582 



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Anioiiiit of Honey for Surplu§ 

 and Brood-Rearingf. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 572.— What proportion of the honey 

 gathered from a " field " goes to rearing 

 Brood, and wbat part tor surplus, on an 

 average '/—Michigan. 



I do not know.— P. L. Viallon. 



I do not know.— H. D. Cutting. 



I do not know.— Mrs. L. Harrison. 



All answers are guess-work, and 

 much depends, at that.— J. P. II. Brown. 



I doubt whether any one knows. I 

 am sure I do not.— M. Mahin. 



I do not know how to get at it. — J. 

 M. Hambaugh. 



That is hard to tell. I have not a 

 well-defined idea on the subject. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



I can only guess. In an average sea- 

 son at least one-half is consumed in 

 brood-rearing, and perhaps more.— C. 



H. DiBBERN. 



In an average season, taking the year 

 through, I "guess" the bees require 

 two-thirds of the amount gathered.— 

 R. L. Taylor. 



I put it at about 9 to 10, this season ; 

 and about 2 to 1 in a good season. — J. 

 O. Shearman. 



At a very rough guess, one-third for 

 brood, one-third . for support of old 

 bees, and one-third for surplus.- C. C. 

 Miller. 



Prom the way I have seen brood- 

 rearing use up honey, I should say that 

 more honey was consumed, one year 

 with another, by the bees and their 

 young, than by the owner and his cus- 

 tomers.— James Heddon. 



That is too hard a nut to crack. We 

 should judge, however, than on an 

 average three-fourths of the honey 

 harvested is used up by the bees.— 

 Dad ANT & Son. 



This is a theoretical question that I 

 am not only unable to answer, but give 

 a guess even. I doubt if any one can 

 give an answer that will be of value, 

 owing to difficulty of obtaining data 

 on which to base it.— J. E. Pond. 



I should say that in a good season 

 about one-half of the honey goes to 

 feed the brood. Such a season as this, 

 100 per cent, is thus used.— A. J. Cook. 



It takes at least 60 pounds of good, 

 thick honey to carry a colony one year. 

 If more is obtained, we get a surplus; 

 if less, we must teed. All depends 

 upon the season, etc.— G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



I do not know. Last year my bees 

 gathered enough to last until they 

 gathered last spring ; but this year they 

 lived from "hand to mouth " till sweet 

 clover yielded honey.— A. B. Mason. 



It depends entirely upon the man- 

 agement. A well-managed colony puts 

 about 50 per cent, of the gather in the 

 supers ; about 30 per cent, for brood- 

 rearing, and about ;;0 per cent, for win- 

 ter stores.— J. M. SuucK. 



This is a hard question to answer, as 

 there is really no uniformity as a basis 

 on which to form an opinion. Bees 

 will consume more or less honey, as 

 they can or cannot get it. Some obser- 

 vations have led me to believe that a 

 good, strong colony will consume at 

 least 100 pounds of honey in a year, if 

 they can get it ; and they will get along 

 with much less if they are compelled 

 to do so. On an average of years, i 

 have calculated that a colony of bees 

 can furnish one pound of surplus 

 against every pound they consume ; but 

 there is no certainty about it. This 

 season only the very best colonies can 

 gather enough honey to live on.— G. 

 W. Demabee. 



The answer can only be guess-work, 

 and hence very indefinite. It is im- 

 possible to give an answer " on an 

 average." It does not average. If there 

 is only enough honey gathered for 

 brood-rearing and food for the old 

 bees, they take it all. If there is not 

 enough for these, then the one or the 

 other goes short. In any case, the 

 apiarist gets no surplus until these 

 necessities are provided for. In such a 

 season as the present one, the amount 

 used by the bees being barely provided 

 for by , Nature, the season and the 

 honey-gatherers, the apiarist gets no 

 surplus, or only what small amount 

 may become a " surplus." In an ordi- 

 nary season of plenty, perhaps it may 

 be a tolerably good guess to say that 

 the old bees consume one-third, and 

 brood-rearing another third— leaving 

 the remaining one-third for surplus, 

 provided that more than 60 or 80 pounds 

 of honey is gathered during the season, 

 as it would certainly take that amount 

 for the necessities of the bees, includ- 

 ing the supply needed for the coming 

 winter. — The Editor. 



Plan for a Bee.Cellar. 



