REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 225 
EXPERIMENTS IN WINTERING (1896-97). 
Euperiment No. 1.—Nov. 16, 1896.—Fifteen colonies were put into winter quarters 
in the cellar and placed on the shelves, beginning eighteen inches from the floor. Under 
the back end of each hive was placed a three inch block, by which means the back of 
each hive was raised so as to ensure free ventilation. Each hive was raised from its 
own bottom board three-eighths of an inch at the back. All front entrances were left 
wide open, the woodén covers all removed, leaving the propolis quilt on 12 hives and 
placing a chaff cushion four inches thick on each. On the remaining three hives no 
propolis quilt was used, but the chaff cushion was laid close to theframes. No differ- 
ence could be seen between the colonies having on the propolis quilt and those which 
had none, that is, as to dampness, &c. 
Temperature was taken once a week all through the winter :— 
Highest. Lowest. 
Nia venioers EOAGOOO Ny s cus e.s sc cocate «caved ahalt'c, spa Cwenenere 46 40 
‘Deyieri] Ne) is ae ee Gee ae ee veh erate Maree 43 
SULINEEV Tiesto Pe Nea fo ees edo iw bie wae ee ON LING, Pada ta tele Lite +4 43 
Pobraainy fo8 Nees 1. SF i od ARG STOVE tbe 45 43 
LAPEER ANS ae, sere tt tno Ms Ste eles Las 46 42 
TRUER cco ge hier Sete. care ee Ae teem ean. s 46 
The bees were quiet throughout the winter, very slight hum being noticeable. 
On April 5 all hives were removed to their summer stands. The temperature was 
kept regular in the cellar by means of a coal stove and careful watching. The stove 
was placed in an adjoining room, and was lit when the temperature was low or the 
cellar damp. ‘The stove and ventilators require a great deal of watching, so as not to 
allow sudden draughts of warm or cold air, as either disturb the bees too much. 
As the advantageous use of the coal stove requires experience, at present I would 
not recommend it to beginners. 
Since the cement floor, shelving and complete ventilation have been put in the 
cellar, it has given entire satisfaction. 
During the past winter every colony in this experiment was perfectly dry and clean 
and showed no uneasiness of any kind, and all came out in excellent condition. 
Average weight of each hive when put into winter quarters was 51 pounds ; when 
taken out on April5, the average weight was 41 pounds 10 ounces per hive, showing that 
each hive had lost 9 pounds 6 ounces, which was rather less than the usual amount, 
owing to the comfortable cellar. 
Experiment No. 2.—Colonies Nos. 14 and 20 were put into the cellar with tops 
and bottoms of hives left on, just as they were brought in from the bee-yard. 
These were to be watched for dampness. During November and December there was 
a slight hum in both hives, but they were quite dry. 
Jan. 11.—Hive No. 14 was damp and noisy ; hive No. 20 was dry. 
Feb. 1.—Both quite dry, but there were many dead bees at the entrance of hive 
No. 14. 
Feb. 8.—Colony No. 14 very noisy and hive damp ; cover removed and sedtilatine 
given at bottom by raising the front entrance an additional two inches. 
Feb. 22.—Both hives perfectly dry and quiet. 
Mar. 1-29.—Hive No. 14 had some spots of feeces on the entrance, and when removed 
from the cellar on April 5 there was about one inch of dead bees and 
some mould on the bottom board, but the bees were in fair condition, as 
the colony was a large one. 
April 5.—Hive No. 20 noisy, but dry ; very few dead bees on bottom board. Total 
weight of the two hives when put in, 105 pounds; when taken out, 
82 pounds. No. 14 weighed 13 pounds less, hive No. 20, 10 pounds 
less than when put intq winter quarters. 
May 24.—Hive No. 14had 7 frames of bees and 53 frames of brood ; hive No. 20 had 
8 frames of bees and 64 frames of brood. 
8a—15 
