April 22, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
323 
wind, may all be defied by a careful attention to matters of 
detail, and, even in apparently desperate cases, much may 
be done to remedy earlier neglect. The most critical time 
for stocks this year was in the early days of February, when 
a brief period of milder weather gave every bee-keeper an 
opportunity—not, to be sure, a very favourable one—to attend 
to the wants of his bees and see if there was a sufficient food 
supply to last until the middle of April. 
Those who made use of the brief interlude between two 
storms of frost and snow of long duration had every reason 
to congratulate themselves upon their forethought. How 
few actually did make such an examination is proved by the 
sad havoc the last six weeks of frost and snow have wrought 
in many apiaries. This year has been so phenomenal as 
regards weather that the opportunity once lost was gone 
until the middle of March, when a sudden change to mild 
weather and bright sunshine enabled the bees to take a 
general flight. What, it may well be asked, could have been 
done to give a food supply to light stocks when 3 inches of 
snow were on the ground for many days, and 15° to 20° of 
frost at night? Candy at least might have been given, but 
syrup might equally as well have been given if sufficient 
care were taken to prevent the bees from flying when the 
weather was unfit for flight. The method attended with 
the greatest amount of success during the continuance of a 
storm, if food has to be administered, is to place an ordinary 
bottle feeder on the stock, wrapping it up as warmly as 
possible and absolutely preventing the flight of a single bee. 
Has anyone actually proved by experiment how long a strong 
stock may be confined to its hive while feeding is going on 
and still be found in the best of health ? From the 12th of 
February until the 19 th of March this year a very strong 
colony has been confined while feeding was going on and is 
now in excellent health, and far in advance of some other 
stocks apparently in better condition six weeks ago. 
The means taken to produce this result were exceedingly 
simple, and although I hope that there may be no necessity 
for years to come to adopt a plan so much opposed to the 
general rules of bee management, it may be of use as showing 
what can be done to prevent loss when an earnest attempt is 
made. It is well known that at night bees are quiet and 
content to stay in the hive even in the mildest weather, and 
it is also reasonable to suppose that if day and night can be 
made to appear almost identical absolute quiet will prevail 
in the stock. Acting upon this idea a thick screen of old 
carpet was provided and wrapped closely round the hive, 
leaving the alighting board free from obstruction and the 
entrance open to its widest extent, so that no false excitement 
should be caused by the inability of the bees to leave the 
hive. This screen being put in position boards were placed 
outside to shut out the least ray of light and to shoot off the 
rain and snow, the feeder put in its place, and beyond filling 
the feeder no more care was bestowed upon the stock, except 
occasionally at evening removing the covering for an hour or 
so to renovate the air; but this was not a necessity, as the 
stock being in a hive standing on four legs 8 inches high 
admitted a constant current of air beneath the shade. The 
result was satisfactory ; but little movement could be noticed, 
and the colony seemed almost in a normal condition through 
a long cold night of nearly a month’s duration. There was 
no fouling of the comb nor of the hive, and on the first 
cleansing flight not a trace of dysentery could be perceived, 
and now at the end of April there is no stock more prosperous 
nor does any give promise of greater profit hereafter. 
I was told by “ those who knew ” that any attempt to 
confine the bees while feeding was going on would result in 
failure, but have been able to prove that such is not the case. 
How long such a confinement would be safely endured it is 
difficult to tell, but possibly for a long time, and it must not 
be forgotten that, while the snow was on the ground, bright 
warm sunshine made the air as mild as summer, and necessi¬ 
tated very careful covering of other stocks to prevent a whole¬ 
sale destruction; and even then some few bees did leave their 
hives, and curiosity led me to try the extent of their vitality, 
for, picking a fine bee out of the snow—how long it had been 
there it is impossible to say—I took it into a warm vinery, 
and revived by the genial warmth it soon regained health and 
activity ; about ten minutes later I again laid it in a wreath 
of snow, and once again it fell asleep, and so it lay for two 
hours and a half, when it was taken into the warm atmosphere 
of the vinery, where it speedily awoke and seemed not in the 
least the worse for its adventures, and was carefully restored 
to the hive from whence it came. The disappearance of the 
snow, and its not having since returned, prevented any fur¬ 
ther experiment, which must be postponed till next winter 
unless we are victimised by another storm. 