Written tor the Amtriaan Bee Journal 



Query 573.— I am contemplating building 

 a cellar for wintering bees in, and have set- 

 tled on this one : I have a dry and some- 

 what steep bank, into which I propose to dig 

 20 feet In length, and 13 feet in width, and 

 then dig a ditch 2 feet deep all around the 

 outside, flltlDg it with small stones, and then 

 build a close wall 8 feet high. On the inside 

 of the wall I will board it up, leaving a space 

 of 4 inches or more all around to be filled 

 with sawdust, and bank up the whole thing, 

 all but the door, making it perfectly dark. 

 On top of this, I propose to build a shop for 

 the purpose of making hives and storing 

 honey, etc. 1, Will such a bee-cellar do 7 2, 

 How many colonies will It winter? 3. What 

 about the shop overhead ?— New York. 



1. It will. 2. About 100 colonies. 3. 

 The shop would be objectionable if 

 there is much machinery run by power. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



Having never wintered bees except 

 on the summer stands, I am unable to 

 answer from experience.— J. E. Pond. 



1, Yes. 2. It depends upon the size 

 of the hives, but it ought to contain 

 150. 3. It is O K.— Dadant & Son. 



Yes, if it preserves the proper tem- 

 perature from 38^ to 45°, Fahr., as I 

 think it would. 2. As many as desired 

 —200 or 300 colonies. 3. The shop is 

 all right.— A. J. Cook. 



1. I should think so. 2. That will 

 depend upon the size of the hive and 

 the ventilation given. 3. It will do no 

 harm.— Mrs. L, Harrison. 



1. I should hestitate about putting 

 in the sawdust. It will soon be rotten, 

 will it not y Why is it not all right 

 without it V 2. Probably 100. 3. It is 

 no objection.— Eugene Secor. 



1. Yes, if the banking up is sufficient 

 in amount to exclude frost. 2. From 

 200 to 300. 3. It is all right, but pack 

 the floor between it and the cellar with 

 5 or 6 inches of sawdust, to keep the 

 frost out of the cellar.— R. L. Tay'lor. 



Such a bee cellar is all right, but if 

 much pounding is to be done in the 

 shop overhead, I should prefer it else- 

 where in winter. — C. H. Dibbern. 



1. l''es. 2. As many as you can put 

 into it. 3. If the hives do not touch 

 the floor, all the noise you can make 

 overhead will do no harm.— J. M. Ham- 

 baugh. 



1. I think so ; but you will be safe to 

 go by Doolittle's answer. 2. Perhaps 

 150 to 200. 3. Lath and plaster the 

 cellar overhead, and I think the shop 

 will not trouble.— C. C. Miller. 



1. I'es. 2. No one can tell you how 

 many colonies it will winter, but it 

 will hold 150 colonies if you build it 

 deep enough. 3. I do not like the shop 

 overhead. I should prefer a separate 

 building. Y^our cellar will make a 

 good place to do all of your summer 

 work in.— H. D. Cutting. 



1. It will work well. 2. All you can 

 get in. 3. The shop will do no harm if 

 the hives rest on the cellar-bottom, and 

 the protection Is thick enough between 

 the two floors so that no frost gets 

 through to the cellar.— G. M. Dog- 

 little. 



1. There is nothing to hinder it from 

 answering every purpose. 2. It would 

 depend upon how the hives were placed 

 in the cellar. 3. If the joist are well 

 " bridged," I do not believe that the 

 shop will interfere with the bees.— G. 

 W. Demaree. 



1. I think you will have a good cel- 

 lar. 2. The number of hives the cellar 

 will hold depends upon their size, and 

 the closeness with which they are 

 packed. 3. The shop overhead will do 

 no harm if no machinery is used, pro- 

 vided the hives in the cellar do not 

 touch any part of the building.— J. M. 

 Shuck. 



1. I see no objection to it, except that 

 the sawdust may gather too much 

 dampness. I would prefer a 4-inch 

 dead-air space. 2. I can make no esti- 

 mate of the number of colonies that 

 may be wintered without knowing the 

 size and form of the hives. 3. The 

 shop will do no harm.— M. Mahin. 



1. Such a cellar might do, but the 

 sawdust will become damp and rot, 

 and unless the shop is kept warm, the 

 cellar will get pretty cold sometimes, 

 unless there is a double floor, and filled 

 between. 2. That will ilepend upon 

 the size of the hives, and how they are 

 put in. Do a little figuring and you 

 will know. 3. Some say that disturb- 

 ing the bees in winter does no harm ; 

 but I know that it harms mine.— A. B. 

 Mason. 



