512 



would you not suffer extreme cold ? But 

 one says : " I ventilate my hives." All 

 right, ventilate the box in which you are put 

 to sleep, and how much colder do you get. 

 This is the condition ot bees in single wall 

 hives on summer stands. In the cellar the 

 case is somewhat different ; but the air is 

 damp and gaseous with the seeds ot dis- 

 ease lurking in every corner. 



Now change the scene, and imagine your- 

 self closely surrounded on a cold night with 

 some dry porous substance full of dead air 

 spaces, that would allow moisture to escape 

 insensibly and retain the warmth generated, 

 and see how comfortable. This is why we 

 use the proper kind of covering for our beds 

 in winter, and can we not apply this same 

 principle to our bees ? Bees live on liquid 

 food and consequently they throw off con- 

 siderable moisture, both from the food and 

 air which they breathe. We must get rid of 

 this moisture and retain the warmth they 

 generate. Direct upward ventilation will 

 not do this, as the warmth escapes with the 

 moisture, and without upward ventilation 

 the moisture will condense and form ice, 

 hence we must use a porous covering so as 

 not to conduct the heat. 



The following conditions are absolutely 

 necessary for successful winter and spring 

 management : 1. Abundance of bees ; 2. 

 A good queen ; 3. Plenty of good sealed 

 honey ; 4. A frame of the proper size and 

 shape ; 5. Proper number of combs ; t>. 

 Passage-ways for the bees to pass from one 

 side of brood-chamber to the other ; 7. Pro- 

 tection for bees so as to keep dry and warm, 

 and not feel sudden changes of temperature. 



A goodly number of bees are necessary to 

 produce the requisite warmth. A small 

 colony cannot generate enough warmth in 

 the hive during a cold spell in winter, and 

 will suffer with the best protection. A good, 

 vigorous queen, capable of laying at a maxi- 

 mum rate is needed to keep up the desired 

 strength of the colony and for vigorous 

 spring-breeding. From 30 to 40 pounds of 

 honey should be in the combs above and 

 rear-ward of the cluster the first of October; 

 less would do to winter, but spring breeding 

 would certainlv be retarded. If bees have 

 an abundance of sealed honey during spring, 

 breeding goes on apace, whether the 

 weather is favorable for honey gathering or 

 not. A colony having only enough to barely 

 winter, has but little brood when the 

 weather opens in spring. 



The size and shape of frame has much to 

 do with successful wintering. A square 

 comb will not do well as the honey is too 

 much scattered, unless the frame is small 

 like the " American," and then we must use 

 too many combs. A comb twice as high as 

 long is good for winter, but will not do for 

 surplus. If we use more combs than the 

 bees can cover at the end they cluster and 

 the chances are that the colony will suffer 

 considerably and in many cases starve. 



Bees must have protection from sudden 

 changes of temperature and be well guarded 

 against cold and the collection of moisture 

 within the hive. If this is done, bees will 

 be comfortable and will not fly out until the 

 air is sufficiently warm for them to return, 

 and we can bid adieu to dysentery and 

 "spring dwindling." 



My system of winter management is very 

 simple and easy. As much depends upon 

 the domicile in which our pets are kept, I 

 will first give a brief description of the 

 hive I use. This consists of a hive or brood- 

 chamber formed from the brood-frames and 

 two side boards to which surplus receptacles 

 can be added at pleasure and an outer case 

 or house. Near the front end of the floor 

 or stand is nailed crosswise a board 9 inches 

 high and 18 inches long, for the frames to 

 rest upon at the front end. Under the lower 

 edge of this board is the entrance for the 

 bees. The portico is attached to the front 

 side of this supporting board. The house 

 rests upon the stand ; the rear end of the 

 brood-frames rest on the floor. The ends of 

 my frames are close fitting ; top and bottom 

 open. In winter the brood-frames are in 

 the center of the floor, having a space of 

 four inches between the sides and ends of 

 frames and walls of house or case. The 

 size of brood-frames 13x19 inches outside, 

 giving me a comb 18 inches from front to 

 rear, and about 10% inches from top to bot- 

 tom. By using this size frame, the bees 

 have the sealed honey always above and 

 rearward of the cluster— the warmest parts 

 of the hive. As the honey in the fore part 

 of the combs is eaten, the cluster gradually 

 moves back. Bees cannot move from one 

 side of the brood-chamber to the other on 

 to new combs, in cold weather ; they in- 

 variably chill. In this way many colonies 

 are lost in hives using 8 or 9 frames. In 

 each comb passage-holes are cut about four 

 inches beiowthe top-bar. If the combs are 

 well tilled with sealed honey, six frames are 

 enough— I never use more than seven ; for 

 medium colonies five frames are ample, if 

 well filled. In this way the bees never 

 change and vacate combs. Across top-bars 

 I lay three or four strips of wood % inch 

 square, to prevent the quilt from resting flat 

 on the frames. This leaves a passage-way 

 across the top of frames. Over the whole a 

 woolen quilt is spread somewhat larger than 

 the top of the brood-chamber, and extends 

 down at sides and ends ; this attracts mois- 

 ture by capillary attraction. The space of 

 four inches between the brood-chamber and 

 sides of the house is then filled with wheat 

 chaff or fine cut straw, and 7 inches of chaff 

 put on top of quilt, well pressed down. 

 This completely absorbs the moisture and 

 retains the heat. 



The entrance to the brood-chamber is 

 contracted to about one-half inch in width, 

 and the portico nearly closed with the large 

 portico slides, the entrances not matching, 

 one being at the right side of portico and 

 the other at the left, thus preventing cold or 

 snow from entering direct. 



With this system I have now wintered 

 six successive seasons and have not lost a 

 colony either in winter or by "spring 

 dwindling." 11. II. Flick. 



Lavansville, Somerset Co., Pa. 



The above essay was followed by the 

 Secretary reading the following paper 

 from Prof. J. Wilkinson, Baltimore : 



*u It- Karl h Ventilation for Wintering. 



At the suggestion of several bee-keepers to whom 

 I mentioned my views of the essential characteris- 

 tics of a Bee-Wintering House, and explained how 



