152 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



covered with sawdust; access to the cellar stairs is 

 gained through a trap door. Such a cellar as this 

 should be built on a dry knoll. Mr. Bingham has 

 wintered successfully ninety colonies in this house; 

 and it will hold nearly twice as many. 



The bees may come out of the hives and die in 

 great numbers when they are wintered in a cellar. 

 If any such seem distended and swollen they have 

 probably died of dysentery, and the matter should 

 be looked into immediately. However, many of the 

 bees that die in winter are likely to be the old ones 

 which are not vigorous enough to stand the strain of 

 the cold. The cellar floor should be swept several 

 times during the winter and all the dead bees re- 

 moved so they shall not pollute the atmosphere. 

 The cellar should always be dark, but the bees can 

 be easily examined with a lamp, or what is better, a 

 bull's-eye lantern. 



The carrying of hives into the cellar is an onerous 

 task when the apiary is large. The entrance to the 

 hive should be closed the night before so as to be 

 sure the whole family is moved. The hives should 

 be carried with as little perturbance to the occupants 

 as may be; several methods of carrying the hives 

 easily and quietly have been invented. Mr. Root 

 uses a wire bent like a V with the wooden piece of a 

 common pail bale at the angle. The prongs of the 

 V are bent at right angles into hooks which hook 

 under the bottom board; two men carry the hive, one 

 on each side, each with a carrier just described. 

 Mr. Miller has a simple rope carrier that slips under 



