220 



THF BEE-KEEPERS' REViiuW. 



slight. Mostbee-keepers agree that a com- 

 paratively weak colony will consume more 

 6.tores than a very powerful one, owing to 

 the necessity of producing heat by eating. 

 For this reason it is undoubtly better to 

 winter the weak colonies in the cellar and 

 the populous ones out of doors. 



But, all things being equal, is it best to 

 leave to a strong average colony a large 

 amount of honey, say 30 to 40 lbs., or should 

 we compel them to winter on the least 

 possible amount? I hold for the large 

 supply, even though the quantity left in ex- 

 cess might constitute a sufficient amount to 

 pay for one season's, management of the 



apiary. 



If we stint our bees, we compel them to 

 reduce their breeding. A colony which has 

 not a great plenty will be much less prone 

 to breed early and the swarm will be much 

 more likely to dwindle during the early 

 spring. The bee-keeper who is so fond 

 of his bees that he will not pass three days 

 without examining them may be able to 

 remedy any shortage in good time and feed 

 when he sees it necessary, but to those who 

 make bee-culture a matter of earnings, and 

 who have also other things to occupy their 

 minds, or their hands, it is more prefera- 

 ble to leave the supply sufficient and trust in 

 the little creature's wisdom as to the con- 

 sumption of the food. I do not believe that 

 the bees will waste any of this food and 

 with each warm day their breeding will in 

 crease and they will furnish a much stron- 

 ger army for the honey season than if their 

 board is controlled and scantily supplied by 

 the stingy apiarist. 



Hamiliton, III. Dec. 4, 18G5. 



Bee-Keepers' Review. 



PUBLISHED MONTHIiir. 



W. Z. HUTCHISON, Editor and Pioprietor. 



Tebms :- $1.00 a year in advance. Two copies 

 «1 90 three for $2.70 ; five for $4.00 ; ten or more, 

 focents each If it is desired to liave the Review 

 stopped at the expiration of the time paid for 

 please say so when subscribmg, otherwise, it 

 will be continued 



FLINT, MICHIGAN. JULY 10. 1896. 



Full Sheets of foundation are accepted 

 more readily than starters, and partly drawn 

 combs leveled down a la Taylor, more quick- 

 ly still, so says Gleanings, and Gleanings is 

 riglit. 



i3 uHi-C>Mu-) mi bric5e-o jiub^ are practi- 

 cally done away by the thick top bars and 

 accurate spacing of the Hoffman frames, so 

 says the editor of Gleanings. He admits 

 that these frames have their faults but be- 

 lieves that they have the fewest of any self- 

 spacing frames. In hot weather, when the 

 propolis is soft, they may be handled with 

 nothing to pry them loose. Bat there are 

 so many times when it is necossaiy to han- 

 dle frames when the propolis is not soft. 

 After all, m iny of our preferduc3s must be 

 a choice of evils, or faults, rather. 



Gleanings calls attention to the fact that 

 bees do not always, in building comb nat- 

 urally, have two parallel sides of the cells 

 perpendicular, and the inference is drawn 

 that it makes no particular difference which 

 way foundation is put in, that is, regarding 

 the direction that is given the side-walls. 

 It probaldy makfs no difference so far as 

 the drawing out of the foundation is con- 

 cerned, but it has been asserted Ihfit the 

 foundation is less likely to sag if two par - 

 allel dde-walls of the cells are hung perpen- 

 dicularly. 



PBOTEOTINQ HONEY IN RETAIL PAOKAGES. 



•'Notes from Foreign Bee Journals," 

 for this month were mislaid after reaching 

 this office, and a most thorough search fail- 

 ed to unearth them. 



Mr. N.T. Phelps tells in Gleanings how 

 he protects sections of comb honey so that 

 the cotnb will not be damaged by the careless 

 handling of the purchaser. He wraps the 

 package up in what are called " basket 

 splints, " that is, pieces of basswood that 

 very much resemble wood separators. They 

 are 17 inches lonsr, 4^' wide and 1-12 of an 

 inch thick. By drawing the point of a 

 knife across them at the right placs they 

 can be bent without breaking in wrapping 

 around the section, or sections, as the case 

 may be. A string is then put around the 

 package to keep the wooden jacket in place, 

 and then around this is wrapped paper with 

 a string around the whole. 



