288 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



In regard to the time of putting the bees 

 into the cellar, I have been in the habit of 

 putting them in early and takiug them out 

 late — the first of November for putting in, 

 willow bloom for taking out, — and the large 

 numbers of bees that perish on the outside 

 clusters even in early October, which I only 

 found out this fall, leads me to say earlier 

 rather than later. 



FoEESTviLLE, Minn., Nov. ."d, 1891. 



The "Puzzle" of "Guessing" "When to 



Carry in the Bees. — How to Carry the 



Hives.— Reversible Bottom Boards. 



C. C. MILLER. 



^T S to the time of taking bees into the 

 ^ ' cellar, I am fully in accord with your 

 leader, unless it may be th 1 1 am not 

 so sure as to leaving them out till freezing 

 weather sets in. What do you mean by 

 "freezing weather sets in?" You say you 

 have put in bees as early as Nov. 10. Well, 

 if your climate is like mine, you have some 

 pretty hard freezing before that time. On 

 the morning of Nov. 2, this year, my ther- 

 mometor stood at 24°. Yet the days seem 

 quite pleasant. To-day, Nov. 3, in the mid- 

 dle of the day the sun is shining bright, and 

 it seems a very pleasant autumn day, with 

 the thermometer at 48°. Scarcely a bee 

 is flying. Now, would you say freezing 

 weather has set in? 



The question in my mind is, should the 

 bees be put in the cellar yet or not? I am 

 quite a little inclined to the opinion that it 

 might have been well to have put them in a 

 week ago. They have flown so little since, 

 that nothing has been gained in that direc- 

 tion, and if they had been in the cellar they 

 would have been warmer, and the cellar 

 doors being left wide open they would have 

 had just as good air. If taken in just as they 

 are, to be sure they have not suffered any, 

 but are they any better for staying out ? 

 But suppose to-night there comes a cold 

 rain and then it freezes solid, as it may do 

 any night, then they are worse for staying 

 out. Especially if no warm days come 

 again before spring. Of course it makes a 

 difference where you are and what is likcUj 

 to happen in your locality. 



Now as to "how," I'm not sure that I 

 agree with you fully. For some time I used 

 a harrow such as you speak of, but the jar- 

 ring is objectionable. If bees can be picked 



up, carried into the cellar, and then put in 

 the place they are to remain, without ever 

 knowing they have been touched, it is very 

 much pleasanter for the carriers and perhaps 

 better for the bees. As I now carry them I 

 can hardly agree with you that it is "hard 

 work at best." Take a rope, or several 

 strands of light rope, tied together so as to 

 be endless, let it be long enough to reach a 

 little more than around the hive, and then 

 slip it over the two end cleats, and two per- 

 sons can walk along side by side and each 

 one take a side of the rope. The work is so 

 light that my eight years old nephew teases 

 to help, although I don't think he would 

 want to help long. If there are no end 

 cleats, then the rope can't well be used, but 

 for other reasons I would have cleats any- 

 how. 



If the hives are so arranged that you can 

 easily put something under the bottom, then 

 the carriers such as Mr. Root describes and 

 sells, are good. They are much the same as 

 two pail bails or handles, with bent hooks to 

 catch under the hive. Although I occasion- 

 ally use them, I don't think they compare 

 with the rope. 



Yes, I loould bring the bottom boards in 

 with the hives, and I have bottom boards 

 liurposely made for winter with a two inch 

 space under the frames, reversing them for 

 summer. With coarse wire cloth at the en- 

 trance there is then no danger of mice getting 

 into the hives. 



With the deep bottom boards there's no 

 need of piling hives so that each hive rests 

 on two others, for in that case if you jar one 

 hive you jar the whole lot, and when piled 

 up in a straight pile, jarring one can only 

 affect three or four others, 



Makengo, 111., Nov. 4, 1891. 



Too Late or Too Early Moving in of Bees 



Objectionable.— How to Carry the Hives. 



Special Topics. — Chicago Convention. 



J. A. GKEEN. 



f DON'T know when is the best time to 

 put bees into the cellar, but I think both 

 extremes are bad. 

 If they are put in too early there may be a 

 s{)ell of warm weather afterward during 

 which the cellar would become too warm, 

 making the bees uneasy. ( )nly a few days 

 ago it was for a time almost as warm as 

 August, and I should consider it a decided 



