414 BOARD OF AGRICULTUllE. [Pub. Doc. 



hives. Still further in the direction of simphcity, Mr. 

 Artliur C. Miller of Providence, R. I., has worked out the 

 plan of wrapping the hives in four or five thicknesses of 

 paper, covering top, sides and ends. Tarred roofing paper 

 for the outside layer is preferred, because waterproof and 

 black, the color serving to alxsorb heat. Mr. Miller has 

 found that bees may be Avintered safely in any single-walled 

 hive, even a quarter inch in thickness, with this simple pro- 

 tection. The paper is held in place by strips tacked around 

 the bottom. 



Cellar- wintering is another method, little practised in 

 Massachusetts, yet of great value in Canada or the Avest. 

 After being in some disrepute for several years, it is now 

 cominof to the front again as a successful method for cold 

 and exposed locations. A dark, dry cellar, with good ven- 

 tilation, in which the temperature can be kept at about 

 45° F., is suitable for the purpose. The hives, with the 

 bottom board removed for ventilation, are set on timbers. 

 They are put in after settled cold weather begins in the fall, 

 and arc not brought out until spring is Avell arrived, many 

 leaving the bees in winter quarters until the first of May. 



The Bee Moth or "Wax Worm." 

 Probably the greatest of all losses to bee keepers in the 

 past have been caused by this insect. It is said to have 

 been chiefly responsible for the decline in bee keeping 

 during the past centur3^ In the earlier days of the indus- 

 try in America farmers kept their colonies in any receptacle, 

 regardless of uniformity. Sometimes bees were hived in 

 straw skeps, as was the old custom in Europe ; more fre- 

 quently they were kept in old boxes of odd dimensions, or 

 even in barrels or kegs. Again, if a swarm was found wild 

 in the woods, the tree was sawed off above and below the 

 colony, and this section was then taken home and set up 

 among the boxes and barrels. Such an apiary certainly 

 could not present the neat appearance of the modern uni- 

 form hives. When honey was taken, the whole colony had 

 to be sacrificed, usually being " brimstoned." In such 

 hives, if the wax worm gained entrance, the colony was 



