The time has now arrived for deciding upon which stocks are to be set
apart for standing through the winter, and which are to be driven and
joined to other stocks in the manner given in the calendar for last
month. Those set apart either for swarming or working in glasses next
year, should be rich both in Bees, and honey, weighing, at least, from
20 to 25 lbs. each. Those that are not so heavy must have a few pounds
of food given to them immediately, as well as having the Bees from weak
stocks joined to them.
In giving the estimated weight which should be allowed for the comb and
Bees in hives of the first year, and when two, three, four, or five
years old, I would say, for a hive of seven years standing, during the
autumn and winter months, allow for combs, Bees, and stored pollen, 7
lbs.; for one of six years, 6-1/2 lbs.; for five years, 5-1/2 lbs.; for
four years, 4-1/2 lbs.; for three years, 3-1/2 lbs.; for two years, 3
lbs.; and for one year, 2 lbs.
Presuming the directions given in the calendar for September, as to
unions and feeding, have been attended to, but little attention will
be required this month beyond guarding against depredations of wasps,
which are frequently numerous at this season.
Winter Preparations.--Glasses, small hives, and boxes, should now all
be removed from stock hives, where it can be done without reducing the
store below 20 lbs. The stands, likewise, where wood is used, should be
examined, and if found to be at all unsound replaced with new ones.
The Moors.--Where Bees are kept in the vicinity of the moors, or where
they have been removed to them, an abundant supply of honey will be
obtained from the heather during fine weather, an advantage quite
unknown to the Bee-keepers of the eastern counties.
Wasps.--For destroying wasps' nests, gas tar is even better than
turpentine, and their destruction is effected with much less trouble,
it being only necessary to put a small quantity into the mouth of
the nest, and cover it with earth; digging out the nest, or anything
further done, is quite unnecessary.
Robbers will at this time be carrying on their depredations; and should
a serious attack be observed, the entrance must be narrowed one-half at
the least. Wedges of cork answer very well for this purpose.
Stocks.--It is now full time for the stocks to be put in order for the
approaching winter. Defending them effectually from wet is of the first
importance. Narrowing the entrances to prevent the ingress of mice is
also necessary, as well as their destruction in the neighbourhood of
the apiary. Having done this, and taken effectual means for keeping
the hive free from damp, very little fear need be entertained of their
being carried safely through the winter without any further attention
beyond that of occasionally cleaning the floor-boards, and shutting up
the hive whilst snow lies upon the ground.
Coverings.--The coverings, also, to the hives should be made secure
against winds and rains. A milk-pan, notwithstanding Its unsightly
appearance, is the best protection for a hive, and for the winter
months more especially so.
Stands.--Let the pedestals which support the hive be well looked to
at this time. Although to the eye they may appear sound, let them be
examined 2 or 3 inches below the surface of the ground, and should they
be found in an unsound state replace them by new ones: and if they are
little charred before fixing, it may be the means of preserving them a
little longer.
Bees with a North Aspect.--Much has been said of late as to the
advantages arising from placing Bees with the hive's entrance to the
north, which the following letter from a gentleman in Devonshire tends
very much to strengthen. He says:--
"In compliance with your wish, I visited B---- yesterday, and, although
not fortunate enough to find Mr. D. at home, I had a long conversation
with his gardener, who alone appears to take any interest in the
apiarian matters. One wooden hive, brought by Mr. D. from Oxford, is
placed behind a wall, through which the Bees issue towards the south;
another wooden hive is completely embedded in shrubs, but the entrance
faces the north. There is a stock in a portion of a hollow tree, which
was found when the tree was cut down, and removed to its present
position, also facing the north, and a row of fifteen common straw
hives have the same aspect: thus you will perceive that seventeen out
of a total of eighteen stock are kept permanently facing the north.
The gardener states that he has preferred a north aspect during the
last ten years, and that he gets earlier swarms and more honey than his
neighbours. For two or three years previously he kept half his Bees
to the south, and half facing the north, and by weighing them in the
autumn and spring (September and April), invariably found that those
facing the south consumed ten times the quantity of food as compared
with the others--for instance, if one consumed 10 lbs., the other
consumed but 1 lb.; and if one lost 15 lbs. during the winter, the
other would only diminish 1-1/2 lb.
"I should state that B---- appears to me a first-rate locality, being
close to an extensive heath, now in full flower. The gardener told me
that not only had he no difficulty in maintaining second swarms, or
casts, during the winter, but that he considered them quite equal to
the first or prime swarms. The row of straw hives is sheltered by trees
and shrubs towards the south, but lies exposed to the north wind, which
the gardener considers most important, as he attributes the diminished
consumption in the winter to the cold winds keeping the Bees torpid.
The above is all the information I was able to glean during a long
conversation, as no kind of memorandum of any of the experiments has
been kept, and in the hope that it may prove interesting, I am, &c."
Now, it must be remembered that this has been done in Devonshire, and
it is not unlikely that climate may have to be considered as to aspect,
and what may do in Devonshire might not answer so well in colder parts.
It has frequently been recommended to give Bees an aspect more or less
southerly in summer, and a northerly one in winter; but there seems now
to be the strongest reason to expect that for all seasons the north
will be found most suitable.