Belding banner., 1912-10-31

mad been running Tor comb honey, for
this is not true. A colony kept well
supplied with drawn combs never feel
crowded for room, and will keep their
broodnest practically free from honey,
while bees running for comb honey are
compelled to draw comb foI all they
put in the surplus apartments and are
inclined to fill up the combs they al
ready have below.
A good way to manage this is to leave
the bees without any surplus apartment
during the early part of the buckwheat
flow and cause them to fill their brood
nest with the early buckwheat honey,
which if well ripened and sealed, is
nearly if not quite as good as the
white honeys. Or, better yet give them
all the room they want all through the
honey flow and when fall comes feed
them up on sugar syrup, which is just
as good for that purpose as the best
OF honey. Above all things don't
let them 60 into the winter with
/
honey or in fact any of the late
fall honeys The main trouble with any
OF these honeys is that they are not
properly ripened and there is too much
waste matter in them which must be
gotten rid of by the bees And as their
eXcretons are only made in fight out
side the hive when il is possible to get
out, il is a severe strain on them being
compelled 10 carry so much Of this waste
matter through the winter. The con-
sequences are usually manifest in
colony which although they may winter
through are so weak when spring comes
as to be unable to 90 through the try
ing months OF March and April or if
they do, never build up TO their best
that season
Another common fault is not enough
honey in the hive Each colony should
have at least 20 pounds to go in the
winter with If you are cellar wintering,
and not less than 25 pounds if you are
wntering out of doors. The safe plan
is to have every hive jam full. There
will be none of it wasted and it is as
good as a bank account to draw on
when broodrearing is on in the spring.,
Having disposed Of the honey questY
the next thing in Importance il you
cellar wintering is the cellar This
4 should be such that there will be as
little variation in the temperature as
possible Running at from 40 degrees
TO s. degrees Fahrenheit If you can
/ help it do not put bees in the same
cellar or at least in the same room in
/ the cellar with vegetables. If it is nee
essary to put them in the same cellar
/ better partition them off in a part by
1 themselves.
I If the cellar IS built in a sandy soil
with sand or gravel floor and stone wall
not cement, YOU will not have to be so
careful about ventilation although if
the bees get restless they may need some
fresh air more than they would get
ordinarily But be very careful in the
giving Of it. A direct draft of fresh
air will be liable to ause stampede
among them especially if they have been
/ deprived OF it for a while. A pretty
good plan is to let the fresh air in over
night, and by morning everything will
be quiet, where if the fresh air were
let in in daylight there would be an
uproar If the cellar is of clay or if
the sides and bottom are made of
cement, some means of regular ventila-
ton must be provided. This is best
done by running a pipe for distance
OF 100 to $50 feet underground before
it enters the cellar which warns the
air before it gets there. Manner of
handling hives in the cellar and the
wintering out OF doors will be treated
in next issue.