Beekeeping in the Buckwheat Region. 15 
honey or any better way to winter bees in the cellar than to leave 
all the honey with the bees, if one can arrange to handle the heavy 
hives as they are put in and removed from the cellar. 
For outdoor wintering, which is increasing in popularity in this 
region, and which is much preferable in the southern part of the 
region, the reader is referred for methods to Farmers’ Bulletin 1012 
of the Department of Agriculture. The quadruple winter packing- 
case (fig. 5) described in this bulletin is one of the best that can be 
used in the buckwheat region. Throughout the buckwheat region 
the bees should be packed not later than October 1 and unpacked 
y — v, 
WZ Z 
Vic. 5.—The winter packing cases used in the Bureau of Entomology apiary: a, Detail 
of tunnel to hives. In the specifications given in Farmers’ Bulletin 1012 provision is 
made for room for a third hive-body to be added in the spring. 
about May 20 to June l. (Fig. 6.) Early packing is important in 
conserving the vitality of the bees that are to start the work of the 
colony the following spring. Throughout the buckwheat region 4 
inches of packing are needed underneath the hives, 8 inches at all 
sides, and 12 inches on top. Dry sawdust, fine planer shavings, well 
dried leaves, or any other finely divided packing material may be 
used. It is not safe to wait until the leaves fall before packing, for 
this is often more than a month too late. The entrances of the hives 
must be reduced, as described in the bulletin on outdoor wintering 
above mentioned, and the hives should be protected from wind. 
The bees should be wintered in two hive-bodies, just as was de- 
scribed for the late summer (p. 13). It is not safe in this region to 
