304 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' BEVIEW. 



As 1 said iu a previous number, I have no 

 doubt that stores surrounding the cluster 

 are a protection, but not the equal of three 

 or four inches of dry sawdust. I remember 

 distinctly one spring when there were two 

 weeks of honey weather the last of April, 

 and one week in May. The bees just boomed, 

 spread out their brood and had it well sur- 

 rounded by stores, and, by the way, it was 

 when I was using the American frame. 

 Then there came a snow storm. Snow and 

 cherry blossoms hung upon the same limb. 

 The snow remained four days. Half of tiie 

 colonies unprotected died outright, notwith- 

 standing the stores surrounding the cluster. 

 A peep into the protected colonies, showing 

 the bees crawling about*actively all over the 

 combs, was so aggravating. If I had only 

 protected all of them was what I thought, 

 and that was what aggravated me. When I 

 think of such experiences as this, and I have 

 had one or two others nearly as bad, it 

 makes me feel like saying "I don't care 

 what experience Mr. Hill has had." 



Right in line with this subject comes 

 another editorial in the Guide upon " (Jut- 

 side Winter Cases." It contains so much 

 that is valuable that I give it entire : 



" Mr. E. F. Quigley, editor of the Missouri 

 Bee Keeper, makes the following comments : 



' Bro. Hill, of the Bee Keepers^ Guide, sets 

 down on Bro. Root's outside winter case. 

 He says why not put a bushel of potatoes iu 

 one of these cases to prevent them freezing. 

 Well, there is considerable difference be- 

 tween a colony of bees and the potatoes. 

 We like a thin winter case if made right, 

 although we believe they are of more value 

 for spring protection.' 



We do not think there is much difference 

 notwithstanding the opinion of the editor. 

 It is true that a colony will sometimes live 

 through the winter where a bushel of pota- 

 toes would become frosted, but the bees al- 

 ways suffer and are injured more or less, if 

 they are not an entire loss. 



Right here is where all novices make the 

 greatest mistake, not thoroughly under- 

 standing the i)rinciples that permit of 

 healthy bees. A bee cellar with an eight 

 inch brick wall is a death trap to almost 

 three-fourths of the colonies i)ut into it any 

 severe cold weather. Yet it would seem that 

 that would be suiticieut protection until 

 tried and found wanting. We lost very 

 heavily in this way in our early experience. 

 We road (ininby's book and thought we fol- 

 lowed his instructions, but we now see we 

 did not do it at all, because ho recommended 

 frost proof repositories and we could not 

 understand why a little frost in the cellar 

 would do so much harm until we had actual 

 experience. A dry goods box set over a hive 

 containing a colony of bees iu such a manner 

 that the edges rest in the grass around the 



hive is sure to kill the bees if the winter is 

 cold for a month. Corn foddtr set up 

 around the hive is sure to kill the l)ees in the 

 same way that the box does. ^Ve look on a 

 three-eighths of an inch winter protecting 

 case as another similar trap to destroy bees. 

 We are positive that more bees will perish 

 with it on than with it off. AVe have written 

 before at considerable lengtli to demonstrate 

 why such unexpected results should be ob- 

 tained. An even temperature of from thirty 

 to forty degrees is very chilling to all animal 

 life, because it is the lowest tercpeialuie at 

 which the air can contain moisture in a con- 

 dition suitable to the rapid conducting of 

 the heat from the cluster of bees, and a 

 slight protection is liable to maintain just 

 the temperature with the air fully saturated 

 with the moisture from the cluster, causing 

 the very best combination to cause the bees 

 to sutler. This is the only true principle or 

 theory that will satisfactorily explain all the 

 queer freaks of wintering that occur every 

 cold winter. In conclusion we will say to 

 the editor of the Missouri Bee Keejier that 

 we meant just what we said, 'Why not put 

 a bushel of potatoes in one of those cases to 

 prevent them from freezing ? ' We coijsider 

 it just as sensible to put one over a colony of 

 bees. — Ed." 



There is just one weak point in the above, 

 and that is in comparing a colony of bees to 

 a bushel of potatoes. A colony of bees is 

 heat producing, while a bushel of potatoes is 

 not. The latter might be enclosed in the 

 thickest and best wall of non-conducting 

 material possible to secure, and, if exposed 

 to a freezing temperature, it would only V)o 

 a question of time when the potatoes would 

 be frozen. The temperature of a cellar re- 

 mains aVjove freezing only because the heat 

 is constantly replenished from the earth. 



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