10'.' 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



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With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



Question 177. 1. When a cellar gets too cold, 

 is artificial heat, such as tlutt from, a stove in 

 the cellar, injurious? 2. If you tliiuk it advis- 

 able to use a stove, wo^ild yoii try to keep a 

 steady heat, or warm up hy spells f 



Warm up by spells 

 Illinois. N. W. C. 



Mrs. L. Haimusox. 



I will let the cellar men answer this. 

 Wisconsin. S. W. E. France. 



1. No. 2. Bring the temperature up to 40, or 

 about, and then close the cellar and try to keep 

 it at that. 



Illinois. N. W. Dadant & Son. 



1. Not if you are cai-eful. 2. A steady heat, 

 with facilities for turning it off in warm spells, 

 would probably be best. 



New York. C. P. H. Emvood. 



1. I think that artificial heat may be used to 

 advantage. 2. Warm up by spells, and then let 

 the bees become quiet. 



Ohio. N. W. H. R. Boardman. 



It Is claimed by some, I believe, that the tem- 

 perature of a bee-cellar should be between 4.5 

 and .50. The steadier your temperature, the 

 better. 



Ohio. S. W. C. F. MuTH. 



I. No, but I'd try hard not to have it get too 

 cold. 2. I would keep an even temperature: 

 and a cellar that is tit to winter bees in may 

 easily be kept warm enough with an oil-stove. 



Ohio. N. W. A. B. Mason. 



1. No. At least, it won't do as much harm as 

 too much cold. 2. I don't know. I suspect it 

 doesn't make much difference. If you could 

 keep them just right, the steady is probably 

 hof to.- The occasional is (>asier. 



Illinois. N. 



C. C. MlIXER. 



1. The temperature in a cellar should be 

 maintained at 45°. as nearly as possible. I 

 should prefer a good oil-lamp, rather than a 

 stove, to warm the cellar, by coloring the chim- 

 ney with smoke, or using a tin cliimney, in or- 

 der to exclude the light. 2. Keep up the heat, a 

 steady heat. 



Vermont. N. W. A. E. Manum. 



Not if very carefully managed; but great 

 caution is imperative. I should prefer a uni- 

 foi-m heat, so as to ke(>p the cellar just about 

 right; but I have no hesitation, as the temper- 

 ature goes down toward freezing, in putting in 

 a fire; but I carefully watch, and remove as 

 soon as the temperature gets to 45°. or even up 

 to 50°, if the weather is veiy cold. 



Michigan. C. A. J. Cook. 



From my practice I can readily answer that 

 stove heat is not injurious; and the best way to 

 do is to warm up by spells, unless you have a 

 very large cellar, say under a building as large 

 as a store. I divided my cellar with -a board 

 partition, putting the bees in the big part and 

 the stove in the small one. The stove heat I'a- 

 diates through the board partition after mak- 

 ing the little room and stone wall around it very 

 hot. In this way I avoid excessive immediate 

 heating of the bees. 



Michigan. S. W. James Heddox. 



My bee-cave needs no artificial heat. If I 

 had a cellar which was too cold I would experi- 

 ment with artificial heat to see if I could better 

 it thereby. So much depends on the mo/t, and 

 his thorough or shiftless ways, that what might 

 be a success with one might prove only a fail- 

 ure with others. 



New York. C. (x. M. Doolittle. 



1. While I have never tried warming a bee- 

 cellar by artificial heat, I feel very sure it would 

 do no harm, provided pi-oper care were taken 

 not to excite the bees by too much noise or light 

 in caring for the fire; or if a smoking stove or 

 an uneven temperature were guarded against. 

 1. By all means keep a steady, uniform heat 

 when heat is needed. 



Illinois. N. C. J. A. Green. 



If a cellar had the habit of getting down to 

 the freezing-point, I would first try to remedy 

 the defect in the cellar. If I could not do this I 

 would partition off' an ante-i'oom. and put in a 

 coal-stove. The ante-room, though small, 

 would shield the bees fiom dii'ect heat and 

 light, and secure an even diffusion of heat. I 

 would keep a steady heat during the cold term, 

 or diu'ing zero weather. The rise and fall of 

 temperature would cause uneasiness. 



New York. E. Rambler. 



I have had very little experience with indoor 

 wintering. Those who have tried it. I believe, 

 mostly say artificial heat won't work. Not 

 having tried it. it is easy forme to suspect ii 

 might be made to work if one would get at it 

 just right. An uneasy owner might easily im- 

 agine his bees were suffering greatly from cold 

 when a quiet letting-alone would bring them 

 through all I'ight. 2. Nothing succeeds like 

 success; and nothing fails so miserably as fail- 

 ure. I suspect succ(!ss could b(^ had on either 

 line; and failure on eithei' line, I am pretty 

 sure, could be had. 



Ohio. N. W. E. E. Hasty. 



1. Hard to tell. It has not been satisfactorj^ 

 with me. The trouble is to get the heat evenly 

 distributed and keep it so. To do this it would 

 require something in the furnace, steam, or hot- 

 water plan of heating, and would require more 

 of an outlay for fixtures than one would wish 

 to incur, and more skill and patience to tend 

 the plant than most of us possess. 2. I have a 

 stove in my bee-cellar, and I have found it 

 handy to dry out moisture befoi'e putting bees 

 in. and to heat up honey to feed or extract 

 where some is left late in the fall. What we 

 should aim at in the construction of cellars is 

 to construct them so that the heat of the earth 

 and bees will keep them warm enough without 

 resorting to fire heat. 



Wisconsin. S. W. S. I. Freeborn. 



[I am glad to see so much of an agreement in 

 regard to the above. In our locality — at least, 

 as our winters have been for a good many 

 years back — I feel certain that it does not pay 

 to winter bees in cellars, all things considered; 

 and if I lived where it is cold enough to war- 

 rant cellar wintering, I think I should follow 

 friend Freeborn's concluding remark. In fact, 

 I did it y(^ars ago, and brought them out in 

 good condition. Now. then, comes the question, 

 '■ Would they not have come out in good condi- 

 tion had they lieen left entirely alone?" I 

 rather think they would, in the majority of 

 cases. There are times, however, say when the 

 bees have poor stores to winter on, when, by 

 warming up the cellar occasionally by the aid 

 of a stove, we get them through until they can 

 be put out in th(> spring, where they would not 

 have come through otherwise.] 



