December, 191 1. 



American ^gg JonrnaJj 



and put them into cellars, all of which 

 increases the surplus, but it is not 

 breeding. We clip the wings of the 

 queens, we trap undesirable drones — 

 and with them many that are desirable; 

 we swap brood, we import queens, but 

 that is not breeding; nor shall we get 

 results until we know fully what rela- 

 tion, heredity, parthenogenesis, and, 

 perhaps, other factors have to do with 

 the problem. 

 Buck Grove, Iowa. 



Wintering Bees Indoors 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



I have lately received two enquiries 

 asking an opinion as to the wintering 

 of bees in cold climates. One of my 

 correspondents lives in the province of 

 Alberta, at the foot of the Rockies, and 

 with quite an expense obtained a col- 

 ony of bees through me. He has this 

 colony in good shape now, and wants 

 to know what I would do if I were in his 

 place, in a country where the winter 

 lasts from the beginning of November 

 until the end of April. 



The other man is in Northern Iowa, 

 and desires information as to the num- 





for wintering bees, reducing the size 

 to the measure indicated in the enquiry. 

 The two cuts which follow are com- 

 posed of a plan. Fig. 1, and a side-view, 

 Fig. 2. The hives figured are of the 

 regular 10-frame Langstroth pattern, 

 without supers or caps. We always 

 leave these on the summer stands, cov- 

 ered with a rough foof, such as we 

 maintain over our hives in all seasons. 



The reader will perceive that there 

 are 8 tiers of hives on each side, 5 hives 

 on each tier, making 80 hives piled 

 against the walls. The center row, 

 around which we can readily pass with 

 room enough even to handle any tier 

 without disturbing the others, contains 

 5 tiers, or 2-5 hives; total lOo in the 

 cellar. If I had a less number, I would 

 make as many tiers, but would put less 

 on each tier. 



At the bottom is figured a sill one 

 foot high. This may be made of 2x6- 

 inch scantling supported on blocks. 

 The more air there is in circulation 

 the better it is, so that we consider a 

 narrow piece laid on blocks as best, 

 provided it be only strong enough to 

 carry the load. My reason for elevat- 

 ing the hives at least a foot from the 

 floor is that the dampness is more 



door 



a 



w/nd on 



If 



Fig. 2, 



Plan for Indoor Wintering of Bef.s. 



Fig. I. 



ber of colonies that may be wintered 

 in a cellar 12x1-1 feet in size. The first 

 man, however, has nothing in the way 

 of cellar but a hole in the ground 

 which is hardly sufficient for his supply 

 of vegetables. Those of my readers 

 who have started as pioneers in a new 

 country, and have fought their way 

 step by step in changing the wilderness 

 to civilization, and the sage-brush into 

 apple-orchards, will appreciate the sit- 

 uation. Thinking that my reply to 

 these men may prove of benefit to 

 Others, I will proceed to give the sug- 

 gestions which an experience of 40 odd 

 years indicates. 



To begin with the last enquiry, I 

 have requested my son, " H. C." to pre- 

 pare a diagram of a cellar such as we 

 used regularly at one time, exclusively 



likely to be near the floor, and when 

 removing bees from the cellar, when- 

 ever I found any mold or mildewed 

 combs it was always near the bottom 

 of the pile. I also have found oftener 

 dead colonies at the bottom of the piles 

 than at other parts for the same reason, 

 So if I have plenty of room I raise the 

 hives on trestles rather than make the 

 tiers shallower. 



If I have weak colonies, I prefer to 

 keep them at the top of the piles, for 

 they need more warmth than the others 

 and will secure it there. The strongest 

 colonies are placed near the window, 

 for there are found the greatest irregu- 

 larities of temperature. The thermom- 

 eter is placed by the door, so that I may 

 be able to see it without carrying the 

 light around in the cellar. At between 



40 and 45 degrees the bees will be the 

 quietest ; this is, therefore, the best 

 temperature. 



With 100 hives in such a cellar, the 

 difficulty has always been to keep the 

 temperature down, for the natural 

 warmth of the bees raises it consider- 

 ably. A transom in the door helps 

 ventilation, but is sometimes objection- 

 able unless, as in my case, this door 

 leads into another cellar, dark and 

 cool also. The direct light of the win- 

 dow is easily kept oflt, at the same time 

 keeping away a too-strong current of 

 air by a system of blinds admitting air 

 without light. My father had devised 

 blinds which we used for years regu- 

 larly, and which we us" yet in seasons 

 when we deem it advisable to winter 

 our bees in the cellar. But at our lati- 

 tude (the 40th) we find many winters 

 mild enough for outside wintering, and 

 we have diminished our cellar-winter- 

 ing greatly. We practise it only when 

 the colonies are comparatively weak 

 and the stores scanty. It is not difficult 

 for any one to make blinds that will 

 answer the purpose of air, without light 

 or a strong current of wind, but to 

 such as would desire directions I will 

 indicate pages 363 and 364 of the latest 

 edition of the Langstroth-Dadant book. 

 The colonies that are nearest to the 

 window sometimes get too much cold 

 air, as compared with the others. To 

 remedy this, we have used an old oil- 

 cloth table-cover, thrown over the few 

 hives that are nearest the window. Old 

 carpets would answer as well. 



Length of cellar inside, 14 feet; 

 width, 12 feet ; distance of hives from 

 walls, or from each other, about 4 

 inclies; center tier from entrance, 4 

 feet; from the side tiers, 3 feet. 



This is as compact a cellar as it Is 

 possible to build, and yet I know that 

 bees will winter splendidly in such a 

 place if we only keep the temperature 

 right. 



Enquiries to which I received re- 

 sponse from many parts convince me 

 that cellar-wintering is the safest meth- 

 od east of the Rocky Mountains and 

 north of the 42d degree. Many report 

 good success even south of the 40th. 

 However, my own experience indicates 

 that wherever an occasional flight can 

 be secured during winter, it is best to 

 winter bees out-of-doors. 



Now as to the man who has no cellar, 

 except a narrow and inadequate veg- 

 etable storing-room, and yet lives in a 

 very cold country; To this man I say, 

 build a silo. Silos were tried by us 

 with success until we had so wet and 

 mild a winter that the ground did not 

 freeze to a depth of over 6 or 8 inches. ' 

 and the soil was constantly soaked with 

 moisture, our creeks running full even 

 in January. 



In a climate where the winter lasts C 

 months, a silo dug into a hillside far 

 enough to place the hives out of the 

 reach of frost, with a good under-drain- 

 age and a thorough ventilation, with 

 wooden tubes screened so as to admit 

 air without permitting mice to enter, is 

 as good a place for bees as we can de- 

 sire. The hives should not be set on 

 the ground direct, but on some sort of 

 sill or stand 6 to 12 inches high. The 

 ground selected for the silo should be 

 well drained and dry, without seeps. 

 The roof of earth should be supported 



