276 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



protection during months of extreme 

 cold. 



Hollow walls, with no packing-, have 

 had their advocates; and it has been 

 asked if these dead (?) air spaces were 

 not equally as good non-conductors of 

 heat as those filled with chaff. They 

 are not. In the first place the air is 

 not "dead;" it is constantly moving. 

 The air next the inside wall becomes 

 warm and rises; that next the outer 

 wall cools and settles; thus there is a 

 constant circulation that robs the inner 

 wall of its heat. 



If chafP hives are not used, how shall 

 the packing be kept in place ? I know 

 of nothing better than boxes made of 

 cheap lumber. If there is lack of room 

 for storing them in summer, they can 

 be made so as to be easily "knocked 

 down," and stacked up when not in 

 use. Of course, bees can be packed 

 more cheaply by setting the hives in 

 long rows, building a long box about 

 them, and filling it with the material 

 used for packing. With this method 

 the packing ought to be postponed 

 until it is so late that the bees are not 

 likely to fly again until they have for- 

 gotten their old locations; else some of 

 the bees will be lost, or some of the 

 colonies get more than their share of 

 bees. When they have a "cleansing 

 flight" in winter, there is also a likeli- 

 hood of some bees returning to the 

 wrong hive. Then when the bees are 

 unpacked in the spring, there is more 

 confusion and mixing; but I don't look 

 upon this as so very serious a matter. 

 At this time of the year, other things 

 being equal, a bee is worth just about 

 as much in one hive as in another. If 

 there is any difference in the strength 

 of colonies, the weaker ones might be 

 left nearest to where the bees were 

 unpacked. 



Speaking of being compelled to wait 

 about packing the bees until they were 

 not likely to fly again until some time 

 in the winter, reminds me that advan- 

 tages have been claimed for early pack- 



ing; that the bees in single-wall hives 

 only wear themselves out with frequent 

 flights that are to no purpose, while 

 those that are packed are not called 

 out b3' every passing ray of sunshine; 

 that the early-packed bees sooner get 

 themselves settled down for the winter's 

 nap, and are in better condition for 

 winter when it comes. It is possible 

 that there is sonneting in this, but there 

 were two or three 3'ears in which I 

 tried packing a colony or two as early 

 as the first of September; and I con- 

 tinued to pack a colony every two or 

 three days until the fore part of No- 

 vember, and I was unable to discern 

 any advantage in ver3' early packing. 

 If the bees are protected before freezing 

 weather comes, I believe that is 

 enough. 



There is one other point that ought 

 not to be neglected in preparing the 

 bees for winter, whether in-doors or 

 out, and that is the leaving of a space 

 below the combs. When wintered out 

 of doors there ought to be a rim two 

 inches high placed under each hive. 

 This not only allovvs the dead bees to 

 drop away from the combs to a place 

 where they will dry up instead of 

 moulding between the combs, but if 

 there is an entrance cut in the upper 

 edge of the rim, there will be no possi- 

 bility of its becoming clogged. This 

 empty space under the combs saems to 

 have a wonderful influence in bringing 

 the bees through in tine condition, and 

 I am not certain ivhy. 



Weak colonies can seldom be win- 

 tered successfully out of doors. They 

 cannot generate sufficient heat. In 

 the cellar, where the temperature sel- 

 dom goes below 40 degrees, quite weak 

 colonies can be successfully wintered. 



As I understand it, this whole matter 

 of out-door wintering of bees might be 

 summed up in a few words: Populous 

 colonies; plenty of good food; and 

 thorough protection. Simple, isn't it ? 

 Yet there is a world of meaning 

 wrapped up in those few words. 



