Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-10-31
NO. 25S.
MisceIl
WINTERING BEES.

The yield of honey from buckwheat this
year has been quite good in most portions
OF the State, and as a little has been add
ed from the late wild flowers the hives
must be well supplied for the winter. In
sections where fire-weed is abundant or
certain species of golden-rod are plenty,
the hives are filled very full almost every
fall. We suppose. then, that our hives
are fairly supplied with honey this fall;
yet, to be sure, each hive should be ex-
amined, and any that may be deficient
supplied by feeding honey or white sugar
syrup, or by giving them combs full of
sealed honey. While there are many ex-
pensiye styles of feeders, simply a shallow
pan set in the cap or top story of the hive
will answer every purpose. A quart or
so OF food may be poured in Just at dusk,
and shavings or cut straw scattered on the
surface to keep the bees from drowning.
In order to estimate correctly the quantity
of honey in hive, it will be necessary to
examine each comb separately, or to weigh
the whole together and then deduct the
weight of the hives as well as something
Tor the weight of the bees, combs and
pollen. The easiest way have found is
to ascertain by weighing the amount OF
honey which comb of average thickness
will contain, and from that estimate the
amount in each hive. Ofcourse an allow
ance must be made for the weight of the
combs, especially if old, and the pollen
they may contain. little practice will
enable one to Judge quite accurately, by
simply lifting one comb after another from
the hive, how much honey it contains.
There ought to be not less than 80 pounds
n hot ia 10 he rs,to Al.
summer stand; for indoor wintering 20
pounds will suffice. My experience has
convinced me that, other things being
equal, those stocks that have a supera-
bundance of honey are much more
apt to prove the paying stocks dur
ing the next year, than those
that have to be fed any time after Novem-
Der, or even than those that have lust
enough to carry them through until spring
flowers appear. Forty or fifty pounds
then would be preferable to thirty. In ex-
aminng the combs it is well to cut one
or two small holes near the center of each
to serve as winter passages for the bees;
and if possible, arrange the combs in such
manner as to leave some empty cells or
such as contain brood near the center of
the hive. The brood soon matches, and
in cold weather the bees crawl into these
empty cells, and being densely packed
between the combs, the whole mass is en-.
abled to to keep up the necessary heat Of
the hive. 1t is the natural disposition of
the bees to store their honey in this shape,
that is, over and around the brood nest:
but during good yield of honey late in
the season they fill and seal all the combs
to the bottom. When this occurs the bees,
being separated by the cold sheets of hon
ey, are liable to perish before empty cells
are obtained. The remedy is TO use the
extractor on the central combs, removing
only portion OF the honey from each.
We suppose then that one of the condi-
tions upon which successful wintering de-
pends is present, namely, an abundance
of honey.
The second point to be mentioned is
that the hives should be well stocked with
bees. Carefully lift the cover or turn the
hive up some cool morning. and if the
cluster occupies five or six spaces; call
the stock fair. Yet ''the more the mer-
rier," and safer too.
Our third point is, every hive should
have good queen, one that has shown no
signs of failing and is not past her third
season.
Special repository with thick walls like
those OF an ice-house are often construct
ed tor wintering purposes. Dry cellars
are also devoted to the same pupose. These
rooms should be dark, and is possible kept
at a temperature of about AZ deg. +. The
hives should be set in as soon as cool wealth
er makes its appearance; and before the
combs become frosty, the top of the hive
may be removed and a blanket or straw
mat laid on the frames.
1T the stocks are popuous. and have
good queens and plenty of honey, and the
hives can be properly packed, | would
rather have them remain on their summer
stands. Make box just the width and
length of the hive and three inches deep,
and set the hive over it. This will give
an air space below the combs and pre-
clude the possibility OF the freezing up of
the entrance. 1t the hives are large, so
much the better. Place the eight or ten
combs containing the winters food near
the centre, and hang on each side divi-
sion board made by mailing together
pieces of lath with an even layer of straw
between them; place above a cap or top
story several inches deep. lay quilt or
straw mat across the tops of the frames.
and pack chaff or cut straw over and
around them very closely. The cover
should not shut very tightly. but admit no
water If snow-drifts cover the hives
they will be much better off.
To sum up, then, the conditions for sue
cesstul outdoor watering seem to be the
following; Strong stocks, plenty of hon
ey, good queens, large hives well packed
above and at the sides with dry absorbing
material, an air space of two or three in
ches below the combs, and chance for
the moisture caused by the heat of the
bees to pass off very gradually without
permitting any draft OF air through the
hive.
l have had stocks prepared in this man.
ner that reared broods all winter, and were
in splendid condition for the next seasons
work. There will be no trouble about
"springing" such stocks. When thus pre-
pared | have never lost any colonies in
winterng, but have lost them when they
were placed in cellar or buried in pits
or when they were neglected on their
summer stands.-Frank Benton IN Michi-
gan Farmer.