61-1 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



the need of some ventilation. Bees, I suppose, nev- 

 er go through a winter without respiration; and 

 for this, at least a small amount of air must from 

 time to time be changed. But without any hair- 

 splitting, I suppose those who claim no ventilation 

 is needed, mean that we need take no pains to se- 

 cure the very little that is needed, and that even 

 through the walls of a hive may come that little, and 

 in the closest cellar enough air will be for<!ed 

 through the little crevices to supply all needs. 



I think it is true, that no cellar is made so tight 

 but that, if the cellar is warm enough, some little 

 change of air will be constantly taking place. 

 Years ago I wintered 8 colonies in a cellar which 

 was as tight as I could well make it. In ordinary 

 language, the cellar had no ventilation whatever. 

 Those colonies came through in the finest possible 

 condition, and I suspect that many a man with a 

 like experience draws the conclusion that no ven- 

 tilation whatever is needed. He is right so far as 

 he is concerned, for the little air forced through 

 the cracks of the cellar is enough for the few colo- 

 nies. But when I put 201) colonies or more in that 

 same cellar, the case was materially changed. I 

 made some provision for ventilation by providing 

 exit thi'ough chimneys for the exhausted air. In 

 the coldest weather this was generally sufficient. 

 The bees at times became uneasy and noisy, the 

 noise gradually increasing, and I concluded the 

 bees were too cold. I put a wood fire in the cellar 

 in the afternoon, letting it die ovit in the evening, 

 and in the morning I found the bees perfectly 

 quiet. This was done many times, and always with 

 the same result. But, one thing puzzled me: Go- 

 into the cellar the morning after firing up, and 

 finding the bees (juiet, I nearly always found the 

 thermometer standing just where it did before I 

 put in the fire. I asked myself the question, "If 

 the bees were noisy yesterday because the ther- 

 mometer was at 40°, why does not 40° make them 

 noisy today?" I finally concluded that the fire 

 had increased the change of air, and the bees were 

 quiet, not because warmer, but because they had 

 better air; and to this day I have found no better 

 answer to the question. The air is changed in a 

 cellar, because the outer air, heavier because cold- 

 er, forces its way into the cellar by means of its 

 greater gravity to displace the inner, or warmer 

 air. The greater the difterence between the tem- 

 perature within and without, the more rapid will 

 be the ventilation. Now, suppose a warm spell 

 comes toward spring, when the thermometer stands 

 at 45°, out and in. These are the trying times; for 

 the air, being of equal density without and within, 

 ventilation ceases. At such times the bees become 

 very noisy; and as soon as it is dark I open all win- 

 dows and doors. Upon this the noise greatly in- 

 creases; and to one hearing it for the first time it is 

 something alarming. By morning, however, all is 

 quiet, even if the bright sun is shining in the en- 

 trance of the hives. Now, on what other hypothe- 

 sis can this be explained, than that the bees needed 

 ventilation, and were quiet when they got it? 



And now let me ask friend Hutchinson, " Where 

 is the man who knows that ventilation for a bee- 

 cellar, or, indeed, for any cellar, is tiot needed? 

 DMn'tyou think it was needed when you put the 

 wooden tube in your clamp? or did you have the 

 tube solely to let down the thermometer? Admit 

 the need of ventilation, and sub-ventilation is easi- 

 ly proven necessary in cold localities until some 



cheaper way is found to provide fresh air at a suf- 

 ficiently high temperature. 



Mr. Boot thinks it better, all things considered, 

 to winter outdoors, and I think he is right. I think 

 it better to winter in cellar, and I think I am right. 

 But the climate of Marengo is not that of Medina. 



Now, I should like to ask you, friend Root, why 

 do you think your bees winter better out of than 

 in the cellar? It can hardly be temperature, for 

 j'ou can secure any temperature desirable in the 

 cellar. Is it because of the light? The cellar can 

 be made light; and I may remark, in passing, that, 

 if ever perfection is reached in cellar wintering, it 

 is possible that no effort will be made to secure 

 darkness. Do you prefer outdoors because bees 

 have a chance to fly through the winter? This can 

 be evened up by taking out the bees and giving 

 them a chance to fly every time the outdoor bees 

 Hy; but nearly every one objects to this taking-out 

 as unnecessary, if not injurious. I suspect that, in 

 the final analysis, it will be found that the main 

 difference is, that, outdoors, the hive is at all times 

 surrounded by a pure atmosphere. But, friend 

 Root, please say what you think is the why. 



I think many of us will thank the editor for the 

 useful hints in chapters 37 and 38 of " What to Do," 

 and I thank you for calling attention to cerealine, 

 which I had never before tried. Tt is a nice and 

 convenient food; only are you not mistaken about 

 five pounds for 16 cents? It-costs more than twice 

 as much here. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, III., Aug. 9, 1887. 



Fiii'nd M., you have given me at least one 

 new idea in the above, and it is in regard to 

 the very question you asked me to answer. 

 The great trouble in cellar wintering was 

 where we had a good many colonies in one 

 cellar, and when the tempeiature outside 

 was about the same as inside. At such times 

 the bees were uneasy, and the air in the cel- 

 lar was very bad and close. I know the cel- 

 lar at such times needed ventilation, not 

 only for the good of the bees, but for the 

 good of the people who lived over the cellar, 

 and I tried to get it by opening the doors and 

 windows during the night time. This made 

 matters belter, but it did not remedy the 

 difficulty. With your explanation, I now 

 believe it was because even the doors and 

 windows didn't ventilate the cellar 'fully 

 when the temperature was about the same 

 outside as inside, and little or no breeze was 

 stirring. Sometimes we have warm foggy 

 spells here in Febniary, and I have seen 

 them even in December and January — yes, a 

 whole week without a bit of frost. At such 

 times I don't want bees in a cellar; and in 

 regard to taking the bees out for a tly Avhen 

 the bees liy outdoors, this would be entirely 

 out of the question, for most winters our 

 bees have a good fly ev.'ry month in the 

 season. — In regard to the price of cerealine, 

 Ernest made the purclmi-c, and insisted he 

 got 5 lbs. for 16 cts. Investigation shows, 

 however, that the package held only 2 lbs. 

 instead of 5. As the article is very light, 

 even 2 lbs. makes a great big package, and I 

 think it is a boon to humanity, even at 8 cts. 

 per lb. I may remark tiiat it costs 1-1 cts. per 

 package at wholesale in New York. Possi- 

 bly the price might be got down a little by 

 buying in large quantities of the manufac- 

 turers. 



