162 



1HE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



tering plants, in some localities very 

 abundant, give us our dark or fall 

 honey. In some parts of Ontario, in- 

 cluding my own locality (Lenox Co.) 

 in a good season there is a continuous 

 yield of honey with very little inter- 

 mission from the last of April until 

 the first of September. The surplus 

 flow begins about the middle of June 

 and ends towards the last of August. 

 On the whole, there are very few 

 places in the world better favored by 

 nature for the production, not only of 

 honey, but grain, animals and men, 

 than the province of Ontario. 



At the last annual meeting of the 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, several very 

 valuable papers were read, followed 

 by interesting and profitable discus- 

 sions. 



The question of Outside vs. Inside 

 Wintering, and the various kinds of 

 packing for double- wall hives and out- 

 side cases were discussed. The major- 

 ity were in favor of wintering in prop- 

 er repositories rather than outside with 

 protection. But there was a strong 

 element against inside wintering, no 

 matter how good the repository. It 

 was claimed that bees wintered inside 

 were much more liable to spring dwin- 

 dle than those wintered outside, prop- 

 erly protected. I am inclined to think 

 that the parties in favor of out-door 

 and against in-door wintering were 

 mostly from the Niagara peninsula 

 and other milder portions of Ontario, 

 while those from the east and north 

 were on the other side. There is some 

 range of climate even in one province 

 or state, and I fancy amongst the ad- 

 vanced bee-keepers of Ontario each 

 one is doing what is best for his local- 

 ity and circumstances in this matter 

 of wintering inside or out, as well as 



various other matters partly subject 

 to environments. Through Ontario, 

 British Columbia and the Northern 

 States of the Union, there are no doubt 

 many districts and localities where 

 outside wintering, properly done, 

 would he good, hetter or best, as the 

 case might be, and many other places 

 where it would be bad, worse or worst. 

 In this, as in so many other things, 

 the intelligent apiarist, instead of fol- 

 lowing rules or theories, must be 

 guided by his own experience and ob- 

 servation. 



I have tried both inside and outside 

 wintering, and can winter bees either 

 way, but my expeiience and study of 

 the situation have convinced me that 

 for this locality , taking one year with 

 another, the inside wintering is both 

 safer and better. When two or three 

 prime conditions of successful winter- 

 ing are secured it matters little where 

 the bees are. The practical question 

 for each individual is, how and where 

 can I best and at least labor and ex- 

 pense attain these conditions ? If in- 

 side, do it. If outside, do it. The 

 prime conditions of successful winter- 

 ing (including the spring i are first, a 

 good queen; second, plenty of whole- 

 some stores; third, the proper temper- 

 ature, and fourth, pure air. The lat- 

 ter is not generally regarded as of 

 much importance, but it is for all that. 

 The bee-keeper who thinks himself 

 and family can get on very well on 

 foul air without ventilation, will he 

 very apt to think the same about his 

 bees, that is, if he thinks anything at 

 all about it. The foul air of unvent- 

 ilated cellars causes sickness in fami- 

 lies as well as ill-health among the 

 bees. While there was a difference of 

 opinion as to inside or outside winter- 



