1(^8 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



The Hh Bee-Keepers' + Review, 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Editor & Proprietor. 



TERMS:— 50 oente a year in advance, two 

 copies for 95 csnts; three for $1.35; five for $2.00; 

 ten or more, 35 contH each; all to be sent to one 

 POST OFFICE. In clubs to different post offices, 

 NOT LESS than 45 cents each. 



FUNT, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 10, 1889. 



NOT OYPBESS HONEY BUT CYPRESS BAKKELS. 



In the August Review, Mr. O. M. Blanton 

 is made to say that he had shipped tiiirty-six 

 baiTels of cypress houey. He writes that 

 this is an error. The word "cypress" 

 should apply to the wood from which the 

 barrels are made ; not to the honey they 

 contain. Our friend wishes this exphma- 

 tion made, as he is receivinj? inijuiries in 

 regard to cypress honey. 



OEOWDED OUT. 



This is what has happened to an article on 

 "Conventions," sent in .a little late by Dr. 

 Miller ; an editorial upon the same subject ; 

 also several other little items. Yes, and we 

 were obliged to chop off the "tail" of 

 Dr. Mason's article. It began with ".lust a 

 word more." but would have made at least 

 a column. It was fully as iite resting as 

 the rest of his arti(!le, and may get into the 

 next Review. We sliould be glad to liear 

 from others upon " Associations and Con- 

 ventions." We dislike to dismiss a subject 

 with such meager discussion. 



OUT-DOOR wintering. 



Well, we liave had a grand, good discus- 

 sion upon this topic, and the man who can't 

 winter his bees in the open air now, would 

 bettor — i)ut them in the cellar. No matter 

 where bees are wintered, if long confined to 

 their hives, the food must be good. As to 

 the (piantity of food, opinions differ. Some 

 think if given too much, the bees eat too 

 much, or heat is wasted in warming it ; oth- 

 ers argue that a scanty supply causes them 

 to worry themselves into a decline. It is a 

 little tough to be asked to believe that the 

 bees take an inventory of their "stock in 

 trade " and decide whether or no they have 

 sufficient to carry them through. We know, 

 however, that they will slack uji in brood 



rearing as the supply of honey runs low ; 

 coming to a full stop before the honey is 

 entirely gone. Just how soon, or under 

 what conditions, they discover that the 

 "larder is getting low," is too fine a point 

 for us to decide ; but we believe that ten col- 

 onies are lost for a lack of food where one 

 dies from a surfeit. If a colony is popu- 

 lous — has numbers sufficient to generate 

 the requisite amount of heat — we very much 

 doubt if it can be given too much honey 

 without making the hive too large for the 

 colony. First food, then warmth. A strong 

 colony can generate sufficient heat to keep 

 itself in comfort ; the difficulty lies in pre- 

 venting the escape of this heat. The most 

 perfect method is that of surrounding the 

 hive with a warm atmosphere — putting it in 

 a cellar. Next to this is that of surrounding 

 it with some material that is a poor conduc- 

 tor of heat. We don't appreciate the argu- 

 ments of those who advocate thin packing. 

 We don't believe that the benefit of the heat 

 from the sun, if it t.s of any benefit, can 

 compensate for the lack of protection du- 

 ring the months of extreme cold. We do 

 certainly think that much of the so-called 

 packing is not more than half done. We 

 are quite " struck " with the idea advanced 

 by some of our correspondents, that bees 

 Ihoroiujhhi protected in the open air " don't 

 have to" fly during the winter. As we un- 

 derstand it, this whole matter of out-door 

 wintering might be summed up in a few 

 words. Populous colonies ; plenty of f/oot/ 

 food : and tJioroiKjh protection. Simple, 

 isn't it? Yet there is a world of meaning 

 wrapped up in those few words. 



MR. WEED AND HIS ARTIFICIAL COMB. 



From the manner in which Mr. NVeed of 

 Detroit has treated some of the subscribers 

 of the Review — those who sent for samples 

 of comb — he has forfeited all right of hon- 

 orable mention in these columns, but we 

 feel that our readers are entitled to the news 

 even though some one receives undeserved 

 mention. Numerous changes have been 

 made in the machines to be used in manu- 

 facturing the comb, and it was not until the 

 week of the Detroit Exposition that perfect 

 combs, //((' size of a ])outi(l seetioii, were 

 completed. Several samples were on exhi- 

 bition at the Exposition, and thousands of 

 people will now be able to say that they have 

 seen artificial comb that was made by ma- 

 chinery. A stock company, under the name 



