AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



243 



that wherever out-door wintering can 

 be made successful, it is the preferable 

 method. Furthermore, I believe that 

 there are but few localities where bees 

 may not be wintered successfully out-of- 

 doors by using proper methods. 



After experimenting with several dif- 

 ferent cellars for a number of years, 

 some of which wintered the bees as well 

 as I should ever expect any cellar to do, 

 I have come to the conclusion that, for 

 me at least, it is much more profitable 

 to winter bees out-of-doors. In forming 

 this opinion, I have taken into consid- 

 eration all the factors that may arise 

 during the whole year, that bear on the 

 problem. Too many limit their consid- 

 eration of the subject to the time the 

 bees are in the cellar. 



The essential requisites for successful 

 wintering, beyond a sufficient number of 

 bees and a sufficient quantity of food of 

 good quality, are that they should be as 

 well protected from the cold as possible, 

 and at the same time leave them ready 

 to fly whenever the weather will permit. 

 It is common to attempt to fill these con- 

 ditions by removing a part of the frames 

 on each side of the hive, and fill in the 

 space left with chaff-packed " dummies," 

 filling the upper story with chaff cush- 

 ions or other packing material. 



This inside packing is good as far as 

 it goes, but in the ordinary single- 

 walled hive it does not go very far, and 

 is a very incomplete protection. Good 

 two-story chaff-hives give much better 

 results — almost as good, in fact, as those 

 obtained by outside packing. But such 

 hives are very much more expensive to 

 make, and so much more inconvenient 

 to handle, that the practical bee-keeper 

 in these days cannot afford to burden 

 himself with them. A defect in such 

 methods of protection is, that the pack- 

 ing material cannot be made to form an 

 unbroken protecting envelope around 

 sides and top, as is the case when hives 

 are properly packed on the outside. 



As I go about the country, I frequently 

 see bee-hives that the owner has tried 

 to protect by piling corn-fodder, straw 

 or litter about and over them, leaving 

 the fronts exposed. While this may be 

 of considerable value in keeping the 

 wind from striking the hives, it does not 

 afford as complete a protection from 

 cold as is desirable. The covering be- 

 comes wet, and is apt to prove a verit- 

 able " wet blanket " to the prosperity 

 of the colony. Besides, this continual 

 dampness is very hard on the hives. 

 Quite an important item in favor of com- 

 plete protection is that the hives, being 

 completely protected from the weather. 



will last much longer, and especially 

 will not need painting nearly as often. 

 The outer cases, being made of cheaper 

 material, will probably add enough to 

 the durability of the hive to pay for 

 their cost. 



An error that many beginners fall 

 into is to attempt a method of wintering 

 that I will describe by quoting from the 

 letter of inquiry lately received. It Is 

 as follows : 



"I have this winter taken my hives 

 into an open chamber over a summer 

 kitchen, which is very cold, of course. I 

 set the hives close together, all facing 

 one way, and put around the sides and 

 back a good supply of newspapers, then 

 covered over with thick quilts, and also 

 around the sides, back and front, but 

 not tight .enough in front but what 

 plenty of air can get to them. Now, do 

 you think they will winter this way ? or 

 should I remove this and fix as you have 

 stated in the Bee Jouknal ?" 



This man was evidently anxious to 

 prepare his bees for winter in the best 

 possible manner, as is shown by the 

 pains he took with them ; yet it is prob- 

 able that his bees would have wintered 

 better if he had left them out-of-doors 

 without any attention whatever. The 

 method has all the defects of cellar win- 

 tering — some of them in an aggravated 

 form — without any of its advantages. 

 Such a place as is described is but little 

 warmer than out-of-doors, in the coldest 

 weather, and it does not warm up as 

 quickly when warm days come. 



There are often days in the winter 

 when the sun shines bright aad warm 

 for several hours, and the bees outside 

 have a good, cleansing flight that puts 

 them into good condition to stand 

 another siege of cold weather. But the 

 enclosed building does not warm up 

 readily in the brief sunshine. The bees 

 confined to their hives for month after 

 month in a low temperature, become 

 restless and uneasy from the overloading 

 of their intestines with fecal matter, 

 and perish with diarrhea, or come out in 

 the spring in such a weakened condition 

 that they soon succumb. 



If the building does become warmed 

 up enough for bees to fly, and results 

 are as bad or wdlrse, as the bees, leaving 

 the hive, fly to the windows, where they 

 perish. .If there are no windows, they 

 fly out at the cracks, and in returning 

 fail to find the hive. 



I advised this inquirer to leave his 

 bees where they were until a day came 

 warm enough for bees to fly outside, 

 then take them out and protect them 

 there. They should be put on the stands 



