

 the beaten track and " beard the lion 

 in his den," on this question ? 



It seems to me that the climate in 

 our diflerent hatitmles may have some- 

 thing to do with tliis question. Here 

 in Minnesota the air is very dry in 

 winter ; it .seldom thaws after winter 

 begins, until it breaks up in the 



spring. It is cold here at times ; on 

 the mornings of Jan. 15 and 20, the 

 thermometer registered 40° below zero. 

 We call it mild weather here when it 

 is at zero, and 20° to 25° below zero is- 

 not bad. 



Redwood Falls, Minn. 



BEE-KEEPING. 



The Italians vs. Common Bees- 

 Honey-Plants, ete. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY ROLAND SHERBURNE. 



The past season may prove a bless- 

 ing ill disguise to some of us. The 

 winter has been cold and steady, and 

 no doubt nearly all the bees in this, 

 part of Iowa, that have been left uii- 

 cared for, will perish. As far as I can 

 learn they are nearly all dead already 

 in this neighborhood. 



My largest apiary being in a good 

 locality near timber, the bees gathered 

 sufficient stores for the winter, aftei- 

 equalizing them. But the apiary near 

 town, on the prairie, did not average 

 10 pourids per colony in the fall. 



The past season fully demonstrated 

 the great superiority of Italians over 

 the common bees. What few nearly 

 black colonies I had, did not gather 

 more than enough to eat ; and my best 

 Italian-hybrids, that I had always con- 

 sidered equal to any as honey gath- 

 erers, did not do nearly as well as the 

 pure Italians ; while about a dozen 

 hives that I had marked in the spring 

 as extra colonies, fully proved them- 

 selves such. For one to have such 

 hives with 50 or 75 pounds of honey iu 

 them, while rows of other hi\'es equally 

 strong in bees have but little honey, 

 speaks volumes towards the profitable- 

 ness of bee-keeping. 



I am wintering my bees in the cellar, 

 and to all appearances they are in ex- 

 cellent condition. I expect to lose a 

 few colonies for want of stores, if the 

 cold weather continues long. 



White clover, heart's-ease, and many 

 other honey-producing plants are 

 abundant in this part of Iowa, and as 

 a consequence, a great many keep 

 bees, and supply the local market with 

 honey. It is brought to market in. 

 manj' ways, and, of course, sold cheap. 

 If an excellent article is produced, it 

 must find another market, for people- 

 rate the price by the cheapest sold. 



I hope no one would for a moment 

 be so selfish as to wish a loss, even in 

 part, to an honest industrj-, that adds 

 to our agricultural wealth, to the en- 

 hancement of a few ; but the past sea- 

 son may prove to tis the necessity of 

 taking care of our bees, and of having: 

 a fair knowledge of them. 



Lone Tree, Iowa, Feb. 25, 1888. 



