648 



'jtmm MMERieMif bseh joismmmi^. 



system, nature acts ab initio— from the 

 beginning. When a young man com- 

 mences to use tobacco, he does not 

 smoke a box of cigars before feeling 

 the unpleasant effects of the weed ; the 

 first cigar or pipe generally "lays him 

 out " limp and pale, with his whole in- 

 ternal apparatus in open rebellion and 

 spasmodic eruption. The farmer un- 

 derstands that, if he feeds green food 

 exclusively to animals, that have been 

 fed upon hay, they will, for a time, 

 " have the scours." These are only a 

 few of the many examples that might 

 be cited to illustrate that wise provi- 

 sion of the Creative Power, by which 

 all animals are warned against partak- 

 ing of substances which would cause 

 the system to become deranged, even 

 if the derangement is only temporary, 

 as in the case of a sudden change of 

 feed. 



Third. There is still another objec- 

 tion to the " impure food " argument. 

 Even when the adult members of a 

 species of animals are enabled, by vir- 

 ture of their superior physical power, 

 to eat food which may not be best for 

 them, if the same food" be consumed by 

 the same species of immature growth, 

 the evil effects will very soon become 

 apparent. 



Now in the case of bee-diarrhea, 

 neither the young bee, just emerging 

 from its cell, nor the one that has 

 nearly completed its course of life, ex- 

 hibit any indications of disease until 

 nearly the middle of the winter, and 

 very often not until the month of 

 March. 



To still further show the fallacy of 

 the prevalent idea that winter mortality 

 of bees is caused by improper food, let 

 me illustrate by the following facts 

 that have come under my notice while 

 studying this question : 



Experiments in Wintering Bees. 



Suppose we take ten hives contain- 

 ing colonies of normal strength, both 

 as to bees and honey. Let these colo- 

 nies be left on the summer stands and 

 protected from the weather in auy 

 manner that the experimenter may see 

 ht, provided it is so arranged that the 

 clustered bees may be examined from 

 the top, with as little disturbance as 

 possible. 



Now if we examine these colonies, 

 say on Dec. 1, we shall find— if the 

 weather is cold— the bees closely clus- 

 tered in the front-center of this hive 

 with the top part of the living sphere 

 from 8 to 5 inches hrloiv the top-bars of 

 the brood-frames- the distance below 

 will vary according to the disposition 

 of the honey stores and the depth of 

 the frame. If the weather continues 

 cold, the motion of the cluster will be 

 upward, and in time the bees at the 

 top will be in close proximity to the 

 honey-board or quilt, whichever may 

 be used to cover the hive. 



Suppose these 10 colonies are closely 

 watched, and it is found that on Jan. 1, 

 4 colonies are so clustered as to reach 

 over the frame tops; this interval of 

 time— December to January— we will 

 designate a. On Feb. 1, two more are 

 in the same position, interval of time 

 called I); still two more reach this posi- 

 tion on Feb. 15, interval of time c, and 



the last two on March 1, interval of 

 time d. 



Now what I wish to bring to the 

 notice of the reader is, that during the 

 interval of time a, there will be no dan- 

 ger of any of these 10 colonies becom- 

 ing diseased. During the interval &, if 

 there is disease it will be among the 

 first 4 colonies named ; during interval 

 c only among six; during interval d. 

 only among eight. After March 1, if 

 very cold weather is experienced, or if 

 the hives are not properly protected, 

 all of the 10 colonies are liable to be- 

 come diseased ; but the chances of es- 

 cape are in favor of those which were 

 last to reach the top-bars, and against 

 the first. 



The question arises, what has the 

 position of the clustered bees to do 

 with the bringing on of the disease, if 

 the cause is to be referred to improper 

 food y If the honey in the upper region 

 of the hive is unQt for bee-food, why 

 is not that below '/ 



But let us try another experiment. 

