818 



TMm JtldEmiCSPf WMM JQ^MKMIr. 



they are treated during the time of their 

 activity. 



Preparation for winter should begin when 

 the first notes of our sylvan songsters fall 

 upon the ear, as they return from their 

 temporary stay in the Sunny South — 



"When through the neighboring fields the sower 



With measured tread, and liberal throws the grain 

 Into the faithful bosom of the ground." 



It should continue while the floral world 

 fills the air with its balmy odors, and nectar 

 is being distilled in plenty. It should go on 



"While the mower, sinking, heaps o'er him 

 The humid hay, with tlowers perfumed ;" 



and only cease when on the last mellow 

 autumn day 



" The insects swarm from their dark nooks 

 To sport through one day of existence more." 



It is only then that the bee-keeper's work 

 of preparation should cease, and that of 

 "gathering in one group his pets" be en- 

 tered upon, that in peace and safety they 

 may pass the time when 



"The skv saddens with the gathering clouds, 

 And througii the hushed air the whitening storm 

 deepens." 



If only proper treatment be accorded 

 bees throughout the successive stages of 

 their active life, it is not a matter of vital 

 importance Avhether they spend their sea- 

 son of repose in the cellar, or out-of-doors, 

 provided that they be properly protected. 



Preparation is not my theme, however. 

 My text has been furnished me, and I must 

 stick to it — " Cellar ii.v. Out-Door Winter- 

 ing of Bees." "That's the question." As 

 it stands, I suppose I am expected to put in 

 a strong plea for the cellar, but I am some- 

 "what at a loss to know .iust what " cellar " 

 means in my text. Usually it is an elastic 

 term that may mean anything from a damp 

 and dismal hole in the ground, to a well- 

 built, well-ventilated, and well-appointed 

 apartment. 



If I am to understand "cellar" to mean 

 the underground room of a dwelling-house, 

 well-built and well-ventilated, then it will 

 be a safe enough place in which to winter 

 bees. However safe it may be, if this be 

 the cellar of my text, I must at once de- 

 clare mj-self in favor of the out-door sys- 

 tem, for I am entirely opposed to the use of 

 the house-cellar as a winter storing-place 

 for bees, to anj- great extent. 



I am opposed to it, not on the bees' ac- 

 count, but on sanitary principles. When a 

 cellar is so used, it cannot be other than 

 disagreeable to those that live over it. The 

 exhalations thrown off by the bees, floating 

 up, as it will, and diffusing itself through 

 the atmosphere of the rooms above, must 

 be the reverse of agreeable to people who 

 inhale it. It may be worse than disagree- 

 able — it may be positively injurious to 

 health. I incline to the belief that it is so. 



If there be such a disease as "bee- 

 asthma," and if it is so contracted by in- 

 haling the odors arising from an open hive 

 in the open air, how much more likely is it 

 to manifest itself when its inhalation con- 

 tinues for months at a time. For these rea- 

 sons, I cannot advocate cellar-wintering in 

 the literal sense of the phrase. 



An underground, or jiartially under- 

 ground, structure is, however, in my .I'udg- 

 ment, the best wintering place — best be- 

 cause most convenient and economic, both 

 of which are important considerations. 

 Speaking as I do from years of experience 

 in various plans of wintering bees, carried 

 on simultaneously, I know whereof I affirm. 



During these years I have had two bee- 

 yards — some years three. At home I win- 

 ter my bees in a liee-houso. At the out- 

 apiaries I liack them on the summer stands, 

 or in clamps, and my experience convinces 

 uie thnt the in-door pinn has the advantage 



of the out-door one, in these two important 

 matters — convenience and economy. 



The convenience consists in the ease and 

 rapidity with which the hives may be put 

 in and taken out ; the economy consists in 

 conserving heat and saving honey. 



I shall not enter into the consideration of 

 which is the safer, for I believe safety may 

 be insured by either plan ; but content my- 

 self with showing that convenience and 

 economy both range themselves on the side 

 of indoor wintering. 



Admitting one has on hand the cases and 

 clamps of former years, the work of pack- 

 ing for winter outside is still a labor of 

 some magnitude. The cases must be placed 

 in position, the hives moved into them, 

 sawdust or other suitable material pro- 

 cured; and the packing done. All this con- 

 sumes time, and recurs with every return- 

 ing winter. Compare this work with the 

 simple labor of transferring from the yard 

 to the bee-house, and it is a mere bagatelle. 



The economy of the indoor, as compared 

 with the out-door method, must be ap- 

 parent to ever}* one who has given the mat- 

 ter any thought at all. In the former, the 

 heat generated by the bees when together, 

 may be employed in maintaining a uniform 

 and suitable temperature, resulting in a 

 continued state of quiescence and comfort, 

 which state reduces the consumption of 

 stores to a minimum. 



