find the air is thereby kept pure. Aiiotlier 

 tube, ot like size, enters tlie cellar just 

 under the house tioor, from the woodshed. — 

 This is used in lowering the temperature 

 of the cellar, when too liis'h. By these 

 means, 1 can keep the temperature nearly 

 to suit the bees. 



Last winter they became uneasy when 

 tlie murcury went above 42% but this win- 

 ter they are perfectly quiet with it at 46= to 

 50\ I also found that moisture s^thered on 

 the inside of the hive, unless the honey- 

 board was raised so hit^h as to be disa<iree- 

 able to them; and I substituted quilts, 

 ]nade of cotton cloth and battin?. One 

 pound of cotton batting to each qiiilt; and 

 hud that these quilts allow the moisture to 

 escape, and at the same time prevents any 

 draft tlirouKh the hive. 



I got the quilt idea from A. I. Root, who, 

 although inclined to give too much promi- 

 nence and space to a new thing, yet, has 

 given me more useful liints and practical 

 aid than any other one, during the last few 

 years. 



In one of my cellars I am using quilts 

 made of chaff, instead of cotton hatting. 



In my experimenting, thus far, 1 have 

 been unable to winter witliout the loss of 

 some bees from every hive; and I am a 

 little skeptical when reading accounts of 

 colonies wintering without losing but from 

 " 10 to .50 bees each." 1 wonder if it is not 

 impossible to winter without some bees 

 dying? Surely, there must be some old 

 veterans, who Avould have been worn out 

 liad the honey season lasted but a few days 

 longer. And, can they linger along for 5 "or 

 6 months, and is it any advantage if they 

 should? 



I am wintering .5 hives in chaff, packed 

 6 inches thick on all sides, top and bottom. 

 Can see no advantage over the cellar, as yet. 

 My preference, at present, is a dry cellar, 

 with water-lime bottom, ventilated so as to 

 secure frequent change of air. quilts over 

 frames to allow the escape of moisture. 



The cellar must be kept jyerfectly dark, 

 with the temperature at as near .50= fahr. as 

 possible, and above that rather than below. 

 I place white stick candy over frames of 

 any colonies that I suspect are, or may 

 become short of stores-. Am using some 

 candy this winter, made of one-sixth flour. 

 3 or 3 sticks, (pine is good), 6 or 8 inches 

 long and 1 inch square should be laid over 

 the frames, and under the cushions, to 

 enable the bees to pass over the frames to 

 the honey in outside frames; or in lieu of 

 the sticks, holes should be made through 

 the combs, near the center. I am inclined 

 to iirefer the entrances nearly closed, say 

 about as is desirable in late fall and early 

 spring. If the cellar is made in an occupied 

 building, the frame work supporting the 

 hives should not connect with the joints, as 

 the constant jarring is to be avoided. 



If a large number of colonies are being 

 wintered in a cellar, it is well to remove the 

 dead bees from the cellar bottom every 

 week or two, to avoid the bad air caused by 

 them. It is also advisable to take advan- 

 tage of any warm weather in January or 

 February, and set them on their summer 

 stands and give them a good fly, and then 

 return them to the cellar. This is said 

 by some to be a severe task; two men 

 will place 100 colonies on their stands and 

 return them to the cellar, in a day. An 

 expense of, say, 3 cents per liive. 



I have given, in brief, an account of my 

 method of wintering. There is nothing in 

 it that will benefit most of yon, but perhaps 

 some beginners may glean therefrom some 

 benefit; if so, [ shall be well paid for the 

 little time used. . A. B. Cheney. 



Sparta, Mich., Dec. 13, 1877. 



Creating a Demand for Honey. 



KEAD BEFORE THE MICH. CONVENTIOX. 



It has been wellsald that " he, who causes 

 two blades of grass to grow where only one 

 grew before, is a benefactor to his k'ind;" 

 and equally true is it that he who causes 2 

 lbs. of honey to be consumed, where only 1 

 lb. was consumed before, '"is a benefactor" 

 to his fellow bee-keepers. The question of 

 " supply and demand " is one of very much 

 importance to all producers, and every man 

 of business will do well to give this ques- 

 tion careful study before embarking in any 

 business enterprise. In most pursuits, 

 success may be expected with much more 

 certainty, if it is positive that there is a 

 demand for the thing produced. 



There are three general points that every 

 producer should be familliar with, that he 

 may make his business a success. They are: 



1. That he should know how to produce, 

 not only a good article, but the very best in 

 hisJine. 



2. In the absence of a demand, be should 

 know how to create it; and where the 

 demand already exists, lie should know 

 how to increase it. 



3. lie should always be ready to satisfy 

 the demand. 



On the first point it is unnecessary to 

 dwell, since nearly every bee-keeper has 

 become awakened to the fact that if he 

 keeps bees at all, he must take pains to 

 post himself concerning tiie matter of pro- 

 ducing a tirst-class article of honey. 



Very many, (though not all), have learned 

 that if they would find sale for their honey, 

 it must be made in small and neat pack- 

 ages, convenient, both for the retailer and 

 the consumer. 



Tlie particular .shape in which the honey 

 should be stored, must be determined 

 largely by the requirements of the market 

 for which it is intended. Some very good 

 suggestions on this point may be obtained 

 from the report of the National Bee-keepei-s' 

 Convention, held in October of this year; 

 and no bee-keeper sliould fail to read this, 

 if he has notali-eady done so. 



After a quality of honey is produced, 

 which is both fascinating to the eye and 

 pleasing to the taste, the next thing to look 

 to is the market; and I believe this to be the 

 point that most deserves our careful atten- 

 tion, for in no direction are bee-keepers so 

 likely to make mistakes. 



The question " how can we best dispose 

 of our honey" should be constantly before 

 our minds. 1. I answer, we should look 

 near home; we should not fail to let our 

 neighbors know what a fine quality of 

 honey we are producing. Any one who 

 has not tried this plan will be surprised on 

 glancing over his books, at the end of the 

 year, to see how much has been disposed of 

 in his own neighborhood, without time or 

 labor in transporting. Besides, there is no 

 way in which public confidence can be 



