188? 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTtttE. 



08? 



PROF. COOK'S CELLAR FOR WINTER- 

 ING BEES. 



I)H. ( . ('. MIMiF.R S (CRITICISMS. 



fKOF. t'OOK'S ideal houso lor tho apiary is 

 ecjuiiled. I venture to sai', by lew in aetual 

 existence. To tlie many who may contem- 

 plate l)uil(lin{i', however, the rigrht plan is ol' 

 so much importance that his plans deserve 

 what 1 know he desires— the closest discussion. 



Nothing' is said abf)Ut the number of colonies for 

 which provision is to bv made— a mattei- that can 

 not lie ijinored. It is bettei- to htive too much than 

 loo little room; and one i.'^ hardly sure, at any time, 

 lo what number he may increase. I should think 

 I'rol. Cook's plan is ample lor .500 colonies, e.vcept 

 in the matter of cellar room. 1 question whether 

 his house could be built in this locality for $500. 

 Mine is 18 .\- :i4, three-fifths the size of his, less ex- 

 pensively furnished, and I think it cost about $400. 



I should like the chamber higher than 6 ft. at the 

 lowest part. The cost for two feet more in heis'ht 

 is little, and it often happens that one wants to 

 stack up things as high or higher than he can 

 reach; 16- foot posts will make each story higher. 



The timbers for the lower floor should be made of 

 extra strength, if honey is to be stored there; and 

 this reminds me that, in such a case, 'MX24 may not 

 be large enough for .500 colonies. M.v honey is 

 stored in a separate Ijuilding, which makes a dif- 

 ference. I suspect it would be better to have all in 

 one building. 



Does it pay to give up two fifths of the cellar 

 room for the sake of having that outside room'? Of 

 course, if there are bees enough onlj- to All the 

 70pm 18x:i4, it may be better to put in a partition; 

 but even in that case I believe T would rather have 

 the one room ;}0X24. I have an impression, from no 

 little experience and observation, that the fewer 

 colonies in a cellar, or the larger the cellar for a 

 given number of bees, the better they will winter. 



His idea of having the cellar entirely under 

 ground is capital. If the lay of the land does not 

 make it so, it cau be made so by heavy banking. 



He says the cellar should be " grouted below and 

 plastered above, with a double floor grouted be- 

 tween." If by being " grouted below " he means a 

 floor of cement, or grout, 1 i-aisc question. 1 have 

 one cellar room with a cement bottom, and I have 

 an impression that the earth floors do a little to- 

 ward purifying the air. The reverse, however, may 

 be the case. How is that, professor':' Ami just 

 how is the "double floor grouted between" made? 

 My shop cellar is not yet plastered overhead. Is 

 there any thing I can do, better than to have com- 

 mon lath and plaster for a ceiling'? 



If there is any danger from rats, it is a matter of 

 little cost and much importance to have the cellar 

 wall extend a foot below the level of the floor. Dig 

 a trench a foot deep, around the cellar, under 

 where the wall is to be placed, and fill it up with 

 small stones and grout. No rat will ever under- 

 mine this. A rat does not dig dowm to get under a 

 wall, but gets inside and digs out. 



Four-inch glazed tile is mentioned for a sub-ven- 

 tilation pipe in the text: and in the reference to 

 figure it is called six-inch. Which is right'? Glazed 

 tile is much more expensive than unglazed, but 

 perhaps its greater durability may make the glazed 

 preferable. If four-inch tile is used, little or noth- 

 ing is gained b.v having the drain more than 100 



feet long. If there is any point at which I consider 

 Prof. Cook an unsafe adviser, it is at the point of 

 ventilation. Although 1 can not give positive 

 proof for m.\' position, I have had a good deal of 

 I)resumptive cvidenci^ based on a good deal of ex- 

 perience, that it is well to have a cellar thoroughly 

 ventilated. As he says in remarks upon diagram, I 

 prefer a ten-inch tile. The difference in cost is not 

 great between that and smaller tile; and if at any 

 time the ten-inch tile admits air too rapidly it can 

 be lessened to any desired extent. The ideal cellar 

 for wintering bees will have a larger ai'ea for en- 

 trance than for exit of air, the walls at all points 

 being as nearly as possible air-tight. 



I don't .see how emptying the cistern will do much 

 toward cooling the cellar. Little or no rain will en- 

 ter it after freezing weathei-, and the water will ac- 

 quire nearly the same temperature as the cellar, so 

 I don't feel so sanguine that " we have an arrange- 

 ment by which we can control the temperature 

 perfectly from October to May." I do have 

 faith that some day some one will get sub- 

 ventilation to such a point that, through the whole 

 winter, sufficient air of the right temperature shall 

 l)ass through a cellar to control the temperature of 

 the cellar. 



I wouldn't use a wheelbarrow to take bees in or 

 out of a cellar. I object, even, to any one stepping 

 heavily when carrying them. On taking in, shak- 

 ing upmakes them moreuneasy; and on taking out, 

 it makes them fly out before being placed on the 

 stand. 



1 am not sure that I like the professor's southeast 

 room for comb honey and office. For wintering 

 comb honey it might be good; but it is not the best 

 place for ripening honey in summer and fall. As 

 to an office, I am afraid I shouldn't use it much if I 

 had it. Until the last year I never had so much as 

 a desk, and even now my office is as likely as not to 

 be the diningtable. A literary man, or a man in 

 Prof. Cook's position, may need an office; but there 

 isn't much chance for office work in bee-keeping. 



The diagram shows the double doors opening at 

 opposite sides, thus: 



I think mine are more convenient, opening at the 

 same side of the doorway, but hinged on different 

 sides of the jamb. 



It might be economy of room, and a little more 

 convenient, if the stairway were c'.ose to the out- 

 side door. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, III. 



Friend M.. since you mention it I want to 

 suggest that tlie floor on which the honey is 

 to stand should be made exceedingly stout 

 and strong. Three or tour times in "my ex- 

 perience Ilnive seen floors seriously injured 

 l)y the honey that has been piled on them. 

 Our extracted honey rests directly on the 

 ground, in the basement. I presume there 

 would l)e an objection to placing comb hon- 

 ey this way ; but please remeniber that the 

 floor that is to hold the honey must be made 

 to stand the ettect of a trernendous weight, 

 as well as the ravages of time. I would 

 have good stone underpinning, and tim- 

 bers that will not rot or break. I would also 

 say, by all means have the wintering-cellar 

 under" ground. Sawdust walls do very well 



