THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



14] 



death of one of our number in the 

 person of Theodore Houck, who has 

 since we last met together departed 

 this life. 



It will soon be the duty of this 

 Association to select another of their 

 number to fill the position which I 

 have so poorly occupied during the 

 past year, and I feel that they will 

 have little difficulty in selecting some 

 one who will do the honors of the 

 position much more efficiently than I 

 have been able to perform them. 



Before closing I must again thank 

 our American friends for their pres- 

 ence in Canada. I feel that this ses- 

 sion will prove one of exceeding 

 benefit to us all in reaping a harvest 

 rich in valuable information, and I 

 trust that it may long be remembered 

 as such. 



WESTIONS AND AN 8 WEB 8. 



BY THK EDITOR. 



1. During the fall season after the 

 boxes have been removed, most bee- 

 keepers cover the tops of their brood- 

 chambers (or frames) with enamelled 

 or other cloth, through which there is 

 no escape of moisture owing to their 

 being coated with propolis. Now, 

 should these cloths be changed for 

 those more porous, at the time for 

 placing the colonies in the cellar or bee- 

 house, for winter? Howif they remain 

 on summer stands? 



2 At what time should bees, to be 

 wintered in the cellar or bee-house, be 

 placed in winter quarters? 



3. When placing bees in winter 

 quarters (cellar or bee-house) how 

 should the hives be arranged? 



4. Quite frequently if proper pre- 

 caution is not taken, the bees that die 

 (hiring winter fall at the entrances and 

 clog them, thus stopping the ventila- 

 tion. How do you arrange your hives 

 so as to obviate this difficulty? 



o. How do you arrange proper ven- 

 tilation lor the bee-house or cellar? 



G. What do you consider to be the 

 proper temperature for the cellar or 

 bee-house during winter? 



7. Wliat packing do you consider 

 necessary when wintering bees in the 

 cellar? and what when they are win- 

 tered on summer stands? 



ANSWERS BY D. A. JONES. 



1. I exchange the cloths for those 

 more porous, selecting those that are 

 free from propolis and placing slats 

 under them so as to keep the cloths 

 from h to % of an inch from the tops 

 of the frames, and am very careful 

 to see that the cloths »fit closely so 

 that no cold air can find an entrance 

 and no heat can escape. 



2. During the last sunshiny days in 

 the fall. 



3. I place the first row of hives 

 on platforms at a short distance (10 to 

 12 inches) from the floor or ground 

 and after these have been placed in 

 position 6 inches apart, I take two 

 strips one to two inches wide and 

 place them on the top at rear and front 

 of the hives ; upon these, place another 

 row so that the space between the 

 hives in the second row will come over 

 the centre of the hives in the first row, 

 thus allowing a free circulation of air 

 and the escape of moisture. I continue 

 tlie above until all the hives are placed 

 and am careful to have the stronger 

 stocks in the bottom rows. 



4. When placing the bees in the 

 cellar I leave the entrance open 

 across the whole front of the hive, and 

 the ventilation through the porous 

 cloth is generally sufficient, but when 

 occasion requires I generally take a 

 crooked wire and if the entrances are 

 closed open them by raking out the 

 dead bees. 



5. To winter in the bee-house suc- 

 cessfully the house should be so con- 

 structed that the inside temperature 

 cannot be affected by the outside ; and 

 in order to accomplish this the walls 

 should be packed tightly with two feet 

 of dry sawdust or three feet of chafl', 

 packing same thickness overhead, and 

 having the bottom so protected that 

 frost cainiot penetrate. It should 

 have a ventilating tube at the top. of 

 not less than one square inch to each 

 colony of bees. It should have a sub- 

 earth ventilation by means of a tube 

 laid below the depth to which frost 

 will penetrate, and from one to three 

 hundred feet in length, coming in con- 

 tact with outside atmosphere at the 

 other end. As the air passes through 

 this tube it is tempered by the dis- 

 tance which it passes through the 

 earth, and comes into the house at an 

 even temperature. It also allows foul 

 air to escape. By means of slides in 

 these ventilators, the temperature can 

 be arranged in the bee house, in which 



