Those persons who have been so fortunate in this untoward season as
to obtain a few glasses of honey from their Bees' must now look well
to their stocks, and by judicious feeding, get them up to 20 lbs. at
least, if it has not been already done. I would very strongly recommend
the food being supplied at the top of the hive; and should the Bees be
in a hive that has not a hole in the top, with a sharp knife make one
forthwith, for the danger as well as the inconvenience of feeding at
the bottom, and more especially at this season, is very great.
Food.--I believe the best food that can be given, next to honey, which
in some years is far too expensive for feeding, is one pound of loaf
sugar, one quarter of a pint of water, and one quarter of a pound of
honey, simmered for a few minutes over a slow fire till the sugar is
melted, and when quite cold,, given to the Bees, and at the top of the
hive if possible.
Stocks will require but little attention during this month beyond
cleaning the floor-boards, and seeing that there is neither damp nor
mould in the hives; and if the floor-boards are observed to be quite
dry, it will be a pretty sure indication that all is right within.
Stopping-up, however, must not be forgotten when snow lies upon the
ground, if the Bees are so placed that the sun shines upon their hives.
Shading during the winter months is practised by many persons, and
is a very good plan; but when we come to have all our Bees placed in
the north, it will be rendered unnecessary. An intelligent cottager
brought me a very ingeniously-contrived little apparatus for preventing
the sun's rays in winter inducing the Bees to come out, and at the
same time preventing the cold winds from blowing into the hives. It
is a piece of three-quarter-inch deal, 3 inches wide, and 2-1/2 long,
reduced at one end (not in thickness) so as to fit in the mouth of
the hive, and then with a gouge the under side is hollowed-out for
about 2 inches in length, and five-eighths of an inch in breadth, in a
straight line with the entrance of the hive; another hollow of the same
dimensions is then made, intersecting at right angles the one already
made, so that if the hive faces the south, the Bees come out east and
west. The under side has this appearance. Care, however, must be taken
that this little contrivance is not pushed into the hive beyond the
thickness of the straw; and it must also be remembered that it will
require to be taken out occasionally, to brush away the dead Bees that
may accumulate inside, or the passage may become blocked up, and the
health of the stock endangered.
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The population of the hives will now be found to be very much reduced;
but alarm for their safety on that account need not to be entertained.
It has been frequently said to me, "What becomes of the Bees managed
on the depriving systems if they are never suffered to swarm nor are
destroyed?" To which my reply has been, That it is well known to those
who are conversant with the care of Bees, that their numbers decrease
greatly in autumn, not only by the destruction of the drones, but also
by the unavoidable deaths of many of the workers, owing to the thousand
accidents they meet with in the fields, and owing to age. A much less
space, therefore, is required for them in the winter than was necessary
in the summer months. Mr. Purchase, who was a very careful observer,
says, in his Treatise on Bees, published in 1657, "It is manifest that
the Honey-Bees are but yearly creatures; they live but a year and a
quarter at most; for those Bees that are seen in May, lusty, full,
brown, smooth, and well-winged, will, by the end of July following,
begin to wither, becomes less, look grey, and have their wings tattered
and torn, and be all dead before the end of August."
Ventilation.--It will be advisable, where Bees are in boxes, to see
that they are well ventilated. If in Mr. Taylor's Amateur's Bar Hive, I
would recommend the feeding-pan being allowed to remain on during the
winter--say till the end of March--and one of the zinc sides of the
hive taken out; and if in any other kind of box, let a bell-glass be
placed over the opening at the top, on the inside of which the vapour
of the hive will condense, and so pass off. "Perhaps," says Mr. Taylor,
"there is nothing more prejudicial than the moisture often engendered
in hives at this time, particularly after frost, and in certain states
of the atmosphere. It accumulates on the top and sides, moulding and
rendering offensive the combs, and producing disease amongst the Bees.
For this reason, hives with flat roofs have sometimes been objected to,
and perhaps, justly, when no provision is made for ventilation." Gelieu
obviated the evil by placing caps or small hives over the stocks, the
moisture ascending evaporated through the opening. "I have," says Mr.
Taylor, "tried different expedients, and have found nothing better than
the practice of condensing the vapour of the hive as much as possible,
and conveying it away." (See "Taylor's Bee-Keeper's Manual," page
149, fourth edition, where a figure of a condenser is given). I would
strongly recommend that particular attention be given to this little
matter by those whose Bees are in boxes; for want of it many excellent
stocks are lost, or become so depopulated as scarcely ever to recover.
I have never yet found that hives made entirely of straw require
any ventilation whatever; indeed, I consider it better for them to
have none; while those of wood or glass are in great danger of being
destroyed without them, for in very cold weather the vapour of the hive
condenses on the top and sides, and runs down upon the floor-board in
such quantities as to cause general dampness and mouldiness upon all
the combs. When in this state, if timely assistance be not rendered,
ruin very soon follows.
Where Bees are in boxes, ventilation is of the next importance to
feeding. I have found the best method to secure a perfect ventilation
is to leave one of the gratings, or holes at the top of the box, open,
from this time till the end of February, and placing over it a small
bell-glass, or feeder; the vapour will then condense upon the former,
and run down outside the box, or upon the glass of the latter, and be
caught in the pan.
Enemies.--Mice and birds must be carefully looked after, for they are
both very busy at this time, and will destroy a stock, sometimes very
quickly, if allowed to pursue their depredations unmolested.
Hives,--This is a good time to get a supply of straw hives in readiness
for the coming season, and to have them well covered with three coats
of paint--stone or straw colour is the best; white, when the sun shines
upon it, is too dazzling, and any dark colour absorbs too much heat.
Snow.--Whilst snow lies upon the ground, _but not an hour longer_, the
entrance of the hives should be stopped with perforated zinc, and not a
single Bee allowed to leave them.
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