L K A N 1 N G S IK B E K U L T U K E 



OcTdliKli l0-2ft 



l(ol:. inside luiil out. The outside cellar is 

 about nine feet deep, wide enough for twu 

 rows of piled-up hives with a gangway be- 

 tAvoen, and ia ventilated by tlie shaft shown 

 ill the j)hoto. This is six inches square 

 ami runs down to within a few inches of 

 the cellar floor. Above the cellar jjroper 

 is a roof covered with two feet of planer 

 shavings (some unused bales can be seen 

 (in top), and this is protected by a second 

 roof, covered with "rubberoid" roofing. 

 So far the cellar is giving excellent results 

 in spite of very cold weather. Mice are 

 the worst iirospecti\e troubles we can 

 think of. 



W. J. Boughen of Valley River, Man., 

 has a cellar beneath his garage and honey- 

 house. This is built of concrete and is 

 eight feet deep, with a separate entrance 

 at the rear on the bank of the river. In 

 the vestibule of the cellar he keeps his 

 honey-tank, and runs the honey in by grav- 

 ity from the extractor above, and in this 

 vestibule he also keeps a cook-stove by 



been less successful, possibly because un- 

 dertaken without sufficient knowledge of 

 the careful packing that is essential in so 

 cold a climate. Many people have tried 

 to winter bees in chicken-houses, barns, 

 attics, etc., but with small success. Those 

 who have persevered long enough to be- 

 come real beekeepers have generally ended 

 in wintering in a cellar, because that is the 

 most satisfactory method. 

 Sturgis (h-eek, Manitoba. H. W. Sanders. 



•s * ■>;■ 



111 Texas. 



Texas is so s[iread out not only east, 

 west, north, and south, but up and down 

 as well that it is impossible to make a 

 general statement relative to wintering 

 bees. The statements given apply to the 

 south central and southwestern parts only, 

 as these are tlie commercial honey regions. 

 Winter Flights Decrease Stores. 



Contrary to the belief of most beekeep- 

 ers and of many who have never passed 

 thru a southern Texas winter, wintering is 



Outside Ijee pellav nt fitwrgcan Creek, Manitoba. 



iKcans of which he regulates the temperature 

 and ventilation in the winter time. The 

 floor has a sawdtist packing between the 

 joists. 



Wintering in Clamps Outdoors. 



W. J. Vickers of Kildonan has wintered 

 Ki colonies successfully and without a 

 single loss, bj^ burying them in clamps in 

 a sandy soil, with straw and earth cover- 

 ing. This is the only case of this form of 

 wintering that has come to my notice, but 

 I have heard of several attempts at out- 

 door wintering, with more or less of suc- 

 cess. 



The large case shown in the photo is the 

 outdoor wintering experiment of winter 

 before last at the Manitoba Agricultural 

 College, of which the dormitories can be 

 seen in the background. This was under- 

 taken by K. M. Muckle, the Provincial 

 Apiarist. Three out of the four colonies 

 came thru safely. 



Other attempts to winter outdoors luive 



a most important problem in Texas. By 

 data given in an issue of Oleanings for 

 this year, the winter loss in Texas for 

 movable-frame hives w^as 15 per cent, and 

 for box hives much higher. The cause of 

 this is a fairly warm, eccentric winter. It 

 is not warm enough for nectar flows and 

 yet warm enough for bees to fly. In one 

 hive under observation during the winter 

 of 1919-1920, bees flew every week. The 

 mercury fell below the clustering point 

 nine times in January and February. 

 Thirty-six hours was about the longest 

 period below the clustering point, and five 

 hours the shortest. In all intervals be- 

 tween these nine low points, the bees flew 

 freely. In late January and early Febru 

 aiy, l)ees were observed collecting pollen 

 from mistletoe and spring beauty (Clay 

 tonia Virginica), even tho the thermometer 

 registered forty-five degrees Fahrenheit 

 in the cluster of flowers. All tliis wiiitci 

 acti\'ity iiienns the consiiiiiption of cnoi' 



