Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1869-06-25
!: From the American Bee Journal
Practical Bee Culture.

Il
j Practically considered bee culture
! !is something more than the mass ot
! persons who own q few hives each
think it is; for thereare comparative.
/! ly few that understand the laws that
1 govern breeding and swarming, or the
general economy of the hive. Sue.
fcess in bee keeping depends greatly
on the condition. in which the bees
are in the Fall, and how they are
wintered. In order to know their
condition it is necessary that all the
stocks should undergo thorough ex-
animation, to ascertain, first, whether
the swarm has n good queen; Sec
ondly, whothor it has sufficient popu-
lation to form a dense cluster, say
from five to seven pounds of bees
and, thirdly, whether it has at least
twenty-five pounds of honey and
pollen for honey is to the bee what
money is to the business man, in COM
mon with others.
Wintering bees in special reposito.
ries is attended with considerable
trouble and expense, unless the right
kind of cellar is at command and
then, here in Iowa, the Spring of the
year is so cold and clustering that,
frequently, it is difficult to get a day
that is calm, and clear, and warm
enough to enable fallen bee to rise
from the ground again and return to
its hive. In this climate there are SO
many changes of weather that it is
extremely difficult to keep bees suffi-
GENTLY protected from tho cold, and
have them so ventilated in warm
spells as to keep them reposing
quietly in their hives. Now in these
winter quarters their confinement is
frequently protracted to. four or even
five months, during which lapse oe
time: their abdomons becomo very
much distendcd; they become rest
loss, and will discharge their excrc-
ment in tho hive and about the en-
trance. These facts lead us to inquire
how bees can be wintcred on their
Summer stands. Mr.. Langstroth has
published plan, which I think is we'll
suited to the climate in which he
lives; but in the Western and north
western States, it would not afford
sufficient protection to bees in his
present form of hives. =. Mr.. Langs-
troth has done more for the advance
mentof the: science of bee culture
than any other man in the United
States, and. deserves to be held in
grateful remembrance by every per-
son who has any love for the interest
ing and profitable insects. But still I
feel constrained to say that the shall
low form of hive is not . good one
for outdoor wintering. I use bis hive
in three different forms !; but prefer
one that contains nine frames, and is
thirteen inches: and a half square, by
ten inches deep; and on top of these
nine more frames Of the same size,
placed three-eights of an inch above
the first set; and over these crown
board on which eight boxes are.
placed, four upon four ; with Sum-
mer entrance at the top psof the second
set Of frames, just under the crown
board. This entrance should be
closed at the end Of the honey season.
My reason for preferripg this form of
hive, or rather for discarding the
shallow form, is, that in the latter
there:is great waste Of animal heat;
swhereas in the former this heat is 80
concentrated that the bees ON the
Eiower er'range Of: conibs warm the upper
set.ss The lower frames in winter CON
tain 9 comparatively small portion Of
their winter stores afording the bees
abund dant room 10 cluster. Il ST he heat
arising from the: bees below enables
them TO ascend With safety to their
stores above, when wintered in the
lsopen ag. Besides thess adyantagea,
tho same amount of bees can rear one
Etthird more brood dithan in the shallow
EEohe story form De hives Now this
does not in5nre Mr. Langs gstroth,s hive,
fforsno nasncan make q bee hive that
fiswaff linn required to make
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