36 
even many who have kept bees for years still find it their greatest 
difficulty. It may happen occasionally that a queen, apparently young 
and vigorous in the autumn, will die during the winter, when a young 
one can not be reared, and as a result the colony will dwindle away. 
Such losses are, however, rare, and, aside from the possible results of 
fire, flood, or violent storms, are about the only ones which can not be 
avoided by careful attention to right methods in wintering. Insuffi- 
cient or poor winter stores, hives faulty in construction, lack of pro- 
tection from cold and dampness, too much or too Jittle ventilation, too 
great a proportion of old bees or too great a proportion of young ones, 
overmanipulation late in the season, etc., are the most important and 
most easily detected causes of-loss in wintering bees. In some instances 
colonies supposed to have been placed in the same condition under 
which others have wintered well become diseased and die or dwindle 
away without prominent signs of disease. It is evident, however, that 
some condition existed in one case which was not present in the other, 
or that, in spite of some unfavorable condition, the favorable ones 
combined, in the first instance, to render the wintering successful. 
In the South wintering in the open air on the summer stands is the 
only. method followed, while in the colder portions of the country, 
although with proper precautions bees may be wintered successfully 
in the open air, many prefer to house them in special repositories built 
with double walls, or to place them in darkened cellars, or in clamps. 
Indoor wintering should be confined to regions where there are sey- 
eral weeks, at least, of continued severe weather. When all conditions 
are right, consumption of honey will be less indoors and loss of bee 
life less than with the methods usually practiced in outdoor wintering. 
Under proper conditions, however, especially when abundant protec- 
tion has been given, colonies out of doors will consume no more food 
nor meet with greater losses in numbers than those wintered under 
favorable conditions indoors. In wintering indoors certain essential 
conditions are, in a measure, beyond the control of the bee keeper, 
hence must be left to chance, and certain other conditions and emer- 
gencies liable to arise, though easily understood and met by the man 
of experience in this direction, are yet very likely to be overlooked 
by the novice or to be puzzling and disastrous to him. For these 
reasons it is safer for him to keep closer to the natural method at first 
and try outdoor wintering. 
In wintering out of doors the conditions within the control of the | 
bee keeper are more readily perceived and easier to meet, and though 
the original work of preparation for good wintering out of doors is 
greater per colony, yet the work during the winter itself and the fol- 
lowing spring is likely to be less; moreover, the feeling of greater 
security, as well as the greater certainty of finding the colonies in good 
condition to begin gathering in the spring, are points well worthy of 
59 
