AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL- 



SIS 



Ventilation for Out-Door Win- 

 tering, Etc. 



Query 903.— 1. Please give the most ap- 

 proved ventilation for out-of-door wintering, 

 and whetlier you would approve of a bee- 

 space left over tiie top of the frames for bees 

 to travel through from one frame to another, 

 rather than the Quinby method of making 

 holes through the combs. 2. Do you approve 

 of moving the hives together, placing them 

 side by side for additional protection for win- 

 ter ?— Delta. 



I have had no experience. — Eugene 

 Secor. 



I have no experience. — Mrs. Jennie 

 Atchley. 



1. Query 902 answers this. 2. In 

 union there is strength; likewise warmth. 

 — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



In my climate the only preparation 

 the colonies get 'for wintering is a bee- 

 space over the tops of the frames, and a 

 quilt. — J. P. H. Brown. 



1. I do not like to mutilate my combs, 

 but I think it very desirable to have 

 some passageway. 2. Not in Michigan 

 wintei-s. — J. H. Larrabee. 



1. See answer to Query 902. To lay 

 long corncobs crosswise of the frames is 

 much preferable to cutting holes in the 

 combs. 2. No. — Mrs. J. N. Heater. 



1. I should give the bees an opportu- 

 nity to pass over the tops of the frames. 

 As for the rest, I have not had suCBcient 

 experience to warrant an opinion. — R. 

 L. Taylor. 



1. I don't know ivhich is the most ap- 

 proved method. I should prefer space 

 over the top of frames, to holes through 

 the combs. 2. I never tried that way. 

 — A. B. Mason. 



1. The best ventilation for out-door 

 wintering is a wide-open entrance, and 

 a bottom-board kept free from dead bees. 

 A passage over the frames in winter, 

 out-of-doors, is worse than useless. 

 .Holes through the combs are an advan- 

 tage. — M. Mahin. 



1. I approve of both space and open- 

 ing, and there need not be much ventila- 

 tion, if the entrance is left open. 2. If 

 in single-walled hives, it would be well 

 to move them. — P. H. Elwood. 



1. Give ample room at the entrance, 

 with one inch space over the tops of the 

 frames. Don't make holes through the 

 combs. 2. I see no advantage in plac- 

 ing hives close together. — J. E. Pond. 



1. I would prefer a space over for 

 bees to pass at all times, summer and 

 winter alike. I used to cut holes 

 through the combs, but do so no longer. 

 2. Answered in No. 902. — A. J. Cook. 



1. Leave the entrance opened full 

 size. A bee-space over the frames may 

 be provided in the cheapest way to ad- 

 vantage. Then provide close, warm 

 packing above. 2. No. — G. W. Demaree. 



1. If your frames are of the dimen- 

 sions of the Langstroth, I would prefer 

 the bee-space over the frames. Should 

 they be of the American pattern, the 

 holes a la Quinby are preferable. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



1. Give full width of entrance, and 

 cover the top of the frames with a sheet 

 of common unbleached cotton-clotb, over 

 which place a i-inch sawdust cushion. 

 I prefer a space over the combs, to holes 

 through them. 2. No.— G. M. Doolit- 



TLE. 



1. The burr-combs are sufficient to 

 give a passage from one frame to 

 another. 2. We leave our hives on the 

 summer stands. If you remove them, a 

 great mauy bees will be lost during their 

 winter flight, for they will not notice 

 their change of place. — Dadant & Son. 



1. Ventilate only at the entrance. 

 Never under any consideration allow 

 upward ventilation. A space above the 

 frames is all right-»-better than holes in 

 the frames — if you use a good cushion 

 on top. 2. I don't think I would ever 

 move the hives together. — H. D. Cut- 

 ting. 



1. I suppose most out-door winterers 

 leave the entrance open full width, and 

 most of them leave some chance for the 

 slow upward escape of air through 

 son»ething called an absorbent. A bee- 

 space over frames is more easily made 

 and kept. 2. I don't see why there may 

 not be advantages in it. — C. C. Miller. 



1. Opinions differ greatly on this 

 point. [ believe in a space below the 

 frames, a large entrance, and no upward 

 ventilation. Other things being equal, 

 I would prefer the holes through the 

 combs. This is so much trouble that I 



