DECEMBER 15, 1015 



1019 



Pig. 



the doorway. There was noth- 

 ing to indicate that the bees in 

 hives with bottoms were not 

 doing as well as those with the 

 bottoms removed. We exylain- 

 od to Mr. Anderson that there 

 were two schools — the one ad- 

 vocating leaving the bottoms off 

 and the other leaving them on. 

 and that we should be interested 

 in knowing wliioh lot of bees in 

 tlie whole number came out bet- 

 ter. He tells us that those with- 

 out bottoms were nuicii quieter. 

 The cellar was comparatively 

 small for the number of bees 

 in it, and we are not surprised 

 that the bottomless hives show- 

 ed up better in the spring. But where the 

 cellar is relatively larger, it has been our 

 experience and observation that the colonies 

 with bottoms come out in better condition. 

 We had an experience one winter in one of 

 our cellars where the colonies with bottoms 

 on were the only ones that wintered well, 

 while those without bottoms showed a 

 heavy loss of bees, many colonies dying 

 outright before they were taken out of the 

 cellar. It follows, therefore, that the ques- 

 tion of whether bottoms shall or shall not 

 be used on hives dej^ends on the size of the 

 cellar, the temperature, and the number of 

 colonies wintered. We should say that, with 

 a cellar 10 x 15, and 8 feet high, the bottoms 

 had better be left off if as many as 100 

 colonies ..re put in. With half that number 

 we would leave the bottoms on. 



On arriving at the north yard with Mr. 

 Anderson we were very much interested in 

 the different methods of packing. These 

 experiments on so large a scale would be 

 invaluable as the sequel has proved. We 

 expressed to him the opinion that those in 

 big quadruple cases of the Holtermann type 

 would fare the best, and thev did. When 



5. — Mr. Anderson himself and some of his col- 

 onies packed in Holtermann winter cases. 



we came to look at the colonies that were 

 heeled in, with upper entrances through the 

 edge of the escape-board at the top, we 

 were surprised and interested (see Fig. 6). 

 We expressed a fear that the hot air at the 

 top of the cluster would esc£-pe too easily 

 through the top entrance, for it should be 

 understood that the lower part of the hive 

 up about two-thirds of the way was heeled 

 in with dirt and packing. This, of course, 

 closed the regiilar lower entrances. The 

 fact that there was a heavy loss in this 

 group was not surprising. Still, the loss 

 w-as not nearly as large as we thought it 

 would be; for it seems to be a fundamental 

 principle that hive entrances for colonies in 

 winter quarter's should be at the bottom, 

 primarily to hold the warmer stratum of 

 air that naturally rises to the top, and is 

 confined because it cannot escape. 



The group of hive^^ that were placed in 

 long rows back to back we thought ought to 

 winter nearly as well as those in Holter- 

 mann cases. See Figs. 3 and 4. There is 

 one objection to this plan, and that is, bees 

 in long rows are inclined to drift. When 

 the weather is such that they can fly, and 



Fio. 6. — The hives that were heeled in with dirt; entrances at lop. 



