1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



363 



be better off out of doors in their sum- 

 mer hives than in such places. 



OUTDOOR WINTERING. 



Cold and dampness are the great 

 winter enemies of bee Jife. A single 

 bee can withstand very little cold, 

 but a good cluster, if all other condi- 

 tions are favorable, can defy the most 

 rigorous winter^ of our coldest States. 

 But if not thoroughly dry, even a 

 moderate degree of cold is always in- 

 jurious, if not absolutely fatal. Damp- 

 ness in winter is therefore the most 

 dangeros element with which the bee 

 keeper has to contend. The matter 

 would, of course, be quite simple if 

 only that dampness which might come 

 from the outside were to be considered, 

 but when the air of the hive, some- 

 what warmed by the bees and more or 

 less charged with moisture of respira- 

 tion, comes in contact with hive walls 

 or comb surfaces made cold by out- 

 side air, condensation takes place, and 

 the moisture trickles over the cold sur- 

 faces and cluster of bees, saturating 

 the air about them or even drenching 

 them, unless by forming a very com- 

 pact cluster they are able to prevent 

 it from penetrating, or by greater ac- 

 tivity to raise the temperature suffic- 

 iently to evaporate the surplus mois- 

 ture, or at least that portion near 

 them. But this greater activity is, of 

 course, at the expense of muscular 

 power and requires the consumption 

 of nitrogenous as well as carbonaceous 

 food. Increased cold or its long con- 

 tinuance greatly aggravates condi- 

 tions. 



Nature has provided that the ac- 

 cumulation of waste products in the 

 body of the bee during its winter con- 

 finement should be small under 

 normal conditions, but unusual con- 



sumption of food, especially of a highly 

 nitrogenous nature like pollen, neces- 

 sitates a cleansing flight, or diarrheal 

 difficulties ensue, combs and hives are 

 soiled, the air of the hives becomes 

 polluted, and at last the individual 

 bees become too weak to generate pro- 

 per warmth or drive off the surplus 

 moisture which then invades the clust- 

 er and brings death to the colony; or, 

 what is more frequently the case, a 

 cold snap destroys the last remnant 

 of the colony, which has been reduced 

 by constant loss of bees impelled by 

 disease to leave the cluster or even to 

 venture out for a clensing flight when 

 snow and great cold prevail. 



The problem then is: To retain ike 

 warmth generated by the bees, which is 

 necessary to their well-being, and at the 

 same time to prevent the accumulation of 

 moisture in the hive. A simple opening 

 at the top of the hive would permit 

 much of the moisture to pass off, but 

 of course heat would escape with it 

 and a draft would be produced. Ab- 

 sorbent material about the cluster 

 creates, without free ventilation, damp 

 surroundings, and again the temper- 

 ature is lowered. It is only necessary, 

 however, to surround the bees with 

 sufficient material to protect them ful- 

 ly against the greatest cold liable to 

 occur, and to take care also that this 

 enveloping material is of such a nature 

 and so disposed as to permit the free 

 passage of the moisture which would 

 otherwise collect in the interior of the 

 hive, and to permit the escape into 

 the surrounding atmosphere of such 

 moisture as enters this material from 

 within. This packing should also be 

 fully protected from outside moisture. 



South of Virginia, Kentucky, and 

 Kansas single-walled hives may be 



