696 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



tered well, and there was no sign of 

 diarrhea, except in a few cases where 

 much pollen was left in the hives. 

 Cane-sugar syrup is quite as good, 

 and possibly superior to honey- at 

 times, as we can be certain that the 

 syrup is free from deleterious ele- 

 ments. The syrup for winter food 

 may be as condensed as possible, and 

 yet it must not crystallize when cold. 

 One-half to one-third as much water 

 as sugar by weight is about right. A 

 little honey added will also retard 

 crystallization ; a little tartaric acid 

 is often used for the same purpose. 

 It is best to feed quite early so all may 

 be stored and capped before winter's 

 cold prevents further labor in the hive. 

 Bees should never go into winter 

 quarters with less than 30 pounds of 

 food, which will always suffice from 

 September till the next harvest. 



Important Suggestion. — It is well to 

 have all colonies reasonably strong in 

 autumn, and soon after the first hard 

 frost give each colony as few combs 

 as possible and secure the requisite 

 amount of honey. I prefer to use six 

 Gallup or Langstroth frames, and, by 

 use of division-boards, crowd the bees; 

 then I cover warmly with sacks of 

 dry sawdust, made of burlap. This 

 costs but little, and aids greatly to 

 preserve the vital strength of the bees 

 during the cold days of October and 

 November and early the next season. 



Uniform Temperature.— This is best 

 and most cheaply secured by use of a 

 good, dry (V), dark cellar. As a cellar 

 is entirely or nearly all beneath the 

 surface of the earth, it remains un- 

 alfecled by the severest cold of winter 

 or the more genial warmth of spring. 

 The great requisite is that the tem- 

 perature shall never go below 38° 

 Fahr., even during the most severe 

 ■weather of our most rigorous win- 

 ters, nor above 47" Fahr. A good, 

 under-ground cellar will secure the 

 former, but when many bees are put 

 into one cellar it is not always so easy 

 to secure against too great lieat. 

 There are two ways to accomplish 

 this : First, by use of water in the 

 cellar, and, second, by means of un- 

 der-ground or sub-earth ventilation. 

 When a running stream from springs 

 can be secured, it forms the most de- 

 sirable moderating agency I know of. 

 Such water is just about the proper 

 temperature, and while it modifies 

 against heat or cold, it also serves 

 beautifully lo dissolve impurities and 

 sweeten the atmosphere. In lieu of 

 such a spring or running water (un- 

 der-ground tile are constantly carry- 

 ing water into and out of our College 

 bee cellar), a good cistern answers 

 well. The water in this is regulated 

 by the usual temperature of the cellar, 

 which is about that of the earth, and 

 so in times of extreme cold or too 

 great warmth it i)rotects the cellar 

 against change. I know of such a 

 bee-cellar that passed the coldest 

 weather of last winter, with an east 

 window constantly open, and yet the 

 temperature was maintained at the 

 desired point. Such an amount of 

 latent heat stored up in a cellar cistern 

 is a great safe-guard, and is especally 

 valuable when a great number of bees 

 are placed in a cellar. 



Each colony generates some heat, 

 and with a multitude, the heat, es- 

 pecially during a protracted warm 

 spell in winter or spring, is apt to be- 

 come ruinously excessive. Sub-earth 

 ventilation secures this moderating 

 agency in air which comes to the cel- 

 lar, cooled or heated by a long transit 

 through an earth pipe, which runs 

 many yards through the earth, be- 

 neath the inlluence of the outside 

 temperature. To secure the neces- 

 sary exchange of air and certain in- 

 flux of the tempering atmosphere, a 

 small-sized stove-pipe connects from 

 near the bottom of the cellar with a 

 stove-pipe, preferably, of the kitchen 

 stove above. This small pipe has its 

 lower end open, while above it con- 

 nects with the kitchen stovepipe 

 some distance above the stove, else 

 the stove will not draw well, and will 

 trouble from smoking. A second 

 pipe of 4 or (> inch tile also passes from 

 the bottom of the cellar through the 

 wall and thence beneath the frost- 

 line for one or two hundred feet 

 through the earth, when it comes to 

 the surface, and the end is protected 

 against vermin by use of a wire- 

 screen. 



We can easily see that whenever tlie 

 kitchen stove is used— daily— tlie air 

 is drawn from the cellar, aiid the out- 

 door air warmed in winter and 

 cooled in spring and summer is 

 drawn through the tempering soil 

 into the cellar. I have known of this 

 arrangement being tried in many 

 cases, and always with the best re- 

 sults. 



