1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



855 



and I do not expect to lessen the number of my 

 days thereby. 



I have found that bees keep drier, and winter 

 belter, when they cluster at the top of the 

 brood-nest and over their stores. I have long 

 believed they winter best in a small hive 

 crowded full of bees, rather than in a large one 

 in which there is much room outside the clus- 

 ter. Such cold vacant space condenses mois- 

 ture, and causes mold and bad air. I believe 

 any live thing that was made to live in the 

 pure open air, like bees, are injured by damp, 

 cold, bad air. 



1 have become convinced that bees winter 

 better with just enough always accessible 

 honey in their hives to feed them safely until 

 warm weather. I can keep combs of surplus 

 stores purer and better in a warm dry store- 

 room than in the vacant space in a large hive 

 occupied by a colony of live bees. 



Mr. Editor, I have, in the above thoughts on 

 wintering, dealt more on general principles 

 than minor details, because I believe minor 

 matters are better understood than general 

 principles. I have noticed that bees winter best 

 in vears of eood honev crous. and when the 

 hives are heavy with natural stores. I always 

 had the worst luck when the colonies had to be 

 doctored in any way. I have found all kinds of 

 honey, and even honey-dew, when collected in 

 a natural way by the bees, good winter food. 

 One fall the hives were all heavy with honey- 

 dew, and they came out in tirst-rate shape. I 

 now get nearly all the vi^hite honey in sections 

 or extracting-supers, and believe it pays better 

 to use the dark honey for wintering and raising 

 brood than to fuss with feeding sugar. 



Who can tell why some colonies live and 

 others die, all having the same kind of stores 

 and quarters, and the same care ? 



Forestville, Minn., Oct. 1(5. 



ANOTHER MODEL BEE CELLAR, AND HOW 

 CONSTRUCTED. 



SUB-EARTH VENTILATORS, AND WHY THEY 

 MAKE CELLARS DAMP; TEMPERATURE. 



By S. T. Pettit. 



I make it a point to have my bees in good 

 shape, and well supplied with good stores. 

 When I must feed 1 bring 8'.< wine qts. of water 

 to a boil, then stir in 40 lbs. of sugar; and when 

 that boils 1 lift it off the fire and pour in 8 lbs. 

 of honey, and stir well. Tlie }{ qt. is for evap- 

 oration. 1 am of opinion that a good deal of 

 loss occurs from too much water in the food. 

 Many colonies fail to do more than just store it. 

 My cellar is constructed in heavy clay, and a 

 shop is built over it. The shop is very warm, 

 and has a 5-inch floor. The cellar is so deep 

 that the shop floor is about even with the sur- 

 face of the ground. Now, as the earth is always 



giving off heat, this depth is of much benefit 

 to the bees. With a cellar so constructed, more 

 air can be admitted, and the temperature keep 

 right, than in one whose walls are considerably 

 above ground, even though they be several feet 

 thick. A brick or stone wall, however well 

 made, can not supply heat; but the earth does, 

 and it will pay to utilize it. 



My cellar-walls, though under ground, are as 

 nearly air-tight as can be made of stone and 

 mortar. The wind blows pretty freely through 

 the ground, hence the necessity. 



The windows are on the break-joint prin- 

 ciple, to admit air and exclude light. They are 

 adjustable to suit the weather. Large curtains 

 of open cloth are hung between the windows 

 and the hives to distribute the in-flowing air. 



About the 20th of November the bees are 

 placed in, about ]S inches from the ground. 

 The back end of each hive stands 3 inches 

 higher than the front. I pry up the back ends 

 and slip in ^y inch bits of lath. I leave the 

 clotli, covered with propolis, flat on top of the 

 frames. I like it sealed down air-tight. A 

 chaff cushion is placed on top of each hive. To 

 keep the hives at the proper pitch, a piece of 

 lath is laid across the lower end of each hive on 

 top of the cushion, before placing the next hive 

 on. The walks, to prevent crushing bees, are 

 made of boards, across which are nailed strips 

 ^g^ x 1 inch. These strips are nailed one inch 

 apart, with edges up. The floor is natural 

 earth, worked down hard and smooth. 



A stove is in the shop above, in which I keep 

 a gentle fire most of the winter. With the 

 stovepipe is connected a 6-in. pipe, which ex- 

 tends to within 8 in. of the cellar-floor. A 

 damper is in this pipe. Now, in sharp weather 

 the upward rush is pretty brisk; but with the 

 combined heat of the bees and earth the tem- 

 perature keeps at about 40 in steady cold 

 weather. 



I wish to point out that, although the air 

 may be saturated with moisture at 40°, when it 

 enters the hives and is warmed to the temper- 

 ature of the bees it becomes thirsty, and takes 

 up the moisture thrown off by the bees, and 

 thus they are kept dry and healthy. This is 

 one reason why the temperature in a damp cel- 

 lar should be kept down to about 40°; and, 

 more than that, this difference of temperature 

 of the cellar air and the hive air, if the bees are 

 fixed up right, produces automatic ventilation 

 through the hives, and the bees are not obliged 

 to fan to drive out foul air; and that being the 

 case, and their conditions and surroundings 

 being just right for their happiness and supreme 

 comfort, they will become so quiet that not a 

 flutter nor hum can be heard from most of 

 the hives. 



I have learned during the past few years, 1. 

 That bees that hum all winter run down in 

 spring more or less, while those that are win- 



