380 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



already alluded to, we treated the subject more or less fully. But here 

 we would add a few observations made since then, which may help to 

 enlighten some one on this puzzling subject. 



That our winters are severe there is no doubt; but they are no worse 

 than those of New York State, of Vermont, or of Canada, where such 

 extensive bee keeping is done. 



In visiting bee yards and talking with bee keepers, particularly the 

 past spring, after the severe winter of 1906 and 1907, I noticed that the 

 careful and painstaking man brought his bees through all right, whether 

 he wintered in the cellar or on the summer stands. It is the merit of 

 cellar wintering which so favorably impressed me, however. 



Particular success was observed at the yard of Dr. William P. 

 Brooks and Dr. James B. Paige at Amherst. We saw the bees there in 

 April, about a week after they were brought out from the cellar. With- 

 out exception, they were the finest stocks which we have ever seen at 

 this season in Massachusetts. They had not appreciably decreased in 

 numbers during the winter, they were clean, healthy, had large amounts 

 of stores left, and, best of all, had patches of sealed brood on several 

 frames. Moreover, when seen again in the middle of May it was 

 evident, without exception, that they had not "spring-dwindled," as so 

 many of the bees did last spring, but that they had maintained their 

 strength, many of them occupying two ten-frame hive bodies. This 

 shows, too, that they had not been over-stimulated. 



Likewise, Mr. H. F. Cary of Lyonsville, who wintered a hundred 

 colonies in his cellar, told us that most assuredly he could not have 

 carried through the number he did had he wintered out of doors. 



We can not afford the space here to discuss adequately the features 

 of wintering out of doors or in the cellar, but we will briefly list the 

 essentials for success. 



First, about 40 pounds of stored honey are necessary to winter a large 

 colony, especially out of doors. 



Second, the colony should be populous, with plenty of young bees. 



Out-door wintering necessitates a protection of paper or other 

 wrapping, as described in our paper above mentioned. 



Cellar wintering, while expensive in the first cost, is a saving in the 

 end. The bee cellar should be dry, capable of easy ventilation and 

 complete darkening. Ventilation will allow the cooling off or the 

 warming up of the cellar at will ; the dark will prevent the bees from 

 flying about the room. It is advisable, in order to insure dryness, to 

 have the cellar bottom cemented. 



Temperature is a vital factor. The cellar should be furnished with a 

 thermometer. For the best results, the temperature should be main- 

 tained at from 35° to 45° F. all winter. In the spring, as the bees 

 begin to breed, it is safe to allow it to go as high as 48°. Over this 

 is likely to make the bees uneasy. 



As soon as the weather becomes settled, and the bees have begun to 



