DECEMBER.
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 21/2 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.
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.