My own experience goes to show that 

 one-half the amount of honey per hive will 

 serve to winter in the house, required to 

 bring them through outside. This saving 

 is of great importance to the bee-keeper in 

 more respects than one. It often enables 

 him to winter his bees without fall feeding, 

 when otherwise it would be necessary for 

 him to do so. If the stores be ample, it is 

 no less advantageous, for it saves honey, 

 which means money. 



Let us take, for example, a bee-keeper 

 who has 200 colonies. Five months will 

 be the average time of confinement in win- 

 ter quarters. Say it requires l^.j pounds 

 per colony per month inside, and 3 poimds 

 outside: there will be a saving of nearly 8 

 pounds of honey per colony in favor of the 

 bee-house, or 1,600 pounds for 200 colo- 

 nies; 1,600 pounds at 9 cents per pound, is 

 Uii. 



But it may be urged that the extra cost 

 of the building will more than coimterbal- 

 ance the saviug in honey. This I am not 

 prepared to admit. Three hundred dollars, 

 at most, will serve to construct a bee- 

 house, where labor and lumber are not ex- 

 cessivel}^ high. The expenditure once 

 incm'red, no further outlay will be neces- 

 sary for a lifetime ; while the building may 

 be made to serve the purpose of a first-class 

 extracting room, or a store-house in sum- 

 mer. 



On the other hand, no satisfactory plan 

 of outdoor wintering can be adopted with- 

 out considerable outlay in labor and money. 

 If the single-clam]) plan be practiced (and I 

 hold this to be the best plan of out-door 

 wintering), it will require 50 feet of lumber, 

 at least, for each outer case, or 10,000 feet 

 for 300 colonies. This, at S9.00 per thous- 

 and feet, represents $90.00 ; for labor and 

 nails, say 15 cents per colony, !?30.00 ; saw- 

 dust or other packing material, 5 cents 

 each, *;10.00— or A130.00 in all. This will 

 cover half the cost of a permanent struct- 

 ure, in every way preferable. To this we 

 must add twice the consiunption of honey 

 annually. 



It is easy, therefore, to determine which 

 plan in the long run is most economical, to 

 the man who keeps from 100 to 200 colo- 

 nies ; and it is to such that my remarks 

 more immediately apply. 



Bee-keepers having a less working-force, 

 should regulate their practice l)y the cir- 

 cumstances in which they find themselves. 

 R. McKnichit. 



The following discussion of Mr. Mc- 

 Knight's essa}' then took place : 



Prof. Cook — Have j'ou found cellar- 

 wintering of bees equally safe with 

 out-door wintering? 



Mr. McKnight — So far as my expe- 

 rience has gone, the greater safety has 

 been with the in-door plan. 



Dr. A. E. Harvey — If the dead bees 

 are kept properly cleaned up, and the 

 cellar ventilated, there will be no 

 danger to health, by having bees under 

 the living-rooms. 



J. Sturgeon had 200 colonies, and 

 out-door wintering had been the most 

 successful with him. Locality, the 

 hive, and food, made all the difference 

 in wintering, in his opinion. He used 

 chaff hives, and had high board wind- 

 breaks. Late disturbance is an injur}'. 

 Possibly he did not understand the 

 plan of in-door wintering. 



R. L. Taylor — At what temperature 

 did you keep the cellar ? 



J. Sturgeon — 40- to 45°, as nearly as 

 possible. 



R. L. Taylor— Well, how near ? 



J. Sturgeon — Well, within 10° to 15-. 



Rev. W. F. Clarke preferred out-door 

 \viutering. but wished to have the hives 

 raised a foot from the earth. Whether 

 in-doors or out-doors, hibernation is 

 what is needed. 



R. L. Taylor — How are we to make 

 theni hibernate ? 



W. F. Clarke — It is mainly a matter 

 of temperature, but not wholly. We 

 cannot always induce this condition. 



Geo. H. Ashby — One trouble is, that 

 e.vperiments are not decisive. One 

 man puts all his bees into the cellar ; 

 another leaves them all out. Part of 

 mine are left out, and part put into the 

 cellar. Those iu-doors consumed 9J 

 pounds per colony, in 5 months ; those 

 out-doors consumed 13 pounds. Those 

 wintered in the cellar swarmed earlier, 

 and stored the most surplus. The 

 trouble with cellar-wintering is, that 

 the bees are put out too early in the 

 spring. Hives last longer when they 

 are in the cellar during the winter. 



S. Cornell — In weighing colonies, 

 did you take into considei'ation the 

 weight of the brood ? 



Geo. H. Asliby — There is so little 

 brood, that it is of no account. 



S. Corueil— The object of putting 

 bees into a cellar, is to aid them in 

 keeping up the proper temperature in- 

 side the hive. If they are properly 

 protected, the out-door plan is equallj* 

 as good. 



E. R. Root^ — In our locality (Medina, 

 Ohio), the consumption of stores is 

 about 13 to 15 ))ounds per colony in 

 out-door wintering. We have wintered 

 but few bees in the cellar, but we have 

 put in about 40 colonies this winter, 

 and were surprised to see with how 

 little labor the}' were put into the cellar. 



