THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



25 



moist atmosphere is the equal of a low 

 temperature. In this connection it is 

 well to remember that a moist atmosphere 

 is not always the result of moisture that 

 comes from the walls of the cellar itself; 

 it may come from the bees themselves. 

 Mr, Krause says that his cellar is a stone 

 cellar. I suppose he means that the 

 walls are of stone, and I assume that the 

 walls are laid up with mortar. He says 

 that the walls outside of the earth are 

 two feet thick. As I look at it, there is 

 not much opportunity for moisture to 

 pass either in or out through such walls. 

 Mr. Krause says that the temperature 

 ran as low as 58 degrees, which is too 

 low; but this does not tell it all. From 

 the construction and ventilation, or lack 

 of ventilation, I suspect that the moisture 

 arising from the bees was retained in the 

 cellar and made the air very damp. The 

 use of a hygrometer, or wet- and dry- 

 bulb thermometers, would have settled 

 this point. So many bee keepers report 

 that their temperature is thus and so, 

 but this is the temperature of a single, 

 dry-bulb thermometer, and really tells 

 not more than half of the story. 



The first and prime requisite in the 

 successful wintering of bees in a cellar is 

 the quality of the food. Next comes 

 temperature. Ventilation and moisture 

 have a bearing chiefly as they influence 

 temperature. If the temperature is high 

 enough moisture, is not detrimental; in 

 fact, may become beneficial. I think I 

 would prefer a high temperature, that is, 

 one sufficiently high, with moisture, than 

 a low temperature with extreme dryness. 

 A cellar containing a large number of 

 colonies, a large number in proportion to 

 the size of the cellar, so many that they 

 are likely to raise the temperature to a 

 high degree, might better have a damp 

 atmosphere. 



When a cellar is too damp there are 

 two methods of getting rid of the 

 moisture; one by ventilation, and the 

 other by the placing of unslacked lime 

 in the cellar. A bushel of unslacked 

 lime will absorb 28 pounds of water in 



the slacking process. I have never 

 found any better method of ventilation 

 than that of a large opening in the ceiling 

 of the cellar— one three feet square in a 

 cellar 14x16 feet in size. This allows 

 the moist air to escape; and, if too much 

 heat escapes, then the size of the opening 

 must be reduced, or the walls of the 

 cellar given more protection so as to 

 retain more heat. To illustrate: The 

 first winter that we had bees in Northern 

 Michigan, one of the cellars was in a side 

 hill of clay. After the bees were put in 

 there came a heavy rain. The earth 

 around its walls settled down, and the 

 water from the eaves dripped down 

 against the walls, and completely sat- 

 urated the earth. Close watch was 

 kept of the bees. Along about the middle 

 of winter they began to show signs of 

 restlessness. They were a little noisy, 

 and there was that peculiar sour, close 

 odor so familiar to those who have had 

 bees perish from dysentery. More pro- 

 tection was given by covering the outside 

 cellar door with bags of sawdust, and a 

 barrel of unslacked lime placed in boxes 

 in the cellar. There was not only a rise 

 in temperature, but a greater difference 

 between the readings of the wet- and 

 dry-bulb thermometers, and a difference 

 in the behavior of the bees. They quieted 

 down and wintered well. Our other 

 cellars were all in sand, and were built 

 after the rain, and did not need any lime. 

 Right here let me allude to a point in 

 cellar construction that has been over- 

 looked by many, and that is the charac- 

 ter of the walls. I referred to it briefly 

 when I called attention to the impervious 

 character of the walls of the Krause 

 cellar — there is no opportunity for the 

 moisture to escape into the earth. Our 

 cellars, built in dry sand, have walls 

 built of narrow boards, and there is 

 abundant opportunity for the walls to 

 absorb a large portion of the moisture 

 that comes from the bees. The covering 

 over the cellar is sawdust, about 18 

 inches thick, and there is a roof over the 

 sawdust. The moisture from the bees 



