THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



345 



wintered in a so-called root-cellar, 

 dug^ back into a sandy hill-side. Some 

 bee-keepers wall up the sides with 

 ^•ood stone, leaving everytliing' covered 

 with soil for protection. Others stand 

 posts near together to keep the sand 

 from caving in The ceiling is built of 

 heavy sound timbers, over this, at least 

 3 feet of sand or soil, then a foot of 

 straw under the board roof, which con- 

 ducts all storms away. There shonld 

 be a ventilating tube at least a foot 

 square from near the bottom of the 

 cellar, with a damper that can be 

 closed any time. This tube can ex- 

 tend above the roof, with an elbow on 

 top, so as to point downward. 



It is a good thing to have a thermom- 

 eter in the cellar where it can be read 

 frequentl3', and the temperature kept 

 uniformly at 45 degrees. Double, tight- 

 fitting doors at the entrance are neces- 

 sary, and should swing out. In the 

 spring if the cellar gets too warm, and 

 the bees restless, I open the doors at 

 early evening, closing them early the 

 next morning. If frost is creeping in, 

 and the room getting too cold, a small 

 stove can be put in between the doors; 

 and when the air is warmed there, the 

 inside door is swung open. Well-built 

 cellars will keep about the same tem- 

 perature without all this manipula- 

 tion. 



The more the cellar is back in the 

 bank, the better. There is a perfect 

 wintering cellar in Wisconsin, made 

 by blasting out the sand rock, forming 

 a cave the size and shape wanted, there 

 being' several feet of stone and soil 

 roof. A cellar under a dwelling house 

 is often the place for a farmer to keep 

 his bees, if what space is wanted for 

 the hives is partitioned off so it can be 

 kept dark and undisturbed. This cel- 

 lar can be easily ventilated, if neces- 

 sary; but the frequent going- in and 

 out, opening- doors above, often gives 

 all that is necessary. 



Noise above the bees does not seem 

 to disturb them much. I know a suc- 

 cessful cellar within a few feet of a 

 railroad where trains are frequently 

 passing-. The bees get used to it. 



Again, if I could have all my desires 

 granted for an outside cellar I would 

 want a dug out cellar in a sandy hill, 

 with a stream of spring water running 

 through to purify the air and keep it 

 the same temperpture. If mold gath- 

 ers on a cut piece of potato in the cellar 

 it means that ventilation is needed in 

 some way. Have the bottom of the 

 cellar covered with dry sand or saw- 



dust; and if air gets bad, some air- 

 slacked lime on the floor may help it. 



But wintering- with many is not half 

 the problem. To keep the colonies 

 gaining every day after being taken 

 from the cellar is often the trying 

 question. Let me suggest that such 

 parties t^y to protect each hive as it is 

 set on its summer stand, with some 

 heavy building-paper, keeping it there 

 until settled warm weather. If you 

 have not tried it do so. Also soon after 

 placing the bees outside in the evening 

 of a cool day, some time, weather per- 

 mitting, open each hive just long 

 enough to know the amount of honey; 

 if short, mark it at once on whatever 

 record you keep of each hive, and see 

 to it that each gets some feed. I pre- 

 fer sealed combs of honey; but if out of 

 those, I have used freshly filled combs 

 from the bee-house. If the bees need 

 feeding later, use something that can be 

 g-iven in a wholesale way. I now nse 

 gallon syrup-pails or friction-top pails, 

 with cover punched full of small holes, 

 like a pepper-box lid. Set it on top of 

 the brood-combs and place, for a 

 day, an upper story around it to keep 

 it from robbers, covering the vacant 

 space around it with cloth. The 

 gallon or more of feed will be 

 taken into the combs inside of a day, 

 with no robbing or exposure of brood. 

 The pails can be used later with new 

 covers to sell honey in, thus costing 

 one cent for each gallon feeder. 



That a sheltered location is of great 

 importance in the wintering of bees 

 there is no question, illustrations of its 

 value are almost numberless, but 

 whether such a location, would allow 

 of perfect success, in a severe winter, 

 with building paper, or tarred felt, 

 alone for protection, I have my doubts; 

 that is, as far north as Wisconsin or 

 Michigan — but I am willing to have 

 those doubts removed. 



However, there is no doubt as to its 

 value as a spring protection. This 

 value is not so apparent some springs 

 as it is others, but it has always been 

 a great help whenever I have seen it 

 tried, and occasionally there comes a 

 spring when it is almost the salvation 

 of the apiary — when fine weather of 

 weeks' duration is followed by a hard 

 freeze, lasting possibly several days. 



