SEPTEMBER 15, 1914 



727 



they cluster all winter long, slowly moving 

 from side to side and end to end of the hive 

 as they feed on the stores above. Thus will 

 they cluster in the sirring-, only gradually 

 spreading out as warm weather comes on 

 and the brood increases in the frames. After 

 it is settled warm weather we may turn this 

 box feeder over and use the regular bottom- 



board again, but not before. This bottom- 

 board and feeder combined I am going to 

 name the Minnesota bottom and feeder. It 

 originated here, and is, in my estimation, 

 the best feeder and bottom that has yet 

 been invented. The combination is simple, 

 convenient, and inexpensive; and, best of 

 all, it gives the bees a warm space below the 

 frames in which to cluster in a natural 

 manner during cold weather. 



^ After feeding is over, the hive-body and 

 the feeder bottom should be fastened togeth- 

 er and the bees left to themselves to settle 

 down gradually to the winter cluster until 

 about Nov. 1, when they should be removed 

 to the cellar. Do not wait for " just one 

 more day " on which the bees will fly. If 

 you do you will probably lose more bees on 

 that day than you would in a month if they 

 were in the cellar; and, besides, they con- 

 sume more of their winter stores when out- 

 side. When the real cold weather comes, 

 whether it is in the latter part of October 

 or the first part of November, the bees 

 should be removed to winter quarters where 

 they can remain quiet. 



REQUIREMEKTS OP A GOOD CELLAR. 



This brings me naturally to the question 

 of the kind of cellar best suited to wintering 

 bees. I cannot introduce the subject of 

 cellar construction in a better manner than 

 by telling you how my own cellar is made, 

 for I have what I think is a model. First, 

 it is not under a part of the house that is 

 heated. It is under the shop. It might as 

 well be away from any building whatever if 

 it were protected on top from moisture. 



No bee-cellar should be where artificial 



heat can reach it. it should be made so 

 deep, and be protected so well, that it will 

 not freeze in the longest and coldest winters 

 we are likely to have. Also, it should not 

 heat up in the mildest weatlier. In other 

 words we should have a cellar that will net 

 change in temperature more than fifteen 

 degrees from summer to winter; and what 

 change takes place should be very gradual. 

 The floor of my shop, which is the top of 

 my cellar, is double- boarded, with building 

 paper between, over six-inch joist, with 

 building paper and matched lumber nailed 

 to the under side. The side walls are made 

 of limestone, 18 inches thick, 10 ft. deep. 

 The floor is sand. A brick chimney for 

 ventilation has its opening within a few 

 inches of the floor. A window at one side 

 three feet below the surface of the gi'ound 

 opens into a light-well which is capable of 

 being joacked with leaves or straw in the 

 coldest weather. This window has three 

 sashes to make more air-spaces and greater 

 warmth. So far, with a few minor differ- 

 ences, tliis plan probably describes hundreds 

 of cellars in Minnesota. However, this is 

 not yet fit for wintering bees, and here is 

 where the great mistake is made. 



AN ARCH IN THE CEILING MADE OP ABSORB- 

 ING MATERIAL. 



In my cellar I have made an arch of 

 double-air-spaced pyrobar blocks, starting 

 6V2 feet from the floor, resting on a shelf 

 in the side walls, and just reaching the 

 ceiling in the center. This pyrobar is made 

 of asbestos and plaster of Paris, and is 

 easily handled. It is the next thing to proof 

 against heat or cold; and if dry overhead it 



UCNiTH IB Ft 



iVIDTH IS Ft. 



l-/ei&HT J> Ft. 



^^j^^^^^^^^i^^^ 



^ 



will absorb and evaporate a large amount 

 of moisture from the cellar. I cannot con- 

 ceive how this material could be improved 

 upon for overhead protection. 



Upon placing the hives in the cellar, the 

 telescope cover should be removed, the in- 

 ner cover and canvas raised at the rear end 

 of the liive, and a piece of section placed 

 across each corner, thus providing for top 



