SEPTEMBER 1, 1912 



563 



bottom-board body, or super, it does not slip about. 

 The rim is placed with the spurs always on the 

 under side. 



Hoboken, N. J. C. D. Chenbt. 



TAt one time we thought there might be some 

 advantage in making an obstructed entrance of 

 some sort. The various devices that we tried to 

 prevent a complete wind sweep did more harm 

 than good — bees were confined, and proper ventila- 

 tion was not secured. Colonies with obstructed en- 

 trances were either weak or died outright, while 

 those with free entrances came out in good con- 

 dition. — Ed.] 



Rock Candy a Failure for Feeding 



I fed my bees rock candy last winter. One 

 cake of candy was too hard. This the bees could 

 not eat at all, so they starved. The other cake 

 was underdone to the extent that drops of syrup 

 would form on the under side of the cake after 

 standing a while. This the bees ate; and if tnev 

 had had another cake when that was gone I could 

 have saved them. The colonies I lost cost me 

 $8.00 ; but I would not take that much money 

 for what I learned. 



Next winter I will make a dough of pure 

 honey and sugar, then I will make shallow wooden 

 boxes of % stuff — 2 inches deep and 12 square. I 

 will put on the stove a wash-boiler containing a 

 buckket of water and a 15-cent cake of paraffine. 

 Just as soon as the paraffine is melted I will 

 dip the wooden trays in the mixture a few times 

 until they are coated inside and out. The trays 

 should then be filled and set on top of the brood- 

 frames. After bridging over the trays they should 

 be covered with some kind of thick paper, and then 

 put in the packing — the more the better. Such 

 colonies will winter sure. I would not advise 

 any one to try to winter bees on rock candy ; for 

 even if they eat the candy there is likely to be 

 some of it wasted — by the small particles falling 

 down between the frames. 



Jonesboro, Ind. C. A. Neal. 



[If you can feed syrup in October so that the 

 bees will store it in the combs we are quite sure 

 you will find it not only less work, but more 

 satisfactory in every way. We would advise the 

 use of candy only when the stores have run short 

 during cold weather when syrup can not be had. 

 —Ed.'] 



A Plea for Cellar Wintering 



A great deal has been said of late in favor of 

 outdoor wintering of bees, and we rather think the 

 editor favors that method for us Northern beekeep- 

 ers. Of course it is taken for granted that outdoor 

 wintering is all right for warmer climates. My own 

 experience is that here in Pennsylvania cellar 

 wintering is much to be preferred — first, because 

 it requires less labor and fewer stores; and, sec- 

 ondly, it is surer to bring the bees safely through 

 our long rigorous winters. For the past eight 

 years we have wintered our bees in our house 

 cellar with uniform success, never losing a colony 

 unless it lacked stores or bees when put in in the 

 fall. 



Last winter was the coldest f«r 40 years in this 

 locality, and the temperature in this cellar was 

 almost to the freezing-point for days; yet we lost 

 not a colony except one that was queenless for a 

 long time in the fall and contained only old bees. 



Our cellar is 22x28 feet, built of small flag or 

 field stones and mortar, all except 18 inches on top, 

 which is laid with rockface split stones. A drain 

 is under the entire wall leading out to a near-by 

 ravine. The adjacent soil is clay; but the cellar 

 is always quite dry, but not too much so for a 

 good vegetable-cellar. 



A summer, or beam, passes through the cellar 

 lengthwise, supported by two heavy posts restin? 

 on stone pillars. Between these posts our bees 

 are stacked without any preparation except pro- 

 vision for sufficient stores. We like to have the 

 hives in the center of the room, as there is less 

 mold there, owing to the better circulation of air. 

 As soon as the buckwheat flow is over, the supers 

 are removed, as that is the last honey-yielding plant 

 that gives any surplus. The covers are put down 

 on the brood-chambers, and the bottoms are re- 

 versed from deep to shallow entrances. This pre- 

 caution is for the purpose of keeping out mice. 



The deep side of the bottom-boards would be better 

 than shallow in the cellar if it were not for mice 

 getting in and chewing up combs. 



As soon as settled cold weather comes on, the 

 colonies are carried into the cellar and stacked, 

 and that is about all there is to it. There is no 

 fussing with packing and paper covers, etc. We 

 simply carry them in and carry them out again 

 in t..e spring. No quilt or mat should be used 

 on top of the frames while the bees are in the 

 cellar. The bee-space between the cover and top- 

 bars should be entirely free for the easy passage 

 of bees over the tops of the frames. In fact, we 

 long ago discarded all mat or cloth covers on 

 brood-chambers. They are an intolerable nuisance. 

 We use oilcloth covers on top of section supers 

 only. 



All around this cellar are bins usually filled 

 with potatoes, apples, and other vegetables ; yet 

 the bees have always wintered successfully. 



If a warm day comes in February or March 

 we carry them out for a fly, remove the dead bee3 

 from the bottom-boards, and return them until set- 

 tled warm weather. 



Summerville, Pa. W. P. Keefee. 



[Where there is a perfect cellar, no plan of win- 

 tering is so ideal; but if the conditions in the 

 cellar are not right, or in locations where the win- 

 ters are open with comparatively short stretches 

 of cold weather, the outdoor plan is the better. 

 There is a great difference in cellars. In some, 

 where conditions seemed to be all right, we have 

 lost a good many colonies. — Ed.] 



Bees Wintered Better Packed in Paper than in 

 Wooden Cases 



I read in the Feb. 1st issue with much interest 

 the discussion between J. L. Byer and others in 

 regard to winter cases. Especially was my at- 

 tention called to Mr. Byer's opinion of black 

 paper cases for protection, because at the time of 

 the discussion part of my bees were in paper 

 cases. 



I can't number my colonies by the hundred, but 

 I keep bees in the back of a city lot for relaxa- 

 tion, pleasure, and profit. I have my hives set 

 in pairs about a foot apart and three feet between 

 the pairs. Heretofore I have used large knock 

 down wooden cases containing one pair of hives, 

 allowing two inches of chaff under the hives and 

 10 inches on all sides, and 12 inches on top. I 

 have had splendid success wintering in these cases ; 

 but last fall I had eight hives more than I had 

 cases for. These I packed in paper. First I took 

 old newspapers, covered the cases all over, about 

 25 sheets thick, then covered this with table oil- 

 cloth, and on top of this I put black roofing paper. 



I had no trouble with bees flying out when too 

 cold, neither did they freeze inside, and sweat, as 

 some report. But they wintered better and came 

 out more vigorous than the ones in large wooden 

 cases ; and the two that I lost out of 22 were in 

 wooden cases. 



Urbana, O. O. J. Jones. 



Holtermann's entrance-contractor, mentioned on page 

 75, Feb. 1. 



