THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



143 



little rise, as from the sun shining on the 

 eutrauce, brings them out. It seems 

 to me best to keep them just ou that 

 border line of uuconsciousness, and yet 

 not so torpid, but that they would 

 rouse up and siiift to " pastures new," 

 if they tiud nothing but pollen within 

 reach of their tongues. At this tem- 

 perature the air must be kept lively 

 by ventilation and then if their quar- 

 ters are dark, they keep dry and easy, 

 and undoubtedly consider the winter 

 only a rather long, cool night. 

 No 7 : answered in number 1. 



Bound Brook, N. J. 



ANSWERS BY GEO. W. HOUSE. 



1. When the boxes are removed for 

 the season, I cover the frames, etih- 

 er with a straw mat, or a piece of 

 matting that comes around tea chests. 

 AVhen the boxes are removed from the 

 hive, prepare the tops as you wish to 

 have them during winter. Would give 

 but little upward ventilation for cellar 

 wintering. 



2. About the middle of November, 

 the hives should be placed in the cellar 

 dry and clean, and the bees should have 

 a good fliglit just before carrying them 

 in the cellar or bee-house. 



3. The bottom tier of hives should 

 be placed about ten inches above the 

 cellar bottom and this tier of hives 

 should be raised from bottom board on 

 I in. blocks. On top of this tier pile 

 up the hives as iiigh as the cellar will 

 admit; do not raise the hives from bot- 

 tom boards but leave the whole summer 

 entrances open. There should be a 

 space of at least six inches between 

 cellar w^alls and outside row of hives 

 with entrances toward the centre of 

 cellar. Arrange row around outside 

 the double rows through centre, facing 

 the hive from each other leaving nar- 

 row passage way every two rows. 



4. If temperature is right in cellar 

 there will l)e no trouble in this respect. 

 In wintering out doors, we have our 

 hives slant a little to the front and 

 whenever the weather admits, that is, 

 moderately warm, we rake the dead 

 bees out with a heavy wire bent at 

 right angles about three inches from 

 the end. This is an important point 

 in successful wintering. 



5. No ventilation from outside. The 

 impure air is carried oil' by a 3 in. tin 

 pipe from top ofcellar to outside, thence 

 upvvard about 26 feet, or as high as the 

 building. 



6. From 55 to GO degrees Fahren- 

 heit. Damp cellars want higher 



temperature than warm and dry ones. 

 I think our temperature is generally too 

 low. 



7. No packing is necessary when 

 wintered in cellar. When wintered 

 out doors the hive should be packed in 

 chaff, straw or planers' shavings. The 

 surplus chamber should also be packed 

 with chaff about | full. 



For covering over frames, I consider 

 straw mats best. The covering that 

 comes around chests of tea next best. 

 Fayetteville, N. Y. 



ANSWERS BY W. MCKAY DOUGAN, M. D. 



1. Before putting bees in the house 

 or cellar to be wintered, the brood 

 chambers should be covered with 

 something that will absorb moisture 

 and thus keep the bees dry. Two 

 thicknesses of ordinary carpet, used 

 instead of hive cover, serves an ad- 

 mirable purpose when wintering bees 

 in the cellar here. If left on summer 

 stands I like an upper story. This I 

 fill with forest leaves and know that 

 my bees will winter well if in a double- 

 walled orchaft-hive. 



2. During the first spell of freezing 

 weather. 



3. If room is an object they may be 

 tied up; it matters little, however, 

 how hives are arranged if the cellar 

 or house is dark and properly venti- 

 lated. 



4. Here we have no bee diseases, 

 except dysentery from bad honey dew 

 sometimes. When this trouble is 

 feared we elevate the entrances or 

 ventilate at tops of hives. 



5. By means of flues, though a cellar 

 within a cellar, like Mr. Schnider's, of 

 Louisville, Kentucky, is, perhaps, the 

 best of all. 



6. From 40° to 45°. 



7. If wintered in the cellar or on 

 summer stands, no packing is neces- 

 sary here except that stated in answer 

 to No. 1. 



Oklahoma Apiary, via Seneca, 3Io. 



ANSWERS BY G. W. DE5IAREE. 



1. After experimenting in this line 

 for several years I now use the same 

 quilts the year around. In this climate 

 there is no need whatever of changing 

 the quilts because they have become 

 coaled with propolis. 



2. If the climate was the same all 

 over the country, and just as it is in 

 central Kentucky, I would answer 

 " never." 



3. I have to see the first bee hive— 



