176 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Feb. 



Chautauqua county, that we propose entering our 

 objections to the conclusion arrived at by said 

 Convention. 



If a swarm of bees in this latitude were to con- 

 struct their combs beneath some flat surface, during 

 the warm season and amass abundant stores with- 

 out any side protection to their combs, does any 

 body suppose they could withstand the cold and 

 winds of winter, which often " sweep like a polar 

 tornado over the land ?" Every one would say, they 

 need protection to break the force of the wind and 

 to retain the heat generated by the bees. If some 

 protection then is necessary, as we take it for 

 granted all must admit, we may well inquire how 

 much. We arrived at the conclusion years ago, that 

 to double our stocks in summer and lose half of the 

 whole number in wintering, was " making haste " 

 too slowly and so far as profit was concerned, it ran 

 about thus : 504-50=100. that is 100 per cent profit, 

 certainly a very favorable showing. No other farm 

 (or R. R.) stock can do as well. But riches like 

 bees sometimes take wings and fly away. Our 100 

 stocks have dwindled to 50 by the first of April as 

 the result of wintering on their summer stands. 



Now kind reader we do not propose to give 

 instruction as to wintering bees in Texas or Louisiana 

 for we have had no experience in those latitudes, 

 but Chautauqua county, N. Y., lying north of and 

 joining Warren county, Pa., has no dissimilarity of 

 climate or pasturage and should have no difference 

 in winter management. We have been trying for 

 25 years to so winter our bees as not to lose any con- 

 siderable number at that season or in early spring. 

 We have tried wintering them below the surface of 

 the ground, burying above the surface (clamping) 

 have wintered on their summer stands without pro- 

 tecting the hive, have protected with an abundance 

 of dry straw, have wintered in house cellars and in 

 house built on purpose for wintering. The latter I 

 prefer for several reasons ; clamping, though right 

 in its philosophy is laborious and expensive, and 

 places the bees for months out of sight and reach. 

 My cellar, though a warm and dry one, causes the 

 combs to mould. Protection upon their summer 

 stands is also laborious, involving the use of a large 

 amount of movable material, which is a nuisance in 

 any well kept bee-garden, and yet does not give the 

 requisite protection. My most sanguine expecta- 

 tions have been met for the past eight or ten years, 

 in wintering in a house built for the purpose, not 

 losing more than one stock in a hundred and those 

 from starvation. I am now wintering a few reserve 

 queens in nucleus hives and see no reason why it 

 will not succeed ; I may report the result in the 

 future. The objection of expense need not be 

 urged on those of limited means, or those having 

 but a few stocks to winter. The size of the house 

 should be proportioned to the number of stocks to 

 be wintered therein, but in building, it is well to 

 consult probable future wants : and the young bee- 

 keeper who finds he has but twenty stocks to place 

 in a house constructed for forty, has only to fill 

 the lower part of his structure with empty hives 

 or boxes, thus increasing the size of the air chamber, 

 and giving his colonies the warmest part of the 

 building. 



My own bee-house, constructed about ten years 

 ago, (before the subject of successful wintering was 



as well understood as at present) is a model of cheap- 

 ness, if not of architectural beauty. A brief 

 description of its dimensions and construction may 

 prove of interest to some. Its dimensions are 8x16 

 feet on the ground and six feet high, double boarded, 

 with rough pine lumber, space of four inches 

 between boards filled with earth, also about the same 

 thickness of earth upon the upper floor, the whole 

 covered by a good roof. Holes are left in each gable 

 end for the free circulation of air beneath the roof. 

 The upper ventilator (six inches square) passes 

 through the ceiling, and a few inches above the 

 earth covering, opening under the roof. The earth 

 for filling and covering is taken from the inside of 

 the building, forming a spacious air chamber, no 

 lower floor is needed. A lower ventilator 6x6 

 inches square, below the sills communicates with 

 this air chamber. My reasons for preferring earth 

 filling are these : 



1st. It gives greater solidity to so small a build- 

 ing, and ordinary high winds do not jar it. 



2nd. The earth becomes very dry by being shelt- 

 ered, and in that condition is an excellent absorbent, 

 as well as deodorizer. 



3rd. In case of fire the earth would obstruct, 

 rather than accelerate the flames, which straw, shav- 

 ings, or sawdust would do, and 



4th. It is already on hand and should be removed 

 to form the air chamber. 



For wintering, the hives are arranged along the 

 sides, on scantling well supported by short posts, 

 or otherwise to prevent sagging. In placing the 

 stocks in winter quarters, (which I usually do the 

 first week in November) care should be taken to 

 place the strongest and heaviest stocks at the bottom 

 of the pile, the medium ones next, and the lightest 

 and weakest on the top. The hives are placed one 

 upon another four in height, all provided with ample 

 upward and lower ventilation. The subsequent 

 management consists in maintaining as far as pos- 

 sible a uniform temperature of from 40° to 50° 

 Far. 



When the weather is mild, both ventilators 

 are allowed to remain open. When the temper- 

 ature is at or below 32° the upper ventilator is 

 closed with a cloth, preventing a too rapid escape of 

 the rarified air. In extreme cold weather both ven- 

 tilators are kept closed. This does not entirely 

 prevent circulation of air by escape of the rarified 

 air and the forcing in of a colder and denser col- 

 umn through every tiny crevice in the structure, 

 which from its own gravity settles at once to the 

 bottom of the air chamber below the bees, and rises 

 gradually as its temperature is changed. As soon 

 as the weather becomes mild enough, both ventilators 

 should be opened and allow sufficient circulation to 

 carry off any superabundant moisture that may have 

 accumulated. 



Our wintering house accomodates eighty stocks 

 when placed only along the sides, but we have 

 wintered one hundred and twenty stocks by filling 

 up the center. The more closely the house is filled, 

 the more ventilation is required. 



I use the Langstroth hive only, and should have 

 remarked in place that in preparing my stocks for 

 winter, I remove all unnecessary combs and stores, 

 and contract the dimensions of the hive by the use 

 of division boards. 



