River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-10-23
Preparing Bees for Winter.

MIR. q. Nj. DoOhttle, BOrodlno, N. Y.
writes as follows in the American Bee
Journal:
Having our honey all disposed of and
our nuclei united, we are ready this
month to fix our bees for winter. In
some localities, where fall flowers are
abundant, it may be we'll enough to de-
fer getting the bees ready for winter till
next month, but with us we rarely ever
get any honey after the 10th of Septem-
Der. We consider that the earlier bees
are prepared for winter, after honey
gathering is over, the better they will
winter. The first thing to be done il to
see that all have honey enough for their
use during the winter and spring, until
flowers open again, and this should not
be less than twenty-five pounds, and
thirty would be better. If we wish to
feed in the spring, twenty will do. To
ascertain the amount of honey, lift the
hive and count off the number Of
pounds, or weigh hive containing
empty combs, and add five pounds to it
for pollen and bees; then have your
bees all weigh from twenty-five to thirty
pounds more than this. There proba-
bly, is no better way to winter bees than
to put them in good underground cell
lar. Still, we prefer to winter about
one-half in the cellar and one.half out
on their summer stands, so as to be sure
of being right somewhere like the farm
who puts in a variety of crops; as all
are not likely to fail the same season.
Some years bees winter best in cellars,
and again outdoors. To this end we
built cellar to hold about one hun
bred colonies in bank close by, and
have had good success therein. The
mercury in it has not been above forty
six degrees, nor below forty-one degrees
since we built it, during the time the
bees were in 1t.
Bees should be put in the cellar dur
ing the first half of November, and when
the hives are dry and free from frost, if
we wish them to winter well for we can
not expect them to winter well if they
re made damp from any cause what
soever. Carry them IN SO as to disturb
them as little as possible, and after they
are in, leave them as quiet as you can
until the pollen is plenty in the spring.
Those on summer stands have all the
boxes removed and the places used for
the sue UOAGS pdChcQ Win Cildn vi uuC
straw. 1t should be well pressed in so
as to fill iato all the corners. Fill the
caps also and press it in thoroughly, or
use chaff cushions if you have them;
yet / hardly think them enough bet
ter to pay for the cost in max
them. During winter keep the snow
away from them so the cap is always in
sight. After our experience OF last win
ter, we believe that bees should not re-
main out of sight in snow for great
length of time. Give them chance to
fly every time it is warm enough, re-
Numbering that bee can get off melt
ng snow as easily as anything else,
providing it is warm enough to raise
the mercury to forty-fve degrees in the
shade, with it still and the sun shining;
otherwise the mercury should mark
fifty degrees above.
AS to the safety of wintering we would
say that ii the bees have a chance to
fly once in FIVE or six weeks they will
usually winter well; while if they have
to contain their feces for four or five
months there will be great mortality
throughout the country. This constant
eating with no chance to void the feces
for five months in succession, during
cold winter on the summer stands,seems
to destroy the vitality of the bees, and
makes spring dwindling a necessity.
Some feel disposed to call this disease
or the dysentery, but we can hardly see
things in thas light.