1370 



GLEAI^INGS iN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



on. The hives are set iu without bottoms, 

 or with the deep entrance open if the bottom 

 is left on. Then we think the combs come 

 through the winter in better shape — that is, 

 with less mold and dampness — if we raise the 

 covers half an inch or so to provide upward 

 ventilation through the hives. As we give 

 no outside ventilation, the hives and combs 

 are somewhat damp when we dig them out 

 in spring. We have tried outside ventilation. 

 While the hives and combs come through 

 the winter in a little better condition, the 

 bees did not come through quite as strong: 

 for you see it is hard to arrange an outside 

 ventilator in a clamp so it will not let in 

 more or less light; and we lay it to this light 

 that the bees worry and lose a larger per 

 cent of their numbers than without ventila- 

 tion. 



When a pit is full of hives arranged as 

 above, the top of the hives will be three or 

 four inches l)elow the surface of the ground 

 our pit is dug in. We now throw on IH 

 inches of long straw, the same as if you 

 were burying potatoes, apples, etc. Of course 

 it will not be 18 inches deep when the earth 

 is shoveled on, but it ought to be 18 inches 

 when arranged with the fork ready for the 

 earth. Now shovel on earth until you are 

 sure no frost will reach them. It usually 

 takes some moi"e earth than we throw out of 

 the pit to cover them properly. See Fig. 1. 



They are now ready for their long winter 

 sleep; and if it is your first venture in this 

 way of wintering I know just how you feel 



when you are throwing on the last shovelful 

 of earth, thus (to you) shutting off the last 

 bit of air from them, as if you were glad it's 

 only a few of your l^ees you ai'e running 

 this risk on. We used to call our first-buried 

 pit of 23 colonies "the grave," and the neigh- 

 bors would look dubious, and make remarks, 

 something like this: "He is a little off;" 

 " one would think to look at him he had 

 more brains;" "bull-headed people some- 

 times go wrong," etc. 



Of course, we knew nothing of these say- 

 iags until years afterward, when the success, 

 of this way of wintering was assured; then 

 one and then another would speak out and 

 say, "I did not think it possible to bury bees. 

 up, excluding all the air, and have a single 

 bee come thi'ough alive." Then he would 

 tell of what Jones said when he first heard 

 of my burying bees, something on the line of 

 the quotations above. 



The soil ought to be of a loose sandy con- 

 sistency. Keep throwing on dii't until no 

 more will stay, as we depend on this steep 

 slope of the pit to turn the water off. Then 

 a good idea is to have surface drains along; 

 each side of the pits to carry off any water 

 that may come that way. 



In this location we l)ury during the last 

 half of November and dig them out as soon 

 as the frost is out of the pits, usuallj^ the 

 last week of March. 



In uncovering the pits, shovel all the earth 

 except, say, two inches, leaving enough sand 

 so the bees can not get out. Of course, this 









FIG. 2.— COLONIES JUST REMOVED FKO.M PITS AT MR. E. D. TOWN.SKND'.S Y.\RD, KALKASKA. 



MICHIGAN. 



