46 



FOURTEENTH ANNUAL. REPORT OP THE 



Mr. Moore — We are all working for 

 what is easier for us. 



Mr. Moore — "(6) Bee cellars with 

 abundance of inlet for fresh air." 



Has any one any ideas on wintering 

 in the <!ellar? 



Mr. Moore — This idea of "using a 

 common tallow candle in a box for 

 light in the cellar" — 



Mr. Stone — That is a pretty good 

 scheme; Mr. France has the box open 

 on the side with handle at top and 

 can get the light wherever wanted. 



Mr. Moore — It does not make a very 

 intense light, a tallow candle in a box, 

 but it would throw the light where you 

 wanted it, while with an ordinary dark 

 lantern there is quite a strong light 

 and it would disturb the bees more or 

 less, I presume. 



In regard to putting bees into the 

 cellar by using a little smoke in the 

 cellar in putting the bees in for the 

 winter or removing in spring — ^Any one 

 anything on that? 



Mr. Coppin — I don't like to use smoke 

 myself for putting bees in the cellar. 

 I like to pick them up as easily as I 

 can and not disturb them; carry them 

 in without disturbing them if possible. 

 If I have to take anything I generally 

 take a bucket of cold water — throw it 

 up against the entrance, and, if any of 

 them want to come out, they go back 

 again. I don't object to using smoke 

 in taking them out. 



Mr. Moore — When I have wintered in 

 the cellar as I have several seasons, I 

 make it a point to take them out in the 

 evening after dark. In the daytime if 

 you open up the cellar you will have 

 more or less trouble from flying, and by 

 moving them out after dark you don't 

 disturb the bees. 



You can carry out a hive at a time 

 and there will be no flying and thes'' 

 will be quiet until the next morning. 

 If they are set out quietly on stands at 

 night they will take a very gentle 

 flight the next day. 



Pres. Baxter — If you have a good 

 many of them, of course you could not 

 wait until night. 



Mr. Moore — Have any of you used 

 sawdust in packing outside? I have 

 used dried leaves. 



Mr. Bennett — Is there any objection 

 to ground cork? 



Mr. Moore — I don't believe ground 

 cork would absorb the moisture. It is 

 good packing for around the hives as 

 a non-conductor of heat, but I am afraid 



over the cluster it would not absorb the 

 moisture. 



Mr. Coppin — It would depend a good 

 deal on what you have over the bees — 

 whether you had cloth or board. 



Mr. Moore — Anything that would be a 

 non-conductor would do for packing. 



Pres. Baxter — For how many years 

 have I been advocating upward ventila- 

 tion for winter protection? — Taking ofC 

 the honey board and putting on a mat 

 of slough grass or stomething of that 

 nature, and then packing above that 

 with dried leaves or something that will 

 allow the vapor to escape or to absorb 

 the moisture; have a hole in the back 

 of your saper or whatever you have 

 so that the air could escape. 



I have taken them off in the spring 

 where there, was no such hole and they 

 were so wet — I see that the tendency 

 is drifting that way very rapidly. A 

 few winters like the winter before last 

 would give one experience along this 

 line. 



Mr. Bowen — I seldom lose a hive of 

 bees in the winter; ^lere is nothing 

 better than dead air as a. non-conductor. 

 If you allow your covei^to be sufficiently 

 high over your frame sb that there will 

 be a circulation you never will have 

 your bees freeze. I put on an extra 

 board with cloth all tied down to rnake 

 it air tight, but leave it up high enough 

 that I have a good circulation there all 

 the time, and you will never have one 

 freeze to death; if you give them 

 suflficient honey, to live on. | 



Pres.,. Baxter — You remember the 

 terrible winter of 1884-5. I have been 

 wintering bees for 38 years and my 

 losses during 1884-5 were only among 

 those that were not packed according 

 to my method, or rather the^ Dadant 

 method; and out of sixty hives we lost 

 all but 12 of those that had the sealed 

 covers. I lost but 5 per cent where the 

 sealed cover was taken off and r'eplaced 

 by a mat capping filled with leaves. In 

 1912 I had an apiary of 80 colonies six 

 miles east of town. I had mats for all 

 colonies, and went out to pack the bees, 

 with a big load of leaves. I found I 

 had 12 unpacked with leaves when I got 

 through with the lot I had. I was short 

 11 mats. I took the cloth off of one 

 and put a mat over that one colony 

 and left the other 11 with sealed covers. 

 These 11 "with sealed covers were dead 

 in the spring and the one with the mat 

 on top the frame was alive, and nearly 

 all those that were packed w^ith leaves 



