648 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Ocr. 15 



Conversations with 

 Doolittle 



At Borodino 



WHEN TO SET BEES IN THE CELLAR. 



"I have built a new cellar especially for 

 the bees, therefore have come to ask you 

 when it is best to put the bees in it." 



"I have set my bees in the cellar as late 

 as December 25 and as early as November 3. " 



"There is quite a range between thos3 

 dates. A bee-keeper who winters in the 

 cellar told me yesterday that he thought 

 t!ie fore part of December was about 

 ri;^ht." 



"I used to think the same, being very 

 anxious to give the bees an opportunity for 

 the latest possible flight, so that they could 

 the better stand their long confinement; 

 but after reading several articles on the sub- 

 ject I resolved to experiment a little; so on 

 November 3 I set a part of my colonies in 

 the cellar, probably about one-third of all I 

 ! ad. As I remember, these bees had not 

 flown after about October 20, and I feared 

 they would not come out well." 



"But was not the weather so warm that 

 <hey bothered by flying out badly while be- 

 ing carried into the cellar ? " 



"That was where I learned something. 

 The mercury was up to nearly 48 degrees, 

 where bees would fly nicely in the spring of 

 tlie year, and I expected trouble in gettmg 

 them in, on account of the necessary dis- 

 turbance. However, much to my surprise 

 none offered to fly, and were very much 

 less disturbed than any I had ever cellared 

 before. And what pleaSed me was this: 

 The hives, bottom-boards, etc., were dry 

 aid nice, instead of being wet or covered 

 with snow or ice, as was frequently the case 

 where I had left them out till into Decem- 

 ber. 



"On November 11 those left out had a 

 fi)ie flight — as good as I ever knew bees to 

 liiive in the fall; so on the 12th I set in an- 

 other third, leaving the rest out for a still 

 later flight. These also went in dry and 

 nice, with little disturbance when setting 

 in. The last third was left out till the fore 

 part of December, or the usual time of set- 

 ting in. There had been rains and snows, 

 with much freezing weather; and as there 

 seemed no prospect of further flight I 

 thought best to set them in before the hives 

 were entirely covered with snow. The 

 hives were now frozen down, so that, in 

 prying them up, there was quite a cracking 

 and consequent jarring, which disturbed 

 the bees so that they came out all over the 

 fronts of the hives, after they were in the 

 cellar, and many flew out on the way. I 

 then learned that bees could be set in the 

 cellar with much less disturbance when the 

 weather was about as warm outside as in- 

 side the cellar, and all of my experience 

 since has told me that any time after Octo- 

 ber, when every thing is dry and nice, with 



the mercury at from 40 to 50, it is time to 

 hustle the bees in. 



"As I had no provisions otherwise, of 

 course those set in the cellar last had to be 

 set out first. Again, I found them easily 

 disturbed when setting out, showing that 

 they had hardly quieted down in all winter, 

 or else remembered their experience of the 

 fall previous. When all were out, there 

 seemed little difference as to their average 

 strength, although, if any, it was in favor 

 of the first set in. Later on, however, those 

 last set in and first out suffered quite a bit 

 from spring dwindling, thus proving that 

 they had not been as quiet as the others 

 during the winter." 



"But what about those set in before the 

 good flight, and those immediately after- 

 ward?" 



" Between the first and second lot set in I 

 could see no difference, this proving that a 

 late fall flight was not quite as necessary as 

 I had always supposed. I believe that there 

 is nothing gained by leaving colonies out 

 later than the fore part of November, pro- 

 viding all is in readiness for their being put 

 in, other than their having a very late flight. 

 On the contrary, by leaving them out be- 

 yond a prospect of getting them in all dry 

 and nice, generally resulting in a day when 

 the hives are frozen down, we are inviting 

 poor wintering. All concede that bees will 

 not winter as well with the inside of the hive 

 covered with frost, which melts as soon as 

 placed in the cellar, thus causing every 

 thing inside of the hive to be damp, even if 

 the hi\e is not soaked to quite an extent 

 from wet weather, which is more likely than 

 the other way with late cellaring." 



"But tell me something about the cellar 

 — the right temperature to be maintained, 

 etc." 



"The character of the cellar has much to 

 do with successful wintering. Unless an 

 even temperature, or as nearly as possible 

 between 40 and 48 degrees, staying the larg- 

 er part of the time between 43 and 45, I 

 should prefer to have the bees left in good 

 chalT - packed hives on their summer 

 stands." 



" But will not the warmth of the bees keep 

 the temperature of the cellar about where it 

 should be?" 



"Not by any means. If that were so, a 

 room above ground would be all right. The 

 worst wintering I have ever known has been 

 in rooms partly above ground, such as a 

 basement under a shed or barn, one in which 

 the mercury would go down a little below 

 freezing, and stay there most of the lime. 

 No, the cellar should stay between 40 and 

 48 whether there are bees in it or not, to be 

 of the best service in wintering bees. Where 

 it takes the bees to keep the temperature up 

 in very cold weather, it will be very jiiuch 

 too warm in mild spells during winter, and 

 especially so in early spring before it is time 

 to set them out. And, besides, the bees must 

 'burn ' a much larger quantity of honey to 

 keej) up the needed temperature when the 

 cellar is cold, even could they do this." 



