THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



305 



than our "standard" size which is 

 eight and one-half inches deep. 



1 hope the perusal of these notes 

 will aifoid some pleasure to the 

 readers of the Api as writing them 

 has to one who is known among 

 British beekeepers as 



Amateur Expert. 



For the American Apiculturist. 



HOW I WINTERED MY 

 BEES. 



Z. T. Hawk. 



Previous to the winter of 1886-7 

 I wintered ray bees very success- 

 fully by packing on the summer 

 stands. Each colony was left with 

 a plentiful supply of golden-rod 

 honey and was prepared for winter 

 by placing an arrangement some- 

 thing like a " Hill's device" on top 

 of the frames and then covering 

 snugly witli a quilt. Some of my 

 colonies will tiiis winter be tried 

 with an inverted wooden butter 

 dish on top of the frames and a 

 quilt over tiiat. 



The packing was done as fol- 

 lows : A dry-goods box was stood 

 on end and three or four inches of 

 chaff were sprinkled in. The hive 

 was then set back in the box and a 

 bridge placed over the hive en- 

 trance. Tins bridge was full widtli 

 of the entrance, two inches high 

 and long enough to reach from the 

 hive to an inch beyond the edge of 

 the packing box. A board was 

 then fastened across the front of 

 the box and rested firmly on top of 

 the bridge so as to hold the latter 

 in position. Chaff was then filled 

 tightly in on all sides of the hive 

 and other boards added until the 

 whole box was firmly closed up so 

 that no snow could enter. Before 

 putting all the chaff in, however, I 

 was careful to see that the quilt 



was tucked in tightly all around and 

 that a thin chip was placed under 

 the edge of the cap or upper story. 

 I ■ tried some colonies without the 

 cap but they did not seem to do so 

 well. Others were tried with the 

 cap fitted down tight, but moisture 

 gathered in them and the quilts 

 got wet. An inch auger hole in 

 each end of the cap covered with 

 wire cloth would do as well as the 

 chip, but the latter was more con- 

 venient. I wintered from five to 

 twenty colonies this way for four 

 winters and lost onl}' three. The 

 rats got under two of those colo- 

 onies and by their digging and 

 thumping so anno3'ed the bees that 

 they scattered over the combs and 

 froze to death ; the third colony 

 was lost b}^ iTiy carelessly leav- 

 ing the snow banked over it two or 

 three weeks. Just here I want to 

 say that whenever 1 have left snow 

 drifted over my bees more than 

 two or three da3's they have be- 

 come uneasy and immediately 

 showed signs of dysentery. 



If you have a small ajiiary and 

 plenty' of time the plan I have de- 

 tailed for wintering is, I believe, 

 as safe as a cellar. The greatest 

 objection is the cost of boxes ; but 

 if the hives were close together in 

 the summer one can economize 

 some by laying a long box on its 

 side and packing two colonies in 

 it ; and by exercising a little care 

 the boxes may be made to do duty 

 several winters. 



Last year, having but little time 

 to devote to my bees, I concluded 

 to try my luck at cellar wintering. 

 Having no cellar suitable for the 

 purpose one had to be constructed. 

 Various matters delayed me and 

 the work was not commenced until 

 the Friday after Thanksgiving. 

 Meanwhile a heavy snow had fallen 

 and my bees had passed through 

 their first experience of the winter 

 buried four feet in the snow with 

 not even the quilts on the frames. 



