78 



ADVANCED BEE-CULTURE. 



smaller; the bees in more ranges died; 

 and, by spring, all were dead, or the col- 

 ony so reduced in numbers, and the sur- 

 vivors so lacking in vitality, as to be 

 practically worthless. 



I have never seen any ill effects from 

 dampness, but I have always given 

 abundant ventilation above the packing. 

 When the warm air from the cluster pass- 

 es up through the packing and is met by 

 the cold, outer air, some condens- 

 ation of moisture takes place. This 

 moistens the surface of the packing 

 slightly, but it is comparatively dry 

 underneath. With a good strong 

 colony of bees, and ventilation above 

 the packing, I have never known of 

 trouble from moisture. 



In the giving of protection, chaff hives 

 have the advantage of being always ready 

 for winter, and of doing away with the 

 labor and untidiness of packing and un- 

 packing, but they are expensive and 

 cumbersome. It is some work to pack 

 bees in the fall and unpack them in the 

 spring, but light, single-wall, readily- 

 movable hives during the working sea- 

 son are managed with enough less labor 

 to more than compensate for that of 

 packing and unpacking. Then there is 

 another point. The work of packing 

 and unpacking comes when there is com - 

 parative leisure, while the extra work, 

 caused by great unwieldy hives, comes 

 at a time when the bee-keeper is work- 

 ing on the "keen jump." 



For packing material, I have used 

 wheat chaff, forest leaves, planer shav- 

 ings and dry sawdust. I have never used 

 cork-dust, but it is probably the best 

 packing material. Its non-conductivity 

 is nearly twice that of chaff, while it never 

 becomes damp. The only objection is 

 that it is not readily obtainable and usu- 

 ally costs something, while the other 

 substances mentioned cost nothing. 

 What they lack in non-conductivity is 

 made up in quantity. And this brings up 

 the point of the proper thickness for the 

 packing. I have often thrust my hand 

 into the packing surrounding a populous 

 colony of bees, and found the warmth 



perceptible at a distance of four inches 

 from the side and six inches from the top. 

 This would seem to indicate the thickness 

 when chaff or sawdust is used. I pre- 

 sume packing has often been condemned 

 when it was not more than half done — 

 that is, when not enough material was 

 used. I don't appreciate the arguments 

 of those who advocate thin packing. I 

 don't believe that the benefit of the heat 

 from the sun can compensate for the 

 lack of protection during the months of 

 extreme cold. 



Hollow walls with no packing have 

 their advocates; and it has been asked if 

 these dead (?) airspaces were not equally 

 as good non-conductors of heat as those 

 filled with chaff. They are not. In the 

 first place the air is not "dead," it is con- 

 stantly moving. The air next the inside 

 wall becomes warm and rises; that next 

 the outer wall cools and settles; thus 

 there is a constant circulation that robs 

 the inner wall of its heat. 



If chaff hives are not used, how shall 

 the packing be kept in place ? I know 

 of nothing better than boxes made of 

 cheap, thin lumber. If there is lack of 

 room for storing them in summer, they 

 can be so made as to be easily "knocked 

 down" and stacked up when not in use. 

 Of course, bees can be packed more 

 cheaply by setting the hives in long rows, 

 building a long box about them, and fill- 

 ing it with material used for packing. 

 With this method, the packing must be 

 postponed until there is little danger of 

 the bees flying again until they have for- 

 gotten their old locations; else some bees 

 will be lost, or some colonies get more 

 than their share of bees. When the bees 

 have a "cleansing flight" in winter, 

 there is also a likelihood of bees returning 

 to the wrong hives. Then when the 

 bees are unpacked in the spring and 

 moved to their proper places, there is 

 more confusion and mixing; but I don't 

 look upon this as so very serious a mat- 

 ter. At this time of the year, other 

 things being equal, a bee is worth just 

 about as much in one hive as in another. 

 If there is any difference in the strength 



