638 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U L T U R E 



October, 1922 



stories or put some of this choice liouey 

 into the brood-chamber where the bees will 

 be induced to use it first. 



Winter Protection. 



As a rule, the first thing that comes to 

 mind as winter protection in outdoor win- 

 tering is a winter packing case or a double- 

 walled hive. Later we think of protection 

 from the wind. Both of these are needed, 

 and it would be difficult to say which is of 

 greater importance for the average northern 

 location. In certain windy locations there is 

 no doubt that protection against the wind is 

 of greater importance than winter packing. 

 But this is no reason for not having both. 



Where the apiary is not already protected 

 from the wind by buildings, by a hill, by a 

 liedge or a thick growth of young timber, or 

 by some other natural protection, some kind 

 of windbreak should be erected. In some 

 cases a temporary windbreak can be made 

 by storing corn fodder along a fence in such 

 a manner that the force of the wind is 

 broken. Where the apiary is partially pro- 

 tected by buildings it often happens that 

 the location of the building is such that the 

 sweep of wind between the buildings through 

 a portion of the apiary is greater than out 

 in the open. In such cases the gap between 

 the buildings should be closed by some kind 

 of windbreak. 



A high board fence about eight feet high 

 makes a good windbreak, but the boards 

 should be spaced about an inch apart to per- 

 mit some of the air to pass through, thus 

 preventing the wind sweeping over the top 

 of the fence, then down on the other side. 

 Winter Packing. 



Wlietlier the jiacking is in the form of 

 permanently packed hives or in the form of 

 winter cases set over single-walled hives 

 with packing between, makes but little if 

 any difference so far as wintering is con- 

 cerned, provided the packing is adequate. 

 Neither does there seem to be any great 

 difference in the way the bees winter when 

 packed singly or in groups of two, four or 

 more colonies in a packing case. The larger 

 cases cost less per colony, but for conven- 

 ience in handling the bees during the sum- 

 mer most beekeepers prefer to have not 



more than four colonies in one group, two 

 facing east and two facing west. Some ob- 

 ject to this grouping, preferring to have the 

 liives all facing away from the prevailing 

 winds; but this is not at all necessary, if a 

 windbreak is provided and the entrances re- 

 duced as they should be. 



If the lay of the land in the apiary makes 

 it desirable to have the hives all face the 

 same direction, either the two-colony win- 

 ter cases or single-colony cases are usually 

 used. Packing several colonies in a row has 

 so many disadvantages that this plan is not 

 much used. It usually results in drifting, 

 and the inconvenience of either having hives 

 (dose together during the summer or moving 

 them apart in the sprring is objectionable. 



Permanently packed hives have many ad- 

 vantages where apiaries are not moved about 

 much. In many cases such liives afford the ■ 

 best solution of the problem of winter pack- 

 ing. 



Thickness of Packing. 



The amount of packing used by beekeep- 

 ers varies all the way from less than two 

 inches on the sides up to eight inches; on 

 the top, from three or four inches uf) to a 

 foot or more; and below the hive, from none 

 at all to about four inches. There is now 

 a strong tendency toward building standard 

 winter packing eases to hold four inches of 

 packing below, six inches on the sides and 

 eight to ten inches on top, though in some 

 cases more than this is used. Colonies prop- 

 erly packed in such winter cases have been 

 wintered well year after year in the ex- 

 treme northern part of the United States and 

 ill Canada. Beekeepers cannot well be ex- 

 pected to agree upon the question of the 

 thickness of packing, for in aslocation that 

 is well protected from prevailing winds two 

 or three inches of packing may afford as 

 much protection as six or eight inches in 

 another location badly exposed to strong 

 winds. Since it costs but little more to 

 build a packing case a couple of inches 

 longer and wider and since the packing ma- 

 terial is usually not expensive, it is better 

 to err on the safe side and provide for am- 

 ple packing. 



Material for Packing. 



It is well to remember that the heat-re- 



l>oiilile-\\'.-ille(l hivi's with ImiU in jiiickiiit;- ;ire ousily prepared I'or wiiitoi'. 



