3DE-V"OTEID E3S:CX.TJSI"V^EX.-5r TO BEES jf^lSTlD HOISTE^ST 



Vol. IV. 



JANUARY 1, 1876. 



No. I. 



WIIVTERIIVO IN CEJLLAKS, ETC. 



^^IRIENL) NOVICE:— Cclhir winteriiiK of bees is 



:?ri^ ronnrl in this locality, to he far tlie most ecoiicm- 

 ^j ical method. Those that liave hefii wintered 

 upon their summer stand Iiave been sailly decimated 

 during the past tlirec winters. We Icnow of one in- 

 stance in which one Jiundred and forty were lost out 

 of one hunihx'd and fifty. Quarts of bees would boil 

 out of the hive and onto the snow, when the ther- 

 mometer was down to zero. Tliesc hives liad littJe or 

 no upward ventilation, and the combs were invaria- 

 bly damp and mouldy ne.xt the honey board. 



i have visited several apiarians within a radius of a 

 dozen miles, and lind several metliods of culture in 

 vogue. I found bees in hives in which woodpeckers 

 had made great holes, and squirrels had actually made 

 a nest in a vacant super. As a contrast, I visited an 

 ;il)iary where the Langstroth hives and frames are 

 made with tlie utmost nicety, every nail countersunk 

 and the hole tilled with wax; and contrary to all theo- 

 ries of practical apiarians, every hive is neatly painted 

 on the inside, and bees seem to And no objection to 

 the plan. Tliis apiarian winters in the (cellar; and in 

 the spring, carries his bees out and into the cellar 

 raanj' times, as the weather changes from warm to 

 <!old. The result of the season amply repays him for 

 his trouble, for they store unusual quantities of box 

 honey. 



Another bee-keeper winters his bees in a small 

 warm cellar, and when first put in. it is not unusual 

 to find large clusters of bees on the outside of the 

 hive. He is successful in wintering, but loses a great 

 many by their crawling out and dying on tlie cellar 

 bottom. 



I found another gentleman who winters his bees, 

 about ."lO swarms, in a room about 7 by !>, flouble walleii 

 lathed and plastered, and immcdiateh- in the rear of 

 the kitchen, the pipe from the kitchen stove passing 

 directly through it. The stove is used every day for 

 cooking for the family and other household work. If 

 they show signs of uneasiness, he shuts them in their 

 hives. He uses the common box hive with place for 

 supers on the top. His bees, during the past season, 

 liave made a great amount of honey; one hive making 

 over 100 lbs. of box honey. Having Mr. Heddon in 

 mind. I asked him if bee-keeping paid witli him. 

 "I'ay I " said he, "I guess it does." "Honey got that 

 l)ile of wood, and part of my coal, paid a share on a 

 piano, and many other things." 



His bee room is ventilated bv raising a window, 

 wliich is ]>rovided with blinds "and a thick curtain. 

 No thermometer was kept in the room, so I can give 

 DO record of temperature. 



Now, friend Novice, that you have given vour Mich- 

 igan friends a visit, please give your New York friends 

 a call. There is not one of them but will give you a 

 warm reception. 



Honey is rather dull on sale at present. But little 

 market devclopes for extracted honey, though box 

 honey does not. go begging long in our niarkcts; 



J. H. Makti.v, Hartford, N. Y. 



5>SVISIOIV BOAKBS. 



•^rflJjDITOR GLKANINC;S:-jrr. W. F. Patterson 

 "Pi! having urged me to give my method of using the 

 >-=?^J division board, I comply witli liis request ^^•ith 

 pleasure ; arid premise by saying that I consiiler it one 

 of the most valuable contrivances useil about the 

 hive. 



