720 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



December, 1918 



to form a rather loose but definite cluster. 

 It should be low enough to keep the bees in 

 their hives, and high enough to make it un- 

 necessary for them to generate heat to main- 

 tain their necessary cluster-temperature. It 

 decreases as the winter advances or as quies- 

 cence decreases. It is not the same for all 

 cellars, for all styles and sizes of hives, for 

 all sizes of entrances, nor for all sizes of 

 colonies. It is a delicate adjustment, but 

 one which may be attained by a careful 

 study of the response of the bees, and will 

 usually be found to lie somewhere between 

 55 degrees and 45 degrees. During Novem- 

 ber and December, when the instinct for 

 quiescence is so strong, it is certainly near 

 the higher figure, while in March it may be 

 much lower. 



Ventilation. 

 When the temj^erature is correct the need 



for ventilation is but little during the early 

 part of the winter, because at this time the 

 bees are least active. The fires are now 

 banked, and but little oxygen is needed. 

 When stores are not the best, the need for 

 ventilation increases slightly as winter ad- 

 vances. While but little ventilation is need- 

 ed to supply the bees with oxygen and to 

 remove the products of combustion during 

 quiescence, we would like to have at all 

 times some movement of air within the cel- 

 lar for other reasons, if this can be ac- 

 complished without causing too low a tem- 

 perature. 



When we can have conditions for either 

 outdoor or cellar wintering, as outlined in 

 these articles since August, we need have 

 no fear of not having colonies abundantly 

 strong on April first. 



A suaar train bein^ hauled thru the mountains in Santa Clara Province, Cuta. Urbane Trista Perez, an 

 attorney and beekeeper of Santa Clara, who sent Gleanings the picture, said: "The largest yielders of honey 

 in Cuba are in this order: First, campanilla blanca (or aguinaldo) ; second, royal palm; thud, sugar cane. 