In concluding, let me say that although I am not aware 
that the former of these experiments has been carried out and 
described, it may have been put to the test by others. The 
latter is not by any means new, it having been a fact long 
ascertained that bees have a surprising amount of vitality and 
recuperative energy, but it would be most interesting to know 
how long a bee would remain in this death-like sleep and yet 
recover upon being placed in a warm place for a brief period. 
There seems to be a system, and one not seldom practised, of 
trading in another’s wares. Now this is most reprehensible 
and discreditable to all concerned; although in many cases it 
is no doubt accidental, in some I fear it is wilful. It will be 
well if each one will do all he can to expose any such viola¬ 
tion of trust, and thus make those who deserve the credit of 
any useful invention to receive the praise due to them for 
their efforts to improve and simplify the appliances used in 
our apiaries. 
Will “ A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper ” kindly say where the 
“ honey-press ” about which he writes can be purchased, and 
at what price ?— Felix. 
APPLIANCES—FRAMES FOR HIVES. 
Will your correspondent, “ Lanarkshire Bee-keeper,” kindly state 
the price of his honey press, which he alluded to a fortnight ago in the 
Journal; also the cost of a wax extractor on the principle of his own ? 
and the price of his “ Essay on Bee-keeping,” and if it treats the subject 
of queen-rearing and forming nuclei for an autumn supply of queens ? 
I have at present three stocks, two in standard frames, and one in 
frames 6 inches deep and the length of standard frames. One stock is 
composed of two driven stocks from straw hives, the next an old stock, 
and the third a swarm of last year. All my hives have perforated zinc 
floors with a slide underneath, and consist of hives proper in cases with 
lateral slides on the top. The driven stock has eight or nine standard 
frames fed with 30 lbs. of syrup. The old stock I transferred from 
standard frames into a shallow hive 6j inches deep, and fed with 30 lbs. 
of sugar. The swarm retained eight or nine standard frames with honey 
and pollen, and fed with syrup to make its supply of food equal to the 
other hives. They appear to have wintered in good condition. I scarcely 
saw a bee from November to the middle of March. I have not yet 
examined them, for as the hives stand in an exposed position I am afraid 
to open the hives lest it chills the brood. The hives are well supplied 
with food, and I shall leave them alone until a fine day. They have a 
goed supply of pollen in the Furze blossoms close by, but the wind is too 
strong for the bees to gather it. I am not going in for spring feeding 
this year. I did so last year with a stock, but it turned out very late after 
all my feeding. This might, however, have been the result of over¬ 
manipulation. I want to prepare them for June Clover, and to raise some 
queens to be held in readiness to introduce in the autumn, and I should 
feel thankful if your correspondent would give me a few hints how to do 
so with my stocks as I have explained them. Ought I to add more 
frames when I change them to clean hives ? I want about three or four 
queens in reserve for autumn.— Norfolk Bee-keeper. 
[1, The price of an all-iron honey presser last year was 35s. com¬ 
plete, being 5s. dearer than those partly of wood. Every bee-keeper 
should have as an accompaniment a honey drainer, which costs from 
about 20s. ... . 
2, The price of a wax extractor 15 inches in diameter and 18 inches 
deep over all, including sieve, sieve holder, and steam generator, is 16s. 
3, The price of the “Essay” post free is 7d., and treats briefly on 
raising queens. The subject will be fully treated in the columns of this 
Journal as the season advances. 
Eight or nine standard frames to a hive are too few for either swarms 
or for producing surplus honey. Take the first opportunity to enlarge all 
the hives to double that number of frames, on the tiering principle. 
When bees rest peacefully during winter, which they will only do when 
dry and well provided with provisions, they as a rule come out well, in 
spring, and are profitable by summer. All meddling with bees during 
winter or spring is injurious in some form or other, which you seem to 
have proved.—A Lanarkshire Bee-keeper.] 
