THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



217 



will pass up around the ice, causiuK a cir- 

 culation, both cooliiiij and drying the air. 

 Botli of the al)ovo are rather new. scitmtific, 

 advanced, practicable and profitable. These 

 are crowded out to make room for mice, 

 candy business, bees crawling up trousers 

 legs, sleeves, down his collar and under his 

 coat, giving the reader the impression that 

 to care for bees in winter is equal to chal- 

 lenging Kilrain for a jiri/.t' fight. 



The next subject, 'Securing AVorkers for the 

 Harvest,' will be reviewed in the August 

 fi«ii/('." 



The naming of a book is a task requir- 

 ing much care and consideration. "Ad- 

 vanced Bee Cultuie " was not chosen lightly 

 nor iiastily. For a week or more the matter 

 was in my mind a large share of the time; 

 even causing me to lie awake nights and 

 study over the matter. The titles that were 

 considered, revised and changed about be- 

 fore the one chosen was fixed upon, were not 

 a few. If others, like Bro. Hill, have been 

 led to believe that all the book contains is 

 new, I hasten to dispel the illusion. I have 

 attempted to describe the methods and im- 

 plements that are thought to be best by the 

 most advanced bee-keepers. Or, to be very 

 exact, those that / consider the most ad- 

 vanced. Some of these implements and the 

 best way of managing them may have been 

 in use several years, but that does not pre- 

 vent them from being the most advanced. 



Bro. Hill speaks of " robbing one hive to 

 help another," of "spoilinga good colony to 

 fix up a poor one." I can best answer this 

 by quoting exactly what I said upon this 

 point in "Advanced Bee Culture." Here is 

 what I said: 



"Probably the best method of feeding 

 bees in winter is to give them a frame of 

 honey. Perhaps all the honey is in the hives, 

 what shall be done with them? It is well 

 known that all colonies do not consume the 

 same amount of stores. The variation is 

 very gre t, and by examining all of the 

 colonies, or a large number of them, the 

 bee-keeper can usually find com js of honey 

 that may be spared to furnish needy colonies 

 with stores." 



If Bro. Hill would allow good colonies to 

 starve in winter rather than feed them, I can 

 only say I would not. 1 know he will say 

 that he would have fed them the previous 

 autumn. Yes, so would I, but if, by some 

 hook or crook, bees were found short of 

 stores, perhaps starving, in winter, what 

 would you do Bro. Hill':' As I have said in 

 the new book, it is no unusual thing to find 

 some colonies that have consumed less stores 

 than others, and by carefully removing the 

 cover and working with care an outside 



comli of honey can be removed without 

 greatly disturbing the bees. By removing 

 one comb from a needy colony and spread- 

 ing the others apart the comb of honey can 

 be given. I am aware that such work is un- 

 pleasant, but it is better tiian allowing 

 very many colonics to perish of starvation. 

 If Bro. Hill thinks otherwise, let him give 

 his reasons and I shall be glad to publish 

 them. If the bees nmst be fed in winter 

 and none of the colonies have any honey to 

 spare, does he know of any Ijetter or more 

 " advanced " plan than the feeding of candy V 

 If he does, let him give it. 



Again I am taken to task because I used 

 so much space in telling how to guard 

 against the depredations of mice. Let 

 those who think this matter unimportant, 

 read the following extract from an editorial 

 that lately appeared in the C. B. J. 



" When we went to set out the bees this 

 spring, we noticed that all the bees on the 

 floor appeared to be chopped up or cut in 

 two and noticed the mice scampering away. 

 The first hives we commenced to lift ofif the 

 shelves convinced us that something was 

 wrong and we ventured the statement that 

 half of the bees were destroyed. Our sur- 

 mises were correct as examination proved 

 there was scarcely a hive in the bee house 

 that had not from one to five mice in it. We 

 carried oufr one hive into the yard and stood 

 around it with sticks and as they came out, 

 killed twenty-nine mice. We did not kill any 

 bees in that hive as the mice had taken the 

 contract and finished it. Two-thirds of the 

 bees in the bee house were similary treated, 

 and those living were very much injured. 

 We used to think that mice did not touch 

 live bees or kill them, we are now convinced 

 that they do. We noticed on the bottom 

 boards of most of the hives, bees bit in two 

 at the thorax, not one, but many, life still 

 being in them. Their feet were moving 

 showing clearly that they had been very 

 recently destroyed." 



It is true that I said nothing about a coal 

 stove in a bee cellar, or about an ice box ar- 

 ranged as Bro. Hill describes, but here is 

 what I did say, yet no one would ever have 

 dreamed it from reading Bro. Hill's review. 



" Quite a number have reported excellent 

 results by warming up the bee repository to 

 summer heat, say once a week or ten days, 

 if the bees become uneasy towards spring. 

 This enables the bees to throw off any sur- 

 plus moisture, and, as the temperature goes 

 down, they quiet down and remain so for 

 several days, when they may be warmed up 

 again. So long as the bees remain quiet, I 

 should not disturb them by artificial heat. 

 If the cellar becomes too ivarni iu the spring, 

 befor it is time to remove the bees, it may be 

 cooled down by carrying in snow or ice or 

 the windows or doors may be opened at 

 night and closed in the morning." 



