720 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



be:s had come outside and clustered on tlie 

 front of the hive up to the hand hole. 1 

 held the lantern up within tAvo inches of the 

 cluster. There was a slight movement 

 among' the bees, and one bee raised up and 

 buzzed its wings a little. That was all. Not 

 one bee left its place. 



I will tell you why. We put in a hot- 

 water plant last winter; and to lower the 

 temperature of the cellar we found it neces- 

 saiy to open the inside cellar doors, leaving 

 the outside ones shut. That gives us a tem- 

 perature 8 degrees liigher than it used to be 

 before the plant was put in, and such abun- 

 dant ventilation that the air is dryer. 



My cellar is 30 x 30, and is partitioned off 

 so that the bees are in a separate room. The 

 floor is cement, and the bee apartment is 

 plastered overhead. Tlie temperature in 

 winter was usually 42. Last winter, with a 

 temperature of 40 below outside, it was 38 

 above inside. 



If Ira Barber could rise from liis grave 

 and read these lines he would no doubt 

 smile and exclaim, " I told you so." 



Cadott, Wis. 



THREE DIFFERENT BEE-CELLARS COMPARED 



The Right and Wrong Way to Ventilate 



BY E. S. MILLER 



For a number of years I followed the 

 advice to beginners to winter my bees out- 

 side, with resulting losses varying from 10 

 to 50 per cent of the colonies. Then I be- 

 gan to think that there must be a better 

 way, and to hope that, before flnisliiug, I 

 might be able to work out a plan by wlucli 

 100 per cent of all colonies might be cariied 

 through in good condition, providing, of 

 course, they were in proper condition when 

 placed in winter cjuarters. 



Owing to the expense, labor, and uncer- 

 tainty of results, packing in outer cases 

 did not seem advisable. 



About tlus time I bought another apiary 

 and a few acres of land with a honey-house 

 and a bee-cellar. But bees wintered in this 

 cellai' came tlu'ough in a damj), moldy con- 

 dition, and with a considerable percentage 

 of loss. 



Then a study was made of diffei-ent 

 modes of ventilation ; and for the last five 

 years my average loss in wintering has been 

 about one per cent. Tliere was a loss of 

 only one colony in three winters in case of 

 bees wintered in tlu-ee cellars. During the 

 past winter the loss was two colonies out of 

 274. 



In order that the construction and mode 

 of ventilation mav be better understood I 



will attempt to describe briefly three cellars, 

 and comjmre results. 



Cellar No. 1 is under a building, and is 

 18 X 20 X 71/2 ft. It is in clay loam, and is 

 made of solid concrete with cement floor 

 and a plastered ceiling Avhich is even with 

 the level ground outside. 



A nearly horizontal sub-earth ventilator 

 extends from a point 30 feet w^est and en- 

 ters near the floor. A chimney extends from 

 the cellar floor to a height of about 20 feet, 

 with an opening near the floor. The stove 

 in the room above is seldom used, and it 

 is not necessary for the purpose of ventila- 

 tion. Door and windows are double; but 

 the floor of the honey-house above has not 

 yet been made sufficientlj^ Avarm; and the 

 low temperature resulting therefrom ac- 

 counts, I think, for the losses. Usually 

 the cuiTent of incoming air through the 

 sub-earth A-entilator, and the current out 

 thi'O'Ugh the chimney are sufliciently strong 

 to extinguish the flame of a lighted candle 

 or match. A good cuiTent is always pres- 

 ent at the opening near the floor in the 

 cliimney in cold Aveather, Avhether the Avind 

 is bloAving or not ; also at inner end of tube 

 except Avhen the wind is from the east. 



The folloAving temperature readings Avere 

 made Avitli a tested thei'mometer, and are 

 worthA' of consideration : 



1913 



Ho 



AVind 



Draft at 

 Intake 



Feb. 19 

 Feb. 22 

 Feb. 24 

 Feb. 28 

 Mar. 2 

 Mar. 5 

 Mar. 11 

 Mar. 14 

 Mar. 19 

 Mar. 21 



s. 



AV. Strong 



None 



None 



AV. Strong 



S. AV. Mod. 



S. E. 



s! e'. Strong 

 AV. Strong 



Moderate 



Strong 



Light 



Light 



Strong 



Strong 



Out, light 



Out, light 



Out 



Strong 



On March 20 a small amount of moisture 

 could be seen at the entrances of a feAV of 

 the liives in the lower tiei*, due to a loAver 

 temperature near the floor. Repeated tests 

 showed the average temperature at the floor 

 to be approximately one degree lower than 

 near the ceiling; and the temperature near 

 the ceiling Avas the same as at the outlet. 

 By comparing maximum and minimum tem- 

 peratures it Avill be seen that, Avliile the vari- 

 ation oufside amounted to 02 degrees, that at* 

 the intake Avas 30 degrees, and the cellar 

 variation Avas only 10 degrees. Note also 

 the modification of temperatui'e in passing 

 through the intake Avhen there Avas a strong 

 west Avind. Tlie bees (March 20) are quiet, 

 and apparently in excellent condition. The 

 cellar is diy, and Avith no perceptible odor. 

 Number of colonies, 1912-'13, 104; Avinter 



loss, tAVO. 