If it is feared that water may enter 

 the cellar tlirough the sub-earth pipe, 

 the joints may be sealed by use of 

 cement, or arrangements made to 

 drain at the lowest point. This ar- 

 rangement not only protects against 

 extremes of temperature, but it 

 serves ever to keep tlie cellar sweet. 

 Mr. D. A. Jones, of Canada, builds 

 above ground, when it becomes nec- 

 essary to have the building double- 

 walled, with a 30-inch space filled in 

 with saw-dust, not only on the sides, 

 but above as well. Others dig a pit 

 in a side-hill. These methods are 

 only inferior to a cellar in that they 

 are more difficult to regulate. Mr. 

 Jones not only has the sub-earth ar- 

 rangement, but he is forced to provide 

 ice-boxes in the warm days of spring 

 in order to protect against too great 

 warmth. In all these cases good, 

 close double-doors should be made, 

 and the rooms should surely be mouse- 

 tight. 



Packing. — Many bee-keepers have 

 succeeded well by packing. Messrs. 

 Southard and Ranney, of Kalamazoo, 

 Mich., have practiced packing of 

 single hives with marked success. 

 They place a box about each hive 6 

 inches distant on each side. This 

 space they pack very closely with 

 straw. They also put a chaff sack in 

 the upper chamber of the hive, are 

 sure to have the covers on the hive 

 close-fitting, and then pack well above 

 with straw, when they add a cover to 

 keep the straw dry. These gentle- 

 men attribute their success to careful, 

 thorough packing, and also covers 

 above the bees and beneath the pack- 



ing. The packing extends close down 

 to the earth. A tunnel at the en- 

 trance permits the bees to fly if suit- 

 able weather entices them out. 

 Others, like Mr. Bingham, of Allegan, 

 county, Mich., are very successful in 

 the use of packing, but put 6 or 8 

 hives close side by side and pack 

 snugly about all. In this case the 

 entrances all face oui^ward, and a tun- 

 nel at each hive permits flight. 



So many who employ packing lose 

 their bees that I can but think that 

 the latter method named above is 

 preferable for the average bee-keeper, 

 if either is to be practiced. Many 

 others use cliaff-hives, and some with 

 success. Such hives are expensive, 

 cumbrous, and in view of the exten- 

 sive losses by those using them, I 

 question their desirability. From the 

 great saving of food consumed by the 

 bees, and the comparative freedom 

 from danger, I feel that cellar-win- 

 tering is far preferable, in this climate, 

 to all other methods. This conclusion 

 is formed only after many years of 

 careful experiment. Other methods 

 may succeed : this with proper pains 

 surely will. 



Ventilation. — If the cellar is all 

 right— surely so — the entrance to the 

 hive may be left wide open in the cel- 

 lar. If it becomes too cold, less ven- 

 tilation is imperative ; if too hot, 

 more may be required ; but we must 

 be sure to keep the temperature right. 

 I feel positive that with the proper 

 temperature we need not fear the 

 presence of pollen or bee-bread in the 

 hive. If the cellar becomes too cold 

 or too hot, in either case the bees be- 

 come disturbed, and then I feel cer- 

 tain, after many experiments, that 

 the bees are safer with no pollen ; 

 yei such a disturbed condition is al- 

 ways dangerous. The fact is we inust 

 be able to control, and must control, the 

 temperature. 



The Cover. — As already stated the 

 cover should be a non-conductor of 

 heat. Cloth with a filling of fine 

 chaff or fine dry sawdust serves well. 

 In winter I prefer to have a factory 

 cloth over the bees and a burlap sack 

 full of dry sawdust still above the 

 cloth. 



METHOD OF PROCEDURE. 



As soon as we have a frost to stop 

 storing honey, I place (i or 8 frames 

 where they are desired for winter. 

 These should be nearly full of honey. 

 Place a short stick above the frames 

 at the centre so the cloth cannot fit 

 close to the frames. This permits 

 the bees to pass over. As soon as the 

 brood is all natched, remove all other 

 frames and pack well above and at 

 the side of the bees. If colonies are 

 to be packed out-doors, do it now. 

 From Nov. 1 to 20, before severe 

 weather, place tlie bees in the cellar, 

 open the hive-entrances, and remove 

 the covers, but do not remove the 

 cloth or burlap sack. 



If the cellar is as described, the 

 bees will remain very quiet and free 

 from diarrhea. If they are in a poor 

 cellar, and so become diarrhetic, it is 

 best to remove them from the cellar for 

 a few hours some warm day when 

 they can have a cleansing flight, and 



