. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. May 18, 1899. AMERICAN PEE JOURNAL. 309 bee-keepers to size up the conditions affecting their inter- ests in the immediate future. But, first, let us glance at the conditions that have pre- vailed in the recent past. Winter weather came earU- in November, and has had but few interruptions up to the present time (April 11). The days when bees could have a flight have been few, and the spells of confinement have been long ones. I am speaking, of course, about bees win- tered out-of-doors. Great losses are reported from almost every place, and it is quit
. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. May 18, 1899. AMERICAN PEE JOURNAL. 309 bee-keepers to size up the conditions affecting their inter- ests in the immediate future. But, first, let us glance at the conditions that have pre- vailed in the recent past. Winter weather came earU- in November, and has had but few interruptions up to the present time (April 11). The days when bees could have a flight have been few, and the spells of confinement have been long ones. I am speaking, of course, about bees win- tered out-of-doors. Great losses are reported from almost every place, and it is quite likely that the colonies that have survived are weaker in numbers, and their stores nearer the point of exhaustion than is usually the case at this time of the year. Those persons who do not examine their colo- nies early in the spring will, no doubt, meet with many sur- prises if they examine them now. Like myself, they will, I presume, find some colonies dead with plenty of honey in what would seem to be easj' reach ; some colonies will be found consuming the last little patch of honey in the hive, and in some colonies will be found some little patches of brood with honey so remote that you will wonder how the bees live and j'et keep the brood alive. In view of the weakened condition of manj' colonies, and the deficiencj' of stores, it seems that more than usual care will have to be exercised in order to get a large force •of workers in time for the harvest. For myself, I am study- ing the methods lately given by Mr. Doolittle and C. P. Dadant, in the American Bee Journal and other bee-papers, believing that if anybody can tell how it is done they can. And now as to the way my own bees have wintered. One in nine of my colonies is about the extent of my loss. I have less bees than I had last fall, but, as a partial compen- sation, I know more. I had hardly a loss that was not avoidable, and 3'et these losses were all in hives of the 8- frame dovetailed size. My colonies in
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbees, bookyear1861
