764 



Ttmm SMEMicMfi mmm j@wmmmi^. 



THE CELLAR. 



Ingenious Harness Used for 

 Carrying Bee-Hives. 



Written for Gleanings in BeeCullurc 



BY G. M. DOOHTTLE. 



I am asked to give au article on the 

 above subject ; and as the askei- puts 

 his querj' in the shape of several ques- 

 tions, I think it best to answer them 

 by number, in the order they are put. 



First, he says, "I should like to 

 know how I can place the bees in the 

 cellar without disturbing them." This 

 is nearly an impossibility, as far as not 

 arousing them at all is concerned, for 

 bees are sensitive to the least move- 

 ment of their home, and, no matter 

 how still it may be done, if done times 

 enough the result always is a restless 

 colony. But, practically speaking, 

 bees can be set in the cellar without 

 disturbance, or, in other words, not be 

 disturbed enough so that it is notice- 

 able, or to do any harm. In fact, I 

 am not sure that a disturbance, so 

 great as to cause them to come out all 

 over the front of the hive after they 

 are in the cellar, does any harm, yet I 

 prefer not to so disturb them. 



I have two ways of carrying the bees 

 to the cellar : one of which is, to get 

 a strap of the harness-maker, or other- 

 wise, long enough to go over my 

 shoulders, and reach the cleat that 

 goes around the top of the hive, or the 

 hand-holes, if cleats are not used, so 

 that the hive may be held up in about 

 the position that it would naturally be 

 when carried in the hands. Now get 

 two large snaps, such as are used on 

 the breast-straps of heavy harness, and 

 have them sowed, one on each end of 

 the strap. After this is done, take out 

 the tongues, or snap part, of each, and 

 file the projecting hook part of the 

 snaps to a sharp point, when your 

 strap is ready. On going to the hive, 

 throw the strap over the shoulders, 

 and, on stooping down, hitch the 

 sharp points of the snaps into the 

 cleats, or hand-holes, of the hive, and 

 straighten up, thus lifting the hive by 

 the shoulders, instead of the arms. 

 With the hands, keep the hive away 

 from the body, and thus you can carry 

 it as still as you please. 



The other way, and the best one for 

 all not physically strong, is to get a 

 spring wheelbarrow, and on this place 

 a sawdust cushion, such as is used over 

 the hives in winter; or, in the absence 

 of this, put on several thicknesses of 

 old carpet, or horse-blankets, and on 

 this set the hive, when it can be 

 wheeled right into the cellar, if the 

 cellar is built as it should be, or to the 

 cellar-door, in any event. In this way 

 no seriou.s disturbance should be 



caused, if set on and oft" the wheel- 

 barrow as they should be. 



Secondly, he says, " I want to raise 

 them an inch oft' the bottom-board." 

 This is as it .should be, only, instead 

 of an inch, I prefer that the distance 

 be 2 inches, or, better still, the whole 

 height of the hive. By this, I mean to 

 let the bottom edges of one hive rest 

 on the top edge.s of two other hives, 

 so that there is an open space, the 

 size of a hive, under each hive except 

 the bottom ones. 



To explain more fully : I first carry 

 into the cellar some bottom-boards, 

 placing them on the cellar bottom 

 nearly as far apart as the width of a 

 hive. On these bottom-boards I place 

 a 2-inch rim, and on these rims I place 

 the first tier of hives, which leaves the 

 hives a little too close for a hive to 

 stand between them. Now, in setting 

 in the next tier, they are set on the 

 other hives, so as to come over this 

 space between the hives below, they 

 resting on the edges of the hives be- 

 low, as I said at first, the next tier 

 setting over the emjjty spaces between 

 the last, and so on until the top of the 

 cellar is reached. To keep the dead 

 bees, etc., from soiling the cushions 

 and hives below, newspapers are 

 spread over them before the next tier 

 is set on top. I believe this is some- 

 thing similar to the way friend Board- 

 man winters his bees. In any event, I 

 like the plan very much. 



When to Carry Bees Into the Cellar. 



Thirdly he asks, " Is it best to carry 

 them in in the daytime or after dark ?" 

 As to this matter, I do not know that 

 it makes any dilference with the bees. 

 The only thing to be considered is the 

 convenience of the operator, and the 

 prospect of what the weather will be 

 on the following day. I have fre- 

 quently carried in my bees on a moon- 

 light evening, when I feared it might 

 rain the next morning, for I consider 

 it a great disadvantage to have the 

 hives set in the cellar when drj'. At 

 other times I have risen at 4 o'clock in 

 the morning and set the bees in before 

 daylight, getting them in just as it was 

 commencing to rain ; still, the most of 

 the setting-in has been done by day- 

 light, thus having the advantage as 

 far as seeing is concerned. 



Fourthly he asks, "Should the 

 weather be cold or warm, when the 

 bees are set in ?" I used to think that 

 the weather should be cold, in order 

 that the bees need not fly out of the 

 hive if they were disturbed, fearing 

 that they would disturb easier in warm 

 weather than in cold ; but after an ex- 

 perience of the past five years, I now 

 say, set them in when the outside air 

 is nearly or of the same temperature 

 of that in the cellar, if possible, and 



never when the hives are full of frost, 

 and frozen down, if it can be avoided. 



Where hives are frozen down to the 

 bottom-boards, and the outsides of 

 them covered with snow and ice, it is 

 the worst time possible to carry them 

 in ; while getting them in at such a 

 time without disturbing them is out of 

 the question, for each hive will come 

 up from the bottom-board with such a 

 shock that all the bees in the hive are 

 at once aroused. The proper temper- 

 ature in which to set them in is from 

 35'^ to 50° ; but as this cannot always 

 be obtained, from 30° to 35° will do 

 very well. 



In closing, I will say that the time 

 of year in which to set bees in the 

 cellar is from Oct. 25 to Nov. 20, ac- 

 cording to latitude, and not in Decem- 

 ber, as used to be advocated. 



Borodino, N. Y. ■ 



KENTUCKY. 



Some of the Oood Results of the 

 Past Season. 



Written for the American BeeJo^imal 



BY GEO. W. MORRIS. 



My report for the past season is as 

 follows : 



My 11 colonies of Italian bees win- 

 tered without loss. They bred up early, 

 and began to swarm early in May, but 

 I checked swarming as much as pos- 

 sible by extracting. All the surplus 

 obtained in June was honey-dew, 

 amounting to 500 pounds. This honey 

 is dark, and not very well flavored. 

 Bees ceased to gather it about June 20. 



With the exception of the clovers, 

 sunflowers, and some other bloom, all 

 of which was very scarce, bees had no 

 forage until the asters commenced to 

 bloom, about Sept. 20, when they 

 rallied and gave me a surplus of 400 

 pounds of as pretty white honey as I 

 ever saw. 



My apiary has produced the follow- 

 ing results this season : Four hun- 

 dred pounds of white honey, at 12J 

 cents, $50 ; 500 pounds of honey-dew 

 honey at 10 cents, $50 ; for queens, 

 $18 ; and for 6 swarms, $12, making a 

 total of $130. 



This is the second season that the 

 asters have given much surplus in this 

 locality, last season being the first. I 

 liave been noticing it for about six 

 years, and it is increasing very rap- 

 idly, and bids fair to outstrip all other 

 pasturage for bees, especially as fall 

 pasturage, and for extracted honey, 

 because bees can gather and store 

 honey when it is too cool to build 

 comb. 



I believe it would pay me to culti- 

 vate sunflowers by the acre, and have 

 them bloom in August and September, 



