1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



851 



arrange themselves for winter; but to wait un- 

 til almost time to put them away for winter, 

 and then take out a few outside frames and put 

 in the others does but small good, for the bees 

 have arranged a winter supply around the 

 brood-nest, and it is a chance if your good hon- 

 ey is touched at all, for the bees will be dead 

 long before they get to it. Then why not put 

 it in the middle? By this you have divided 

 the bees and changed all their winter arrange- 

 ments. A neighbor of mine last fall, when our 

 bees all got much honey-dew, took all the hon- 

 ey he could get from so colonies, and had to 

 leave 40 with the honey unchanged. In the 

 spring, those undisturbed came out as well as 

 the others, although the best of basswood was 

 substituted for the honey-dew. From this we 

 draw the inference that the only practical way 

 is to remove the honey next to the brood-nest, 

 put in empty frames, and then feed with some 

 kind of a feeder. This gives them a chance to 

 arrange the food in what they call the right 

 place. Then arrangement of stores Is Impor- 

 tant. Yes, but not essential. If proper tem- 

 perature be given, the bees will go to the honey 

 if it is in the hive, whether it is above or at the 

 side or end of the cluster. I have experiment- 

 ed along this line with frames from 5 in. deep 

 up to 19 in.; and, other conditions being right, 

 it made no difference. Sugar stores are all 

 right for winter if fed early, and good sugar is 

 used. 



GOOD BKES. 



• The next essential dCies not refer to any race 

 or mixture of races, or any strain, but simply 

 means bees of the proper age, not too old nor 

 100 young. If they are old enough to have a 

 good fly before cold weather sets in, they are 

 old enough and none too young. On the other 

 hand, if they are hatched too late to get this 

 flight I would call them too young for the best 

 results; and if breeding stops early in Septem- 

 ber, most of the bees will be too old to come out 

 alive May 1st, which they must do to have their 

 places filled by new recruits. In case nature 

 does not furnish enough bloom to keep breeding 

 going until Oct. 1st, feeding would be essential; 

 and this should be done with the best of honey 

 or granulated sugar; for all not used in breed- 

 ing goes to supply winter feed, and it would be 

 like compelling your cows to eat moldy hay to 

 put poor food before your bees. 



TEMPERATURE. 



This in our climate is best controlled in an 

 underground repository which should be well 

 under ground, and controllable at a tempera- 

 ture of 40 to 45 degrees. The cellar should have 

 ventilation, controllable, but no draft; best ob- 

 tained by a pipe connecting with a chimney or 

 stove above, in which a tire is kept most of the 

 time^ Details of arrangements in cellar may 

 be considered, such as 



VENTILATION OF HIVES, ETC. 



Top or bottom ventilation of hives has been a 

 vexed question with me, and I am not so sure 

 on this point now, but have come to this con- 

 clusion: if much bottom ventilation is given, 

 but little at top is needed; and if much at top, 

 but little at the bottom. I am inclined to large 

 opening at the bottom and none at the top, for 

 the reason that it seems to preserve the natural 

 heat of the cluster, and at the same time allow 

 all dead bees to fall away from the combs, and 

 thereby avoid foul air and contamination by 

 mold and decay. I have practiced leaving the 

 bottom- boards off entirely, and setting the 

 hives so as to have a space of about 8 in. wide 

 the whole length of the hive clear, and leave the 

 quilt and cover on; also the honey-board if the 

 hive had one on in the summer. 



TIME TO PUT INTO THE CELLAR. 



The 20th of November my bees are put into 

 their winter quarters, as a rule, and remain 

 there undisturbed until April 1st to 10th. 



Ithaca, Wis., Oct. 10. 



INDOOR WINTERING IN YORK STATE. 



VENTILATION AN ESSENTIAL; HIVE AND CEL- 

 LAR ventilation; a variation in 



TEMPERATURE BENEFICIAL; 

 HIBERNATION. 



By P. H. Elwovd. 



It is now too late to make preparations for 

 winter, and I write this assuming that such 

 preparations have already been made. Strong 

 colonies, with plenty of good honey or its 

 equivalent in sugar syrup, are the bases of all 

 successful wintering. I know weaker colonies 

 sometimes pull through finely; but as a rule 

 they do not. The same with colonies rather 

 short in stores. Not only do they need enough 

 to carry them through the winter, but enough 

 to last through the spring. More honey Is 

 consumed through the spring than through 

 the winter. The stores should also be so locat- 

 ed that the bees will not be compelled to change 

 their broou-uest during cold weather. 



In this locality bees are nearly all wintered 

 in cellars. Bees often winter as well out of 

 doors, and occasionally, in an open winter, even 

 better; but now and then we have a winter so 

 severe with steady cold so long continued that 

 a large proportion of the colonies out of doors 

 perish. 



For indoor wintering the conditions of most 

 importance are temperature and ventilation. 

 As it is so difficult to control temperature in 

 repositories above ground, such have been 

 quite generally abandoned. The temperature 

 named by different writers varies from 38° to 

 .50°; but for the average cellar, 42° to 45° is 

 probably about right. In a very dry cellar the 

 temperature of 38° to 42° may do very well; 

 while in a very damp cellar the temperature 



