THE AMERICAN APIOULTURIST. 



57 



doors?" " I try it both ways, so as to 

 hit it somewhere. Some of those out- 

 of-doors I ventilate at the bottom and 

 some at the top, and I ventilate my 

 cellar in the same manner, as fancy 

 dictates." " Have you ever met with 

 any severe losses in wintering?" "I 

 believe the lowest my apiary was ever 

 depleted by wintering, was from sixty 

 to one." " You don't say?" Yes, well, 

 do you attribute these disasters mi 

 wintering to bacteria, pollen, or lice? 

 and with an answer bom of despair, 

 said, I cannot say. 



The satellites of this planet gener- 

 .lUy shed their soft mellowed rays 

 about us immediately at the close of a 

 mild winter, but at other times are in 

 partial or total eclipse. But this class 

 of apiarists present a hopeful future 

 in their varied experiment, and a visit 

 to them is much more satisfactory, 

 than a visit to a " tixed star," when 

 egotism confronts you at every turn. 

 He winters or attempts to winter in 

 the old box on the summer stand, with- 

 out protection, and asserts that it is 

 the only safe method. He never reads 

 or experiments and believes nothing 

 you tell him. You leave in disgust, 

 thankful that all men are not con- 

 stituted alike. 



Then we turn our longing wishful 

 gaze upon the stately, august, preten- 

 tious, star of the first magnitude, as it 

 swings through space. He has the 

 best of everything, of course, but not 

 being capable of wintering his bees 

 successfully in this latitude, he em- 

 ploys some colored gentleman to win- 

 terthem for him, down in Florida. 



This is what we call high toned 

 wintering. Then there are the comets 

 of apiculture, that remind us of ap- 

 proaching dissolution, that is, the dis- 

 solution of long established facts, as 

 they discourse to us about the advan- 

 tages of fertilization in confinement, 

 or attempt to refute the universally 

 accepted phenomenon of parthenogen- 

 esis by queen bees. They don't winter 

 any bees, as some one generally gives 

 them one to experiment with in the 

 spring. Thus far our visit to these 

 celestials has been unrewarded. 



We will make our next visit to the 

 distant unknown nebula, that is shed- 

 ding its pale lustre upon us from year 

 to year, almost unnoticed. 



Here we rind a tiny star speck that 

 is the unconscious centre of a great 

 system. Quiet, unpretentious, little 

 known outside the circle of his few 

 appreciating friends, he never wearies 

 you with long columns of theory in 



6 



print, but can give you a sensible log- 

 ical answer to questions asked. The 

 amounts of his immense honey crops 

 are never published as an inducement 

 to lure the inexpei'ienced to embark in 

 the business, for he neither edits a bee 

 journal, or has bees or supplies to 

 sell. He invariably winters his bees, 

 and does not think it necessaiy to try 

 every plan he ever heard of, so to be 

 sure and hit it somewhere. 



It is not a pleasant task for one to 

 submit their vievvs to pass in judg- 

 ment before such an array of talent 

 and experience, as we have before us 

 to-day, and with your permission I in- 

 troduce to you the gentleman of the 

 nebula who will talk with you a few 

 moments upon the subject under con- 

 sideration. He says : 



" I have lost but few bees in winter- 

 ing. I have wintered on the summer 

 stands and in the cellar with equal suc- 

 cess, and had I a convenient, suitable 

 cellar near my apiary I should prefer 

 that mode of wintering; but in the 

 spring they should be transferred from 

 the cellar to a chafl-packed hive on 

 their summer stand, being careful to 

 return them to the stand from which 

 they were taken in the fall. Which- 

 ever way they are wintered they 

 should never be disturbed from their 

 repose unless actual- necessity de- 

 mands. 



The advantages of packed hives are 

 as obvious in fall as in spring, and the 

 bees should be securely protected from 

 the first hard frosts in fall, when they 

 are numerous and many are apt to be 

 left outside the contracting cluster. 

 They should be transferred to the cel- 

 lar as quietly as possible, which can be 

 best done with the mercury a little be- 

 low the freezing point. 



The cellar should be kept perfectly 

 dark, with an atmosphere dry enough 

 to prevent the condensation of vapor- 

 ous exhalations. Proper ventilation, 

 and a temperature of from forty-five to 

 fifty degrees Fahrenheit, are necessary 

 to secure this condition of the atmos- 

 phere. This will vary in diflerent cel- 

 lars, as some are very damp, and some 

 dry, but I am of the opinion that a 

 cellar may be made too dry. Avoid 

 any direct draught of air among the 

 bees, as that will cause them to be rest- 

 less, but a ventilating pipe from the 

 top of the cellar, of sufficient size and 

 length to remove the noxious gases 

 is a wise provision. The necessary 

 temperature may be maintained by the 

 use of a fire in a compartment of the 

 cellar, enough remote from the bees 



