314 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



which is not uncommon, the objection be- 

 comes real. All bee keepers recognize the 

 importance of flight after days and weeks of 

 food consumption. The quality of food 

 bears directly upon this point ; poor food 

 necessitates frequent flights, and the con- 

 verse is true when the honey contains no 

 foreign substances. Progress in the art of 

 wintering has not kept pace with that of 

 honey production, which either impoverish- 

 es the bees or leaves them supplied with 

 poor or unripened stores, especially in over- 

 stocked localities. We need a better method 

 than in the days of box hives and abundant 

 honey resources. Taking the question of 

 food into consideration, too much impor- 

 tance cannot be attached to the necessity of 

 unrestricted flight. 



Another objection to cellar wintering is 

 the labor of handling our colonies twice a 

 year ; the matter of lifting an eight frame 

 hive is slight, but when a hundred or more 

 are to be moved they became a burden. 

 Furthermore, we are upon the dawn of an 

 era of non-swarming hives, which are nec- 

 essarily much larger, and will increase our 

 burdens if cellar wintering is depended 

 upon. The third objection I shall name is 

 that of temperature and ventilation, which 

 requires care and skill to maintain. Out of 

 this grows a fourth objection, viz , , the ne- 

 cessity for an attendant near at hand through- 

 out the season of confliiement. 



Having set forth the objections to cellar 

 wintering, let us turn our attention to the 

 out door or natural method, and we will 

 find but one impediment to complete suc- 

 cess. I refer to the maintaiuance of a prop- 

 er temperature during a protracted cold win- 

 ter ; especially in hives occupied by small 

 colonies. Populous colonies well supplied 

 with honey utider favorable circumstances, 

 are almost certain to survive the winter. 

 However, the mere»survival of a cold win- 

 ter is not sufficient. We must not only in- 

 sure the small or less populous colonies but 

 have them well wintered — scarcely less pop- 

 ulous than they were in the Autumn. 



Taking into consideration the several 

 objections to cellar wintering, compared 

 with but one in the out-door method, ( that 

 of temperature), whicTi is not inherent, we 

 may look for a solution of the problem in 

 the latter. This accomplished, and still main- 

 taining unrestricted flight, we will have all 

 that is desirable for every condition of cli- 

 mate. 



In considering a method I have practiced 

 the last two winters (the last one being se- 

 vere), with unprecedented success, and hav- 

 ing wintered both in cellars and special re- 

 positories. I will, first of all, urge the im- 

 portance of a better supply of food in the 

 immediate proximity of the cluster. With 

 insufficient stores, no amount of precaution 

 will insure perfect success. 



Modern hives with their brood aud stor- 

 age apartments tend to deplete the brood 

 chamber of winter stores even when the 

 seasons are most favorable, unless great pre- 

 caution is exercised. We have guaged the 

 size of our hives according to the laying ca- 

 pacity of the queens, which, although favor- 

 able to a maximum production of market- 

 able honey, are not altogether adapted to 

 successful wintering. In box hives and 

 natural abodes, if sufficiently large, the 

 storage or winter supply is accessible to 

 the cluster. With these facts in view, let us 

 prepare our colonies for cold winters ; pre- 

 pare them to withstand a prolonged tem- 

 perature during which they cannot change 

 ranges of comb. Under such circumstances, 

 for this latitude, the central combs should 

 contain not less than 4 or 5 lbs. of honey 

 each, and a total of not less than 35 or 40 lbs. 

 The outside or heavy combs should never be 

 exchanged for those at the center ; such an 

 arrangement would destroy the contour of 

 the brood nest, and result in unfavorably 

 wintering. 



The construction of frames bears directly 

 upon the subject of wintering, particularly 

 in regard to maintaining the requisite de- 

 gree of warmth. Closed end frames con- 

 serve the warmth of the colony in each range 

 to a greater degree than those with open 

 ends. They are in accordance with nature. 

 The comb structure, whether in a hollow 

 tree, or a box, or a straw hive, is such. My 

 experiments with artificial comb have served 

 to throw much light upon this feature in 

 frames as applied to wintering. Even with 

 closed ends, natural comb is seldom attach- 

 ed more that half way down, while the arti- 

 ficial combs are fixed closely the entire 

 length of each end bar. As a test of tem- 

 perature, I placed a thermometer in the 

 bottom of the tray containing saw dust, 

 locating it directly above the cluster, and 

 found the average in colonies containing 

 natural comb to range from oO" to 35° F, 

 while in the wooden comb it stood at G0° when 

 the outside temperature was zero. I made 



