The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-02-08
How To Winter Bees.

HON ~ NlnltT Decss
Mr.. Charles Aldrich, of Webster
City, Iowa, furnishes The Homestead
with the following history Of his cx-
pcricnce in keeping bees over the win
ter:
have kept bees with the usual va
rying success for many yCars-though
upon the whole they have paid
me very welI,-probably better than
almost any other kind Of farm
stock. | have wmlcrcd them in the
cellar until last winter, when we tried
new eXpcriment--lhat of leaving
them on the summer stands. While
more or less died in the cellar, we did
not lose a single colony out Of doors
But it would hardly BE- fair to attrib-
ute this latter success to the benign ef-
tccts Of "Out OF DOORS For many
years my bees were kept partly in the
Llngstroth and partly in the Ameri-
can hive. But two or three years ago
induced nephew who is living with
me to learn the Bookkeeping business,
and so have myself escaped its labors.
| was tolcrabIy well posted, but he
has gone far ahead Of me, and | now
regard him as a very well informed
bee keeper. Soon after he commenced
the work had to provide him with a
lot of books and several bee journals,
and also sent him couple of times to
visit Mr.. Charles Dadlmt, the noted
aparian Of Hamilton, Ill. He return
ed, thoroughly indoctr.nutcd with Da-
danfs system, upon which our bees
are now managed. Our old hives have
been wholly discarded, AMI we now
use thoroughly well-made Quimby
hive. 1t is shaped like the old Langs-
troth, but is much larger.
When we came to the question Of
wintering, last autumn, Erred deci-
dcd on a 'ncw departure" lie prepar-
ed the hives for Wintcrlng by rcmOv-
ing all the frames, excepting from
four to SIX in the center Of the hives.
These were placed in their usual pO-
sitiOn with division board at each
side. This left space between the
division board and side of the hive of
about three inches. This space was
filled with Chall, closely. Then a stout
piece Of brown duck cloth was spread
on the top of the frames, reaching to
the outside of the hive, all round
The top of the hive was then filled
with chall, which came down in con-
tact with the cloth a, soon as the top
was placed in position. The bees were
in this manner surrounded overhead
and on each side with chatl, one of the
most excellent non-conductors of heat.
The back ends Of the hives which faced
the north We're made double. 1t will
thus be seen that for cold weather we
had a very warm hive. The only ven-
| tilatiOn was at the entrance, which
was always much contracted. When
winter fairly set in, we procured sew.
eral loads Of course slough hay, and
built hay-Cock over and about the
hive-eXcept that the south end of the
hive was exposed. Some loose hay
was left conveniently at hand, and
whenever an unusually cold snap or
blizzard" came along it was snugly
| filled up in front of the hive-fully
| protecting it from the rigors of win
ter. When the temperature became
milder, the hay was removed from be-
fore the entrance, 50 TINT the bees
could fly out at will. They went
through the winter in fine condition,
and were always wide awake and live
ly. We like this plan 50 well that we
shall try it again, with little change,
aside from making our arrangements
as perleCtas possible.
OF course it will not do to be ego
tistlcal about any plan for wintcrlng
bees which may happen on single
trial 10 be successful. But it really
seems now to us that this mode is CAL
cuIated TO secure to The Blessed
Bees" more OF the conditions nccessl-
ny to pcrpeuate insect life through
the winter than any other with which
am acquainted. One great reason
why bees are lost SO frequently is that
there are days and even weeks during
which owners know llttlc or nothing
about the condition they are in.