1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



309 



course, we have had several mild winters, and 

 it would hardly be advisable to adopt this plan 

 generally at present. 



In order to give the method of cellar winter- 

 ing, the cellar must here be desci-ibed. It is 

 18x11 feet and (5 feet high. The walls have no 

 connection with the outside. The entire cellar 

 is inside of another 3Ux25-feet wall made of 

 stone hi in. thick, and with a ct'm<'nt floor, the 

 latter common to all. The inner compartment 

 has for its walls half-thickness bi'ick. The 

 ceiling is boarded with nuitehed lumber against 

 the joists. The air, hot oi- cold, can, therefore, 

 pass clean over and about the inner repository, 

 all but the floor. Two v(!ntilators pass into the 

 inner cellar. One, 4x8 inches, is attached to a 

 chimney; the other. 4x4 inches, passes up 

 through the center of the house. Both general- 

 ly draw aii- from the top of the cellar; but by 

 adding a length to the pipes they can be made 

 to draw from the bottom. A door connects the 

 inner repository with the outside cellai". Either 

 wire or solid wood can be used. So far this 

 winter the screen only has been used. The 

 main cellar is further ventilated by means of a 

 door at one side, and on the; opposite side a 

 window. The door to the inner repository is 

 between the door and window of the outei', giv- 

 ing a free current to th(» bees when desired. 



There is another compartment which con- 

 tains a large stove, used as a furnace. From 

 this the air around the inner repository can be 

 heated to any desired ti'mperature. The only 

 difficulty. Mr. Alpangh says, is when the out- 

 side tempeiature gets too higii. The bees are 

 packed almost solid, four tiers high. The bot- 

 tom tier is about four inches from the floor, and 

 this tier has an inch rim between the body and 

 the bottom-board. The greatest numberof col- 

 onies ever wintered here was 260, and the tem- 

 perature has been as high as 60°, seldom as low 

 as .50. No trouble has been found in regard to 

 spring dwindling, and there were not enough 

 dead bees to cover the cellar floor up to the time 

 of my visit. Feb. 7. We raised the quilt of one 

 colony. The bees were as small as in summer, 

 bright and clean. They certainly were not hi- 

 bernating, however. The ISK) colonies made a 

 slight hum, but one could scarcely detect the 

 odor of tlie bees — a very good indication of a 

 healthy condition. I feel satisfied that the bees 

 go into winter quarters in good condition. Of 

 course, this is a great step toward successful 

 wintering. I have for years felt that Mr. Al- 

 paugh had a very fine cellar for wintering bees; 

 and the only addition I might advise would be 

 a spring of water to assist in keeping down the 

 temperature in spring. 



In a future number I propose describing a few 

 of Mr. Alpaugh's inventions in the bee-line; 

 and as your readers may be interested in one or 

 two contrivances about the house, not in connec- 

 tion with bees. I shall take the liberty of briefly 

 describing them, especially as I know you have 

 a weakness for pure watei-. The cistern, or 

 tank, for soft water stands on the floor of the 

 main cellar. It is 6 ft. in diameter and 6 ft. 

 high. The water is caught from the roof of the 

 house and pours into the top of the tank. The 

 overflow pipe draws the water from the bottom 

 and communicates with the house-drain. A 

 tube connects with the overflow-pipe, just 

 where it bends over the tank. This tube car- 

 ries all foul air from the drain to the chimney, 

 joining the kitchen stovepipe, I believe. The 

 water in the tank, by means of the above, and 

 being quite open at the top, is pure, and used 

 for drinking, frequently; so, Mr. Root, when 

 you go to Alpaugh's you will find waiting for 

 you soft water as well as a soft bed. 



MR. alpaugh's device FOR DRAWING WATER. 



I was attracted in the woodshed by a wire- 



cloth trap-door covering a box. Asking what 

 it was I found it covered the box upon the well- 

 platform; and immediately above it, and sus- 

 pended to the rafters of the shed, was a wooden 

 roller with two light ropes attached. I knew 

 Mr. Alpaugh could afford a pump, but I receiv- 

 ed the following explanation: "I believe that 

 every well should be so arranged that the air 

 has full access to the water. That is why I 

 have the pump out and the pail to dip; also 

 the wire trap-door. The lattei' allows a con- 

 stant free circulation; the former takes a cer- 

 tain amount of fresh air to the water every 

 time we dip, and takes it from the surface at all 

 times. We could not use the water when we 

 had the pump in it; but now. as you can see for 

 yourself, it is very good, for surface water."' The 

 above contrivanci? is to make the drawing of 

 water easy. It consists of simply an eighteen- 

 inch roller, half of it two inches in diameter, 

 the other half four inches in diameter. To the 

 latter a rope is attached, long enough to strike 

 the water and allow the attached pail to sink 

 and fill. The pail is galvanized iron. To one 

 side is attached a weight, so that, when the 

 pail strikes the water, the pail is drawn to one 

 side and fills. The pail rights itself the mo- 

 ment the rope pulls on it. To the two-inch rol- 

 ler is attached a cord half the length of the one 

 attached to the 4-inch, and to this is fastened a 

 weight just the weight of the zinc pail when 

 filled with water; when the weight rolls up, 

 the pail goes down; and when the pail comes 

 up, the weight goes down. So it takes a little 

 pull (you can do it with thumb and finger) to 

 bring the pail down and about the same to 

 bring it up. With a proper catch to clasp the 

 bail of the pail, it is a pleasure to draw water. 

 It is fully as easy as pumping, and the frailest 

 woman can work it without much exertion. 



When I think of all the places I visit where 

 they draw soft water, and sometimes hard, by 

 means of a rope or a stick attached to the pail, 

 I feel as if you should turn that simple roller, 

 and have it among your household conven- 

 iences, for such it assuredly is. It may be old to 

 some, and to many new. R. F. Holtermann. 



Romney, Ont., P"'eb. 16. 



GLOVES— WHAT KIND TO USE. 



rubber gloves not SUITABLE FOR BEE -WORK. 



FINGERLESS GLOVES PREFERRED; 



DRESS FOR LADIES. 



Friend Root: — I, for one, have used rubber 

 gloves in the apiary, but I did not like them. 

 They draw, and burn the hands until one can 

 hardly endure it, especially if the weather is 

 very warm; and when you take them ofif, your 

 hands will look as if you had been washing in 

 hot suds all day. Another thing is, they are so 

 clumsy in handling frames that one is apt to 

 drop one end of the frame on the hive with a 

 jar, and the result is— mad, stinging bees. 



I like my fingers uncovered while working in 

 the apiary; but I prefer the backs of my 

 hands covered. As much as I dislike propolis 

 on my fingers, I would rather endure it than to 

 wear rubber gloves. I like fingerless gloves, 

 and I will tell you how I make mine. Take an 

 old pair of stockings; cut the feet off; cut a 

 small piece out of the sides about two inches 

 from the end where you cut the foot off. This 

 is for the thumb. Take a thread and needle 

 and whip the edge over and over, not too tight; 

 next whip over the bottom so it won't stretch 

 so much; then sew it together in three places; 

 that makes four finger-holes; then run a rub- 

 ber cord in at the top to keep them up on the 

 arms. The gloves keep the bees from crawling 



