GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Al'K. 1. 



suspect that, if I had had a good one at our 

 basswood yard, I should have saved the life of 

 a valuable hoi'se. But you remember that, 

 contrai'y to what I knew was best, we were in 

 the habit of hitching oui' horse to a young sap- 

 ling: and you remember how he broke the thill 

 and pushed the jagged end of it into his heart. 

 For colts, at least. 1 would have a couple of 

 posts and a ci'oss-rail, so they can not catch the 

 thill around the post and snap it in two. A 

 feed-trough would be a good tliihg, and would 

 help no little toward keeping horses quiet. I 

 know how unpleasant it is to be working at an 

 out-yard, and to be obliged to look every few 

 minutes to see whether th(> horses are all right. 

 And while we are talking about hitching-posts. 

 I should prefer the side of a barn, with a ring 

 in it about five or six feet from the gi'ound. 

 Not even a colt then can get its foot tangled or 

 get into any trouble. I believe I would always 

 hitch with a strong neck-strap, passing the 

 5<trap through one of the rings of the bit. If a 

 stray bee should happen to sting him then, 

 there is much less danger tiiat he will snap the 

 strap or get into mischief. At our 8hane yard 

 we put our horse into a stable near at hand, after 

 liaviug taken him out of the thills. I tell you, 

 it is no Iittl(> comfort to know that a horse is 

 safely stabled, and away from Hi(>s and bees, 

 ■when working at an out-yard; and as this de- 

 partment is especially for ladies, it behooves 

 the men to see that there are good hitching ac- 

 commodations, and that all parts of thf harness 

 are secure. Never drive to an out -yard with a 

 pair of pool' thills. Whenever driving within 

 the vicinity of bees, or drawing loads of honey, 

 bees are inclined to follow, and, at best, acci- 

 dents are liable to happen; so it behooves us to 

 have every thing in good shape.] E. R. 



00^ QaEg3FI6N-B6^, 



With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



Question 181. ]. In cellar winterimj, hoic 

 much ventilation do the liiiies need, and how 

 would i/ou secure it f 3. Hoio much does the 

 /'cllar need, and lunr n^ouM j/ou secure itf 



I don't know. We winter all out of doors. 

 Wisconsin. S. W. E. Fkance. 



I would not bothci' with any ventilation at 

 all. Keep your tempei-atui'c up to 4.5° or ,50°, 

 and never mind the ventilation. 



Michigan. S. W. James Heddon. 



Raise the hives fi'om the bottom-board two 

 or more inches, paying no attention to the ven- 

 tilation of the cellar, provitling you can keep 

 the temperature at from 4:2° to 4.")°. 



New York. C. (i. M. Dooi.itti-e. 



No ventilation at the top, but all you can 

 readily secure at the bottom. Usually, leaving 

 the entrance wide open does very well; but to 

 have the whole bottom oflf would he better. 



Illinois. N. C. J. A. (hjEEN. 



I ought to have more experience before an- 

 swering. I should say. percli the whole hive 

 up on two pieces of scantling. Where this is 

 done I do not think the cellar needs any special 

 ventilation. 



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



My best wintering was in a cellar in old box 

 hives, inverted, standing entirely open, a hole 

 four inches square at bottom of cellar, and the 

 same at the top of the oi)posite side. These 



holes were covered so as to ))revent strong 

 winds from blowing in. 

 California. S. R. Wilkin. 



1. Raise one inch from the bottom-board, with 

 an inch block under each corner. I use loose 

 bottom -l)oards. 2. Three-eighths-inch venti- 

 lators runying through the roof, and one sub- 

 earth, same size. 



Wisconsin. S. W. S. I. Fkeehohn. 



We remove the entrance-block, and some- 

 times the whole bottom-board. We also re- 

 move the caj) and a corner of the quilt. We 

 ventilate the cellar only by opening the win- 

 dows occasionally. 



Illinois. N. W. Dadant & Son. 



There is no use in being too scientific in such 

 matters. The exact amount of ventilation for 

 hive or cellar would be only conjecture. Let 

 the air in your repositories of bees be comfort- 

 able for yourself, and then vou will be all right. 



Ohio. S. W. C. F. MuTii. 



1. If the bottom-board is left on, leave the 

 entrance open full width for ventilation. I 

 winter with bottom-boards removed, '.l. Enough 

 to keep the air fairly pure. If I could I would 

 secure it by means of a stove set, in the cellar, 

 the draft of which would be ventilation enough. 



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



Leave the tly-entrance open. The cellar 

 needs enough to keep the air pure, and we se- 

 cure it with a sub-earth ventilator. Before 

 this was i)ut in. comb honey would become 

 watery and burst the cells; but now it does not, 

 and the air is as ])uie as in any room in the 

 house. 



Illinois. N. W. C. Miis. L. Haukison. 



1. I would remove the board cover, spread a 

 |)iece of cloth (ducking) over the frames and 

 cover with a cushion 3 or 4 inches thick, stuffed 

 with fine hay or chaff, or dry planer-shavings, 

 and give a very small entrance. 2. For a cellar 

 20x.3()x7. I would use a .")-inch ventilator con- 

 n(^cted with the kitchen or some other stove- 



pil)e. 



V^ermont. N. W. 



A. E. Manum. 



I think the usual summer ojjening enough. 

 If the hives are so made that they could be 

 raised an inch or two from the bottom-board I 

 should like it: then dead bees will not shut off 

 the ventilation. I doubt whether it is necessa- 

 ry to ventilate the cellar. I do think it very 

 imi)ortant to keep the temperature of the cellar 

 uniform, from ?,^° to 4.5° V. 



Michigan. C. A. J. Cook. 



1. That depends largely upon the cellar— its 

 tempei'ature. moisture, etc. We usually give 

 20 square inches or more at the bottom, as that 

 in our hives is the most convenient point to 

 ventilate. 2. With a small number of colonies, 

 the natural ventilation in most cellars will be 

 sufficient. By natural ventilation I mean that 

 passing through the walls, crevices, etc. With 

 a larger number of colonies, more ventilation 

 luust be given. For more particular informa- 

 tion on this point I shall have to refer you to 

 articles I have written on that subject. 



New York. C. P. H. Ei.wood. 



Give the hives abundant ventilation at the 

 bottom. I secure it by placing the first row of 

 hives on stringers, with the hives (5 inches 

 apart; or, instead of the stringers, lay down 

 hive-covers (> inches apart, placing each hive 

 over the space thus left. This gives a similar 

 space between the iiives. over which i)lace the 



