(i I, I-; A X I N (4 S T N 15 K K (' U 1. T U H ]■: 



OlTOBIOK I9l!(1 



board oi' tlir liive just outside the entrance 

 and on one of the hives about the center 

 of the cellar and about halfway between 

 the floor and ceiling. The temperature 

 varied between 47 degrees and 49 degrees 

 Fahrenheit, but most of the time was 48 

 degrees. For a short time wc kept it on the 

 bottom-board of the hive inside just beside 

 the cluster. The temperature there varied 

 from 55 degrees to 58 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 At no time did we see it at any other tem- 

 perature than those given above, except once 

 when we were moving the bees out in the 

 spring. The doors had been open quite a 

 while, and the temperature was^50 degrees 

 or 51 degrees Fahrenheit. We might say 

 that it was not an expensive thermometer, 

 and that we did not test it except by put- 

 ting it in a mixture of snow and water. 

 Altho it registered 32 degrees in the snow 

 and water it might not be absolutely correct 

 at a higher temperature, as the bore of the 

 tubes is liable to vary a little in cheap 

 thermometers. 



Arrangement of Hives in Cellar. 

 When putting the bees in we lay bricks 

 on the floor and jjut 2 x 4 's on top, then j)ile 



Outside view of Mr, Huff's workshop with bee 

 cellar beneath it. 



the hives five high directly on top of each 

 other. This size of cellar will hold 100 ten- 

 frame Langstroth hives on each side; ^and 

 by facing another row towards the back of 

 the cellar it would be possible to put in 75 

 or more extra in the center, and still leave 

 room for one to get to the back of the 

 cellar. 



We leave the entrances open full width 

 and the feeder holes in the, honey-boards 

 open. We prefer honey-boards to burlap 

 covers as the burlap is liable to get damp. 

 We have had no trouble with the moisture 's 

 collecting on the walls, ceiling, or floor. In 

 fact, you could light a match on them almost 

 anywhere, except around the ventilator. 

 My Idea of a Good Cellar. 



We think that a cellar should be long and 

 narrow rather than square, as it gives more 

 surface touching the ground, and for that 

 icason it should be easier to keep an even 

 temperature. AVe think also that it should 



have a building or at least a roof over it, 

 considerably larger than itself, rather than 

 a mound of earth, as the earth, in this local- 

 ity at least, would be sure to freeze solid, 

 making the ceiling cold and thus causing the 

 moisture to collect on it. 



In our cellar, altho we have lost a few 

 two-frame nuclei in which we were trying 

 to carry over a few surplus queens, we have 

 wintered colonies from a three-frame nu- 

 cleus up to colonies of full strength, with 

 practically no loss. 



Tara, Ont. J. C. Duff. 



Time for Putting Bees in the Cellar. 



The standard rule in this State for put- 

 ting the bees in the cellar is immediately 

 following the last good flight in November. 

 We usually have a few fine days during the 

 middle or latter part of the month when the 

 bees get a cleansing flight. In April, 1920, 

 Gleanings, C. W. Aeppler of Wisconsin says, 

 "Bees had a flight in this latitude, in this 

 part of the country, every year in the past 

 ten years between the dates of Nov. 10 and 

 20, except in 1910." This may or may not 

 be a fair average for the northern States. 

 At any rate there are years when the bees 

 do not have their customary opportunity for 

 the late November flight. In these excep- 

 tional cases the beekeeper must answer 

 quickly this question: Shall I put the bees 

 in or shall I take the chances of further 

 exposure to cold in the hope of fair weather 

 later? 



In order to answer the question satisfac- 

 torily, I addressed the question to each of 

 several prominent Michigan beekeepers who 

 practice cellar wintering. The replies of 

 those who answered are as follows: 



David Running, Filion, central Michigan: 

 "So far as wintering is concerned, if the 

 cellar is properly constructed and the bees 

 have fairly good stores, I do not think it 

 makes much difference if the bees have not 

 had a flight for two or three weeks prior to 

 putting in, provided it has not been exces- 

 sively cold during that time so that the 

 bees have had to consume much stores and 

 have been active to keep up temperature. 

 Of course, the ideal time to put in would be 

 just after they had their last good cleansing 

 flight, but with good stores and a proper 

 cellar they should be able to get along very 

 well for five months without a flight. 1 

 have had them confined in the cellar for fixe 

 months and four days without any serious 

 trouble. I would rather have them in the 

 cellar and miss several later chances for 

 flight than to have them out until excessive 

 cold weather would cause them to waste 

 energy and stores, even tho they might have 

 a good flight after the experience. Bees 

 stop rearing brood here the latter part of 

 September or early October. If they have 

 li.-id two i>r tliree weeks of quiet and then a 

 good lliglit, nothing more is needed, altho a 