 Take a good, strong colony— it is no 

 matter about the quantity of stores— 

 and in place of the honey-board place 

 over it an empty hive, or a box, with- 

 out top or bottom, of the same dimen- 

 sions as the hive. To prevent its being 

 moved, light cleats should be nailed on 

 the lower edge, or straw may be piled 

 around on all sides except the en- 

 trance. Now lay a piece of oil-cloth on 

 the frames, and over this tuck snugly a 

 piece of heavy blanket or quilt. Cover 

 with a heavy board to keep out rain or 

 snow. As soon as the clustered bees 

 reach the top-bars, take six one-pouud 

 sections of sealed honey, cut out en- 

 trance-ways in the sides, and lay them 

 close together, side downward, in such 

 a manner that the center of the clus- 

 tered bees will be directly under the 

 general center of the sections. Replace 

 the coverings, and do not disturb them 

 until about the time they will have 

 consumed most of the honey in the sec- 

 tions, when another course must be 

 laid on, and so continue as long as the 

 bees approach the coverings. 



The result of this experiment will be, 

 that the colony operated upon wil! be 

 alive and in good health on the first 

 day of April, or thereabouts, no matter 

 whether there is pollen in the honey or 

 not ; no matter what kind of honey is 

 used— only that it must be sealed- 

 whether from white clover or buck- 

 wheat ; gathered in the spring or fall, 

 it makes no difference in the result. If 

 any one doubts this, it may be veritied 

 or disproved during the coming winter. 



IVhat the Experiments Prove. 



These experiments, together with 

 others not mentioned, prove conclu- 

 sively to me that qualit!/ of food has 

 seldom, if ever, any part in producing 

 diarrhea— so called ; and acting upon 

 this theory, I have been enabled to so 

 prepare my bees that I have had no 

 losses from this cause during the past 

 five winters, and shall prepare my col- 

 onies for the coming winter with per- 

 fect confidence that they will pass that 

 heretofore critical period in vigorous 

 health. 



If the reader of this article desires to 

 know what name I would give the dis- 

 ease, I would say that I am not an ex- 



pert at clinical diagnosis, therefore I 

 have not unlimited confidence in my 

 conclusions; but if he will, for the 

 time being, throw aside all precon- 

 ceived notions about ventilation, ab- 

 sorption, hibernation, pollen consump- 

 tion, etc., watch his bees and read 

 some standard work on catarrh, he 

 may, or may not, come to the conclu- 

 sion to name it vnteMinal cctarrh. 



How to Prevent Winter Losses. 



The main point, however, is to know 

 how to prevent this trouble, and this 

 can be done by the following : 



1. Never stinting the bees in their 

 supply of honey. 



2. Keeping the hives so protected 

 that the heat generated by the bees 

 will be retained as long as possible 

 ivithin the hire. 



I have no confidence in any system 

 of wintering bees which does away 

 with hice protection, not even when win- 

 tered in a cellar. The first cost is an 

 item, but it pays well in the end. 



Blairstown, Iowa. 



AUTUMN. 



§ugg:estions about the Xece§$ary 

 Fall Work. 



Written for the Farmers' Advocate 



BY E. F. HOLTEKMANN. 



As the honey-flow has been so very 

 short this season, bee-keepers will be 

 inclined to take away more honey from 

 their bees than good judgment should 

 allow, and as a natural result the bees 

 will starve before spring. If an upper 

 story is put upon a hive, and this is 

 called the surplus arrangement, it does 

 not mean that the bees can spare all 

 they put in a jar from it ; of extracted 

 honey, especially, the bees rarely have 

 enough in the lower combs for winter. 

 So many bees are lost by starvation, 

 and so much has been said upon this 

 subject that it would seem almost as 

 if there was no use in writing upon this 

 subject. 



Get your bees ready for winter early 

 — in fact, in summer it should com- 

 mence, and as the brood will often not 

 permit the storing of sufficient honey 

 below, reserve two or three combs of 

 good honey well capped, and have 

 these to fall back on in every hive, if 

 they do not have the requisite quantity 

 of honey on Oct. 1. Take out combs 

 free from brood and with the least 

 honey, and put in the combs of sealed 

 honey. 



It is a very bad plan to feed — time is 

 taken up. The bees rob if they get 

 the least chance ; it wears the bees of 

 the hive out as a honey-flow does, and 

 leaves them aged for winter ; and there 

 is a great, actual waste by the bees in 

 placing their stores in the hive, to say 

 nothing of the bad impression that 

 your neighbors get to see you haul 

 home sugar and feed it to the bees ; 

 they of course at once say your are 

 " making honey." See, then, that your 

 bees have 30 pounds of feed, an average 

 hive with combs and bees weighing 20 

 pounds. Have this feeding done be- 

 fore Oct. 1. 



