Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-12-27
WINTERING BEES.
Some Timely CbServations by n
Practical Zee Faucier,

pense OF wintering is nearly nothing
as compared with the States where the
. ground Is frozen to depth of two feet
during three or four months. Last
winter our bees were out lively after
pollen the 22d OF February. Moving
bees almost always causes some loss,
therefore the summer stand is the bet
ter place to winter them when prop
erly protected. And provided too that
the drainage is good, or better still
that you have a good and sufficient
roof over them. But if you are an
agricultural college professor and al
low your bees to digest the nectar,
to make honey of it, you can do Just
as well with a roof whose shingles are
nailed on the fog. Ii had bee that
digested the nectar, / would drown
him and eat fish instead of honey. OF
course You made careful examination,
OF each colony last fall. as soon as the
honey flow ceased, to make yourself
sure that each had good queen, lots
OF bees and from 20 to % pounds of
honey. A very large colony should
have 30 pounds. If by accident any
were without queen or sufficient
stores they were then united with a
colony which had. Now they are on
their summer stands with the hives
fronting toward III o'clock with the
rear end one inch higher than the
front. Now il the drainage is not per-
feet, make it so as soon as YOU put up
a good, even if temporary, roof and
enclose all sides except the east side,
which may be left open. This tempo
rary work should all be taken away as
soon as the April showers cease, as it
adds but little il any to a mans repu-
tatlon, or the appearance of the farm.
Ii you have but 10 colonies, you will
see the need of a good substantial
house.
| The cost for materials and labor
both, will never be regretted. If you
are living in town and have but little
room, good, neat shed will do, but it
Will do for nothing else, either in town
or on the farm. a house 1Gx4S and
10 feet high to the plate or square,
will hold both summer and winter, so
colonies of bees. The first and only
floor may be seven feet from the
ground. The ground may he covered
two inches deep with clean dry cedar
sawdust. A good bearing is made OF
one by six on their edges the right dis
lance apart to receive the hives, the
rear one being one inch higher than
the front one, which may rest on the
ground, and will raise the hives Just
right to work at. Put in no windows
except in the gable ends to light the
upper rooms. Rustic the north side
close leaving no opening. Leave the
east end of the lower story or bee
room open if you WISH otherwise
cover half the space, as also the south
side and west end with rustic, cover
ing the remaing space with rolling
doors made of rustic which may be
closed in winter. The room above
will be most useful to store fixtures,
empty hives, tools, etc, rs any tramp
ing or work done there, will not dis.
turb the bees. II they are not moved
from their summer stand or disturbed,
they are not so liable to be diseased or
to spring dwindling. Leave Just
room enough to walk or work between
the rear ends OF the hives and the
north wall of the house. Place the
fronts Of the hives in the other row
close to the south wall. This leaves
plenty OF room in the center to put
up q honey house or room for the
extractor, which will be 6 by 10 of any
good tongued and grooved material
reaching from the ground to the floor
above. This room should have plenty
OF glass to light it. Many expert
ments have proven that it is not best
to attempt to feed bees in December
or January or when they cannot fiy.
Although they do not digest the
nectar or syrup but simply evaporate
it to a consistency suitable, in the
honey sack or first stomach an en-.
largement of the gullet, when it il
brought back and placed in the cells;
but In this process certain very
small residuum or last analysis does
escape into the second stomach and is
perhaps, SO to speak, digested there.
Now to avoid this they must fly out,
as they never will do so on the combs
unless eick unto death. If you ne
elected feeding or uniting in October
the best you can do now is to place
full frame OF honey on a frame filled
with sections OF honey as close as you
can to the cluster and disturb the
bees as little az possible.
In the latter part of February, at
noon of bright, warm day. when they
are out after pollen, look in, and il
they are short of stores, feed at night,
to prevent robbing. Amy open-top
can, bowl or crock, not too high to
get into the super, will make a feeder,
fill any measure with granulated
sugar and put it 10 the feeder then
fill the same measure with cold water
(never heat it) and pour it on the
sugar and stir moment or until dis
solved. Now tie cheese cloth over
the top the feeder and quickly in
vert it on large shallow tin plate,
and set it on the frames, just over the
cluster of bees, turn up one end OF the
quilt or enameled cloth and drop a
few drops on the bees and they will
come up and take it away as fast as it
percolates through the cheese cloth.
$500 bees should store away three
pounds of such syrup in one night,
but il they do not, take it from them
early TO prevent robbing. Feed at
night if necessary until fruit blossoms
come. One who has to feed will not
need any other argument to induce
him to SOW white clover early and
late.
Any practical question of general
interest, in regard to bees, or bee
keeping, will be promptly answered
if left with the President or Secretary
of the Thurston County Horticultural
Society. j. w. RoBERTsoN.
King cOunty's teachers institute
has voted in favor of free textbooks.