In the soring, after I place my hives out of doors. I I 

 move all the combs to the back part of tlic hive, ex- j 

 cei)t what the bees can cover )jiMfcciIy down to the I 

 i'otlom. This gives the t>ces a chance to go to tlic ! 



back part of the hive on warm days for the purpose of 

 carrying the lioney over. When the weather gets 

 warm enough to open the iiives, I examine the com lis, 

 and if they are strong enough I move the sealed biood 

 outside, and place those outside partlv tilled, in tlie 

 middle. Ami when the bees get strong enough I jjlace 

 emiity comb in the middle. 1 am always careful how- 

 ever not to add more comb until there are bees enough 

 to cover the whole well. One card is enough to pnt'in 

 at a time. 1 never feed bees in spring to make them 

 raise brood faster if there is plentv of honey in the 

 combs at the back part of the hive. 



I think this method far superior to tlu.t of feeding 

 liquid sweets. They need, however, to be watchetl 

 closely to see that they do not get out of honev. If 

 the weather is very colil the division board should be 

 moved back and a card of honey put next the brood. 

 I use the Gallup hive with twelve frames. I also re- 

 duce the combs to live and from that down to one ac- 

 cording to the strength of the colonj'. When the 

 weather is warm, I look after them often to ascertain 

 if the combs can be placed so as to give the queen a 

 better chance to lay. If they ai-e strong enough to 

 cover two cards when setting them out in the spring, 

 I can build tlipni up into a good colony by the time 

 white clover comes into bloom. I liave wintered 

 many nucleus swar.r.s with only four combs, by using 

 the division board. My hives are IS inches long. 12 

 inches wiiie, and 12!.j inches deep from the rabbeting 

 down to the bottom boarii, counting inside measure. 



I have mentioned that 1 use the Gallup hive, but the 

 division board can be used in any other as well. I 

 consi<ler the use of the division board of very great 

 I importance in building up colonics, and hope for the 

 benefit of bee raisers, to see the detailed experiences 

 of others, with reference to its value, in the columns 

 of Glitanings. 



G. W. Dean, River Styx, O., Nov. 25th, "75. 



THE ©SSCOVEHY OF TME EXTRACTOR. 



ppJHE Cincinnati Commercial of Nov. 25th, 

 JJli lias f[uite a spicy article on the honey 

 trade, and from it we giean the following in- 

 terestin.ii,' item. 



This valuable mrichino had its oriain wholly in an acci- 

 dent, like many and many another valuable invention. 

 The lioiicy jjump was discovered in this wise — (it is a 

 pretty story): 



In itnly there chaiiccd to dwell one i\Iajor Von Hrus- 

 clika. a German, and one of nature's bee-keepers. One 

 day MiijorVon Hrusclika was in his 'iiiiary. and his son 

 chanceti to be there too. Thi' boy <-arriMl a'tin pail, which 

 had a strint' tied to it. The Major give the boy a piece of 

 honey, iiutting it^into tho tin jviil. Then the youth, boy 

 like, bci'in to sv.'ititf tlu' p'lil with the liuuey in it around 

 and around inacirclo, holdimr it by the string. A mo- 

 ment after he Ind cr'asod this amiiseuicnt, the Major Ir.ip- 

 pcued to look aii-.iin at the piL'cc of honey. What was his 

 surprise to find that the hoiioy was all drained out nc:itly 

 and i)erf<'ctly from that side of tho comb which had l)i'eii 

 on th^^ outside of the circle, as the boy swumr the imil 

 ;u-.yiind by tho string! The I\Iajor thoughtfully turned 

 the comb ii\-rr, and hv\o Ihc boy swiiiz a<J:iiin. This time 

 tlii'Otlii-r sidecrilic conib w;;s :dl drained out, and that 

 iii~'ht Major Voa Hriisclika v.ont to IumI thinking. He 

 thouglit and thoiu'lit and cxporiinentcd (ill \is gave bee- 

 !;ec)ii'rs tho honey extractor, which whirls the honey out 

 of the <'oiiib by c;'ntrifugal f.irc;', Ica'.iug the comb to he 

 lillcd yir;iiu by th'' b^i'^^, and ihc liquid honey clean, pure 

 and bi_-iuliful, to liL> e;itc:i by peoiile. 



The above is (juite pi'obai)le, and any one who 

 doubts its verity should make the exneriracnt. 



