WINTERING BEES. 143 



that bees do not hibernate establishes this truth. The thermometer confirms 

 it. We know that moisture is sure to collect on a cool surface; but water 

 dripping upon bees can not be healthful. The disturbance and the wetting 

 would both be injurious. To winter bees then with the most success needs a 

 covering that is not a good conductor of heat. Experiments on quite an 

 extended scale have shown me that this is not all theory. 



AVe see then that the requisites to success in wintering bees are: enough good 

 food, uniform temperature without the hives at about 45° F., slight ventilation, 

 and a cover to the hive which is a non-conductor of heat. 



METHODS THAT HAVE SECURED SUCCESS. 



Food. 



The food may be either honey or cane-sugar syrup. Any kind of honey, if 

 wholesome and pleasant to the taste, will answer. Even last winter the bees at 

 the college Avere wintered wholly on honey gathered in autumn, after the 25th 

 of August, and all wintered well and there was no sign of diarrhoea, except in 

 a few cases were much pollen was left in the hives. Cane-sugar syrup is quite 

 as good, possibly superior to honey at times, as we can be certain that the 

 syrup is free from deleterious elements. The syrup for winter food may be as 

 condensed as i)ossible, and yet it must not crystallize when cold. One-half to 

 one-third as much water as sugar by weight is about right. A little honey 

 added will also retard crystallization. A little tartaric acid is often used for 

 the same purpose. It is best to feed quite early so all may be stored and 

 capped before winter's cold prevents further labor in the hive. Bees should 

 never be put into winter quarters with less than thirty pounds of food, which 

 will always suffice from September till the harvest of the following summer. ' 



Important Siiqgestions. 



It is well to have all colonies reasonably strong in autumn, and soon after 

 the first hard frost give each colony as few combs as possible and secure the 

 requisite amount of honey. I prefer to use about six Gallup or Langstroth 

 frames, and by use of division boards, crowd the bees; then I cover warmly 

 with burlap sacks of fine, dry saw-dust. This costs but little, and aids greatly 

 to preserve the vital strength of the bees during the cold days of October and 

 November and early the next season. 



Uniform Temperature. 



This is best and most cheaply secured by use of a good, dry ( ?), dark cellar. 

 As a cellar is entirely or nearly all beneath the surface of the earth, it remains 

 unalfected by the severest cold of winter or the more genial warmth of spring. 

 The great requisite is that the temperature shall never go below 38° F., even 

 during the most severe weather of our most rigorous winters, nor above 47° F. 

 A good underground cellar will secure the former, but when many bees are put 

 into our cellars, it is not always so easy to secure against too great heat. There 

 are two ways to accomplish this : First, by use of water in the cellar, and, second, 

 by means of underground or sub-earth ventilation. AVhen a running stream 

 from sprino-s can be secured, it forms the most desirable moderating aofency I 

 know of. Such water is just about the pro])er temperature, and while it modi- 

 fies against heat or cold, it also serves beautifully 'o dissolve impurities and 

 sweeten the atmosphere. In lieu of such a spring or running water (under- 



