July 15, 1911 



433 



anBmame'tM-j^^am*v!miMm,imMjmiM-,.--jmMKMmma:i«ii.m.tniiai 



Fig. 1.— Apieiilture. short course, ( )iitariu Agricultural College, May 1—6, 1911. Taking w inter packing off 



the hives. 



screen; and as soon as the lid is raised, al- 

 most every robber will <;<) to the screen. 

 Not one iii a dozen will alight on the win- 

 dows, although some of them are as near as 

 the screen-door. Thus when tlie screen- 

 door is swung open for the })uri)<)se of gen- 

 eral liberation, hardly a bee is left inside. 

 and no other bee-escape is needed. 

 La Salle, N. Y. 



ENTRANCE VENTILATION DURING WINTER. 



The Advantage of a Double Entrance, One on Each 

 Side of the Hive. 



BY S. D. HOUSE. 



If we observe the condition and |)osition 

 of bees clustered for their winter sleej) out of 

 doors we shall always find them clustered 

 clcse to the open entrance at the loeginning 

 of winter, and they will not aliandon that 

 IKisition except to follow u\^ their stores. If 

 we close the entrance three-fourths its 

 length on one side, say the first of Novem- 

 ber, the bees will cluster at the side of the 

 hive where the entrance is open. Usually 

 bee-keepers close the entrance from the two 

 sides, leaving the opening at the center. As 

 the iiees will cluster at the open entrance, 

 or in the center of the hive, they will, before 

 the winter is over, consume the honey in 

 those center combs. They are now com])el- 

 led to move over to one side or the other, 

 and, later, consume all the honey on that 

 side of the hive. As a conseqtience starva- 

 tion often takes place, the temi)erature be- 

 ing too low for the bees to move over several 

 empty combs to get to their honey on the 

 opposite side of the hive. If, on the other 

 hand, the entrance had been placed at one 



or both corners of the hive, such a condition 

 would not exist. 



If the location is one that is exposed to 

 much wind, and a contracted entrance is de- 

 sired, it should be closed in the center, leav- 

 ing an opening at each front corner. This 

 serves a double purpose. First, the bees 

 will cluster at oi.e or the other side of the 

 hive, and, of course, will be in position to 

 follow up and reach all of the stores in the 

 hive. Many times in my early experience I 

 have found colonies in early spring, after 

 starting brood-rearing, out of honey in or 

 near the winter nest. They were thus com- 

 pelled to abandon their brood and move 

 over to the honey and start an entirely new 

 nest. Such a move takes i)lace at a time 

 when the bees can ill afford to stand such 

 a loss, and many times it puts the colony 

 out of commission for the white-honey flow 

 to follow. 



Second, a double entrance (one on each 

 side) gives a much greater ventilation, by 

 causing a circulationof air through the hive, 

 than if the same space were given in one 

 opening in the center. 



I winter several apiaries outdoors with the 

 entrance the full width of the hive — 16Xt%, 

 and since adojiting this wide-open entrance 

 1 find the bees much stronger in vitality, 

 and able to withstand greater hardshij) dur- 

 ing the si)ring. As spring advances and 

 the bees are getting frequent fiights, and 

 brood-rearing is advancing, I contract the 

 entrance very close, usually about 2 X iV inch, 

 and at no time during any part of the year, 

 indoors or outdoors, do I give any ventilation 

 from the tO]) of the hive. Nature gives the 

 bee instinct to glue every crevice air-tight, 

 and I believe in clinging close to nature 

 and assisting wherever possible. Upward 

 ventilation will do no great harm at the time 



