Tmm SBdERicsH mmm joukksil. 



347 



^''^'^^^-^^^^^^rtt i '^^fT'^***-* 



tically (leiivin;;; men a natural right to 

 the means tif life, or to natural oppor- 

 tunities. We assert, in a national 

 deelaration, that the right to life is a 

 natural right ; but we legislate to make 

 the means of life purchasable only. So 

 far the right to gather nectar has been 

 in aeeordanee with our fuiulamental 

 assertion of human right, but Mr. W. 

 suggests a ehango, and that we carry 

 the evil that is undermining our civili- 

 zation, into practice, with regard to 

 nectar as well as other bounties of 

 nature. 



A neighbor once asked me how 

 much I was going to allow him for 

 the honej' that mj' bees had gathered 

 off his pasture. My reply was that, if 

 he would leave me enough for my 

 family, he might take all the rest there 

 was in mj' honey house — about 2 tons. 



" What, for nothing ?" he asked in 

 surprise. " For nothing for the honey," 

 I replied, " but I shall take 15 cents a 

 pound for the trouble' of gathering it. 

 You would not ask me to ' work for 

 nothing and board myself would 

 you ?" That was the last I ever heard 

 of honey being wanted by the land- 

 owner ; but that land-owner became a 

 good customer. 



When it is reasonable to ask a man 

 to control the flight of his bees it will 

 be time enough to talk about limiting 

 his pasture for them, provided they 

 are taking what would otherwise not 

 be wasted. 



Murrayville, Ills. 



VENTILATION. 



Tlie I*roper M^ajr to Tentilate 

 Hives. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY L. W. LIGHTY. 



Patent ventilations, or their venders, 

 have deceived so many bee-keepers 

 that ventilation is a subject not much 

 spoken of. Bees are not such large 

 consumers of oxygen, comparatively, 

 as some other living beings. When in 

 a state of (piietude, they want very 

 little air ; but when they are at work, 

 and the temperature is high, they will 

 need much. The air for the bees 

 should generally be supplied at the 

 entrance, or from the bottom of the 

 hive. 



In this latitude it is most convenient 

 and most profitable, to winttn- bees on 

 the summer stands, packed with chaff 

 or something similar. After placing 

 the chaff cushion (which should not be 

 less than inches thick) on top of the 

 frames or Hill's device, there sliould 

 be an air-chamber between the cush- 

 ion and the hive-eover of at least from 

 2 to 4 inches, and that air-chamber 

 should be ventilated by two opposite 



holes from .] iucli to 1 inch in size. In 

 that way the cushions will always be 

 dry, and naturally warm and clean. 

 If the hive does not have this top air- 

 chamber and ventilation, the cushions 

 will soon become damp, moldy and 

 frosty, and then it would have been 

 better to have had no cushions on 

 at .all. 



Most chatt' hives are provided with 

 this air-chamber and the holes for ven- 

 tilation. When using single hives, I 

 generally use a second story or half- 

 story for packing, but I do not like to 

 bore holes in tliose, so I generally 

 make a rim to fit the hive, about 3 

 inches high, and bore the holes in that. 

 As soon as bees begin to rear brood 

 on a large scale in the spring, they 

 need much moisture and heat in the 

 hive ; therefore it is then best to cover 

 them tight, and keep all the heat and 

 moisture in. The entrance may also 

 be contracted to suit the size of the 

 colony. 



In the summer, when the weather is 

 very hot, top ventilation is good ; but 

 in our climate of sudden changes in 

 temperature, the temperature in the 

 hive frequently falls so low that the 

 bees cannot work the wax in the sec- 

 tions, and that is a serious objection 

 which should be avoided, and can be 

 done only by closing the top ventila- 

 tors ; but as that is generally' neglected, 

 it is better to use only bottom ventila- 

 tion and shade over the hive. If the 

 bees are given a chance, they will ven- 

 tilate the hive themselves in summer, 

 but the entrance must be of the proper 

 size for them to do it. 



Mulberry, Pa. 



WINTERING BEES. 



In-Door vs. Out-Door Wintering 

 of Bees. 



Read at the Ohiu State Convention 

 BY H. R. BOABDMAN. 



There has always been a feeling of 

 insecurity in bee-keeping as an occu- 

 pation, on account of the uncertainty 

 of wintering. This question settled, 

 and some sure and reliable way of 

 wintering, provided the business will 

 be placed on a firm basis by the side 

 of other industries. 



The ground has all been gone over 

 so manj' times, that it would seem use- 

 less to attempt to present anything 

 new or interesting ; and j'et the win- 

 tering problem has not reached its 

 solution. In-door and out-door win- 

 tering have their ailvocates, and both 

 alike have their recoi'd of successes 

 and failures. Out-door wintering is 

 among my earliest, and, I may also 

 say, mj' saddest experiences in bee- 

 keeping. The most important factor 



in the wintering problem is climatic 

 inliuence. There are others important 

 that come within our control ; but the 

 influences of the weather we can at 

 best only modify. 



Cold does not kill the bees ; but it 

 conies in contact with the warmth pro- 

 duced by the living colony inside the 

 hive, and condensation of moisture en- 

 sues. Moisture, combined with the 

 cold, furnishes one of the most de- 

 moralizing and destructive conditions 

 with whieii we have to contgnd in out- 

 door wintering, both upon the bees 

 and the stores. When a colony is so 

 prepared that an excess of moisture 

 accumulates within the liive, the stores 

 (both honej- and pollen) especially if 

 unsealed, are contaminated by these 

 conditions, and rendered unfit for the 

 bees ; and no amount of packing or 

 protection against the cold will im- 

 prove these conditions. 



A large per cent, of the loss of colo- 

 nies that have been specially prepared 

 for out-door wintering is undobutedly 

 the result of improper preparation. 

 Colonies exposed to the severest cold, 

 ill climates much colder than ours, 

 often winter in good condition without 

 any protection whatever ; even when 

 subjected to the most reckless exposure 

 in old, dilapidated hives, crumbling to- 

 pieces with age, and split and seamed 

 from bottom to top, colonies have 

 wintered year after year, for many 

 years, while others, protected in the 

 most careful manner, according to the 

 most approved methods of modern 

 bee-culture, have died. 



We are perplexed and astonished at 

 such results. The existing conditions 

 were not those anticipated. The only 

 conclusions are, that the favorable 

 conditions in such exposed colonies 

 that wintered well, over-balanced the 

 unfavorable conditions ; and, also, in 

 such protected colonies -that perished, 

 there was a preponderance of unfa- 

 vorable conditions, oi-, in other words, 

 that such exposed colonies were in 

 more favorable condition for wintering 

 than the carefully protected colonies. 

 This sounds strange, but is it not true ? 



I have, often observed, that if the 

 stores are of good quality, and remain 

 in good condition, that the bees will 

 also keej} in good condition, and win- 

 ter well, while if the stores are in bad 

 condition, no amount of protection 

 from the cold will avail in preserving 

 the health and vitality of the colony. 

 Even stores of inferior quality, if in 

 good condition, are not necessarily 

 fatal to the bees, if other conditions 

 are favorable. 



Mr. Hutchinson, in the American 

 Bee Journal for 1887, page 650 says : 

 " I have yet to lose a colony having 

 cane-sugar stores, and wintered in a 

 warm cellar, and by the method I now 



