Bees. 419 



I once knew a farmer beekeeper who built a bee-house that was air 

 tight. However, he only used it one year, for the simple reason that he 

 placed all the bees in the house and as a natural consequence, they 

 smothered. This same man has bought more bees and spent more money 

 on them than any person I know, and yet can't supply his own family in 

 lioney the year round. But, returning to the subject, I make this ex- 

 planatory assertion : I know there are winters when bees will do all right 

 if left alone. Yet, if the beekeeper wishes to be on the safe side, and 

 make beekeeping a success, it is well for him to follow one of the above 

 methods either in j)art or in full. 



Whatever method the skillful apiarist may choose, he must bear in 

 mind that there are four principal essentials to successful wintering. 

 They are as follows : First, a sufficient amount of wholesome food above 

 the cluster; second, there should be a strong force of young bees; third, 

 proper temperature; fourth, ventilation. 



Columns might be written on the above conditions, but I will just 

 say that thirty-five or forty pounds are what a strong colony requires to 

 keep it over till the next honey flow, while a weak one requires much less. 

 More honey is consumed during the brood rearing the spring than in the 

 winter. Tive or ten pounds would carry them through the winter till 

 spring. 



The bees that are reared in the fall are the ones that live through the 

 winter and build up the colony in the spring. Temperature has as much 

 to do with the amount of honey consumed as well as their vitality. Most 

 apiarists that winter their bees in cellars try to maintain an average tem- 

 perature of fifty-two degrees. 



With regard to ventilation, beekeepers are not universally agreed. 

 Some believe in top ventilation, while others believe in bottom ventila- 

 tion. All agree, however, that plenty of ventilation is necessary. All 



preparation for wintering should be finished by the last of November. — 

 Ambrose L. Riley, Andrew Co., Mo. 



