THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



13 



special room partitioned off in our 

 home cellar for the bees, but we also 

 keep apples and potatoes in it. We 

 do not use the cellar more than one 

 winter out of every five for wintering 

 the bees, for the reason that I have 

 stated in a former article. We are on 

 the limit of safe outdoor wintering, 

 but when the bees are in good condi- 

 tion, strong and populous, when the 

 honey is of good quality and plentiful, 

 and the winter is fairly mild at its 

 beginning, we prefer the natural hi- 

 bernation. 



An ordinary house-cellar is sufficient 

 if the portion reserved to the bees is 

 portitioned off in some manner to 

 QQake it dark, and if the temperature 

 3au be kept without much trouble at 

 the proper degree. From 40° to 50° is 

 the best temperature. We have heard 

 it said, by men who claimed to know, 

 that a moist cellar could be kept at a 

 TQUch higher temperature, and that 

 he bees would winter well in it. We 

 lave even heard a beekeeper assert 

 :hat bees would remain quiet in a cel- 

 ar with a temperature of 60° or 80°, 

 3ut we afterward found out that this 

 nan did not have a thermometer in 

 lis cellar and waa "just guessing" at 

 he degree. This is wrong. What is 

 vorth doing at all is worth doing well, 

 ind the cost of a thermometer is not 

 great that a practical man should 

 winter his bees on a guess. 



In ordinary winters, we find it less 

 lifficult to keep the temperature above 

 he limit mentioned than below it. 

 •"ifty or 100 colonies of bees, grouped 

 ogether in a cellar, that will usually 

 ;eep fruits or pototoes will be found 

 raise the temperature very rapidly, 

 E no outside current tempers it. We 

 aust remember that the bees are warm, 



bodied insects, and keep their cluster 

 at blood heat. This, of course, must 

 necessarily act upon the air of a closed 

 apartment, materially increasing the 

 degree of heat. So we find it quite 

 indispensable to keep the cellar-wind- 

 ows partly open, with a shutter that 

 excludes the light. Thequanityof air 

 given is measured according to the 

 atmospheric conditions and the warmth 

 of the cellar. Many of our good bee 

 keepers pay daily attention to their 

 bees, and find it as necessary to do so 

 when they are housed up at as any 

 other time. It is certain that only by 

 such watchfulness can bee culture be 

 made a success. The bee business, 

 as Mr. Heddon said, is altogether "a 

 business of details." 



(From Pennsylvania Farmer) 



1)0 BEES INJURE GRAPES? 



Prof. Troop of the Indiana Experi- 

 ment Station, has been investigating 

 this subject, with the following result: 



He says: There is a great difference 

 of opinion among welliuformed fruit 

 growers as to whether the honey bee 

 actually destroys ripe grapes without 

 any assistance. In order to secure re- 

 liable data on this question, some 

 careful observations were made dur- 

 ing the past season. A Worden grape- 

 vine was selected, and when the fruit 

 was ripe all defective berries and sur- 

 plus leaves were removed, so as to al- 

 low the bees free movement and give 

 them every facility for work. A col- 

 ony of Italian bees was then placed 

 close to the vine, and both vine and 

 hive enclosed with mosquitto netting, 

 giving the bees about 300 cubic feet 

 of space in which to work. At first 

 they did not take kindly to the con- 

 finement, but after the first few days 



