1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C LXTURE. 



uso 



wiuter tiight. The bees, siuc-e the air is shig- 

 glsh. suffer soon from moisture, and require 

 frequent flights to keep in health. Seeking 

 flight when the conditions for flight are bad. 

 and along a eold path between the cluster 

 and the entrance, causes the death of not a 

 few bees. Unrest prevails, and conditions 

 get worse and worse. A severe winter kills 

 a colony thus situated: a mild wiuter leaves 

 it in a condition dithcult to build up to satis- 

 factory strength in time for the harvest. 



Thus we see the need of using great care 

 in contracting the hive-entrance for winter 

 to see that the entrant-e is left opposite the 

 cluster. Some apiai'ists avoiil the difficidty 

 by using full-width entrances of less depth. 

 Theoretically, surely, a wide shallow entrance 

 is far safer than a narrow deep one. In my 

 own apiary I have found success in a wide 

 and also deep entrance. Whatever the en- 

 trance, it must be in part or wholly opposite 

 the clustering bees, if one desires the best 

 results. 



Avarm and dry. Parts far removed from the 

 entrance are damp. and. if unwarmed by the 

 sun. coated with fi"ost. 



This is how it comes about: The air in the 

 hive is constantly circulating, though it may 

 be only slowly. The air next to the sunny 

 side warms and takes up moisture; and, 

 reaching the colder portions, is chilled and 

 gives up its moisture. This moisture is de- 

 posited as dew or frost. This process goes 

 on every day, converting the south side of the 

 hive into a place of a pleasantly dry and 

 mild climate: but the I'emote. shaded wall of 

 the hive acquires a frigid and alpine climate. 

 If in any way the apiarist forces the liees to 

 try existence in this alpine climate he is 

 dooming them to almost certain destruction 

 should the winter prove at all severe. If. on 

 the other hand, the cluster be so fortunate as 

 to be situated in the mild climate of the hive, 

 and has easy ai-cess to outdoors, then the 

 winter must be severe indeed to firing about 

 its destruction. If the kind apiarist also sees 



I-XUIBIT MADE BY M. H. HTXT & S<JX AT THE DETROIT ST.\TE FAIK. SEE EDITOIUAL. 



Some apiarists practice shifting the hives 

 as winter draws near, so that all face south, 

 having in summer faced in various dii-ec- 

 tious. There is danger here: for in this shift 

 the natural instinct of the bee will in many 

 cases l)e set at naught, thus putting the bees 

 at a great disadvantage for coping with the 

 long cold spells of winter. 



It may not be clear to all my readers why 

 one part of the hive can be any better than 

 another part for the bees to be quartered in. 

 and a few explanatory words right here may 

 help. 



The inside of a bee-hive in winter has a 

 range of climate equal to that offei'ed Ijy 

 many degrees of latitude or many feet of al- 

 titude. Some parts ai'e dry, while others 

 are reeking with moisture. Some are of 

 mild average temperature, while others are 

 frigid. That side upon which the sun shines 

 anil that part of it adjoining the entrance is 



that the front of the hive be of a color and 

 character to absorb a large percentage of the 

 heat of the sunshine which strikes it, so that 

 the moderating of the climate within is ac- 

 centuated, then will the bees have a winter 

 paradise. 



Norwich, Conn. 



[Our correspondent has doubtless stated the 

 correct philosophy of ventilation and its re- 

 lation to the cluster and entrance. The con- 

 ditions he points out. however, may and prob- 

 ably do vary in different localities. 



In our locality the winter cluster will be 

 found well forward at the beginning of the 

 season. This may be due to the entrance 

 {'i inch by s inches) being too small: but if 

 larger we have had bad winter losses. As 

 the stores are consumed in front of the hive, 

 with this contracted entrance the cluster 

 gradually works its way backward, following 



