318 FIFTY YE.\RS A.AIOXG THE BEES 



It seems nice to look into a hive and find so few 

 dead bees lying on the bottom-board, often none. When 

 a bee wants to die. it is warm enough so it can come 

 outside, just as in summer. 



It would be better if it was so arranged that fresh 

 air could enter without the light. During the first part of 

 the winter, the bees do not seem to mind the light at all, 

 and not very much till toward spring, when the door must 

 be closed in daytime. But there is no need to be unduly 

 frightened by a few bees coming out ; for bees will get 

 old and die ofif, no matter how dark the cellar be kept ; 

 and there may be some question whether a little light is 

 as bad as the fouler air when the cellar is closed. 



GOOD WIXTERIXG. 



Having had such a severe lesson, you may be sure 

 that in succeeding years I took pains to see that before 

 the bees went into the cellar they had enough stores to 

 stand a winter temperature of 50 or 60 degrees. The re- 

 sult has been very gratifying. I no longer have anxiety 

 about wintering, and do not expect an}- colonies to die 

 unless it be from queenlessness. 



Somie one may say, "But why don't you make sure 

 that no queenless colony goes into the cellar?" Possibly 

 that might be better ; but I doubt. The queenless colony 

 is not worth very much at that time of year, and any- 

 thing that would be done with it would hardly pay for 

 the trouble of hunting through a number of colonies, 

 causing them no little disturbance. 



On the whole I am quite in favor of a furnace in 

 cellar. To be sure, it does away with one argument in 

 favor of cellaring, for there may be as heavy consump- 

 tion of stores as on the summer stands, but that is 

 greatly overbalanced by having the bees practically out- 

 doors all winter in a very mild climate. For with the 

 abundance of fresh air allowed, are they not practically 

 outdoors? Beside that, I think the bees are stronger — 



