66 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Feb. 2, 1899. 



ing and were found wanting, notwithstanding' wonderful 

 progress has been achieved in the foregoing direction, and 

 to this end the method herein described has in all of mj- 

 experience doubled the amount of surplus per colony over 

 any other method I have practiced, except in isolated cases, 

 while the expense, time and labor were lessened one-half, 

 and often more than one-half. As I have written hundreds 

 of pages explaining my method to bee-keepers the past 

 three years, in the next article I will again give the formula 

 freely. Morgan Co., Ohio. 



[To be continued.] 



Cellar-WinteFing" of Bees — Hints to Beg-inners. 



BY K. S. MILKS. 



PERHAPS a little of my experience will be of use to 

 " Wisconsin " (see page 758, 1898). I have wintered 

 bees with bottoms on the hives the same as they were 

 in .summer, and also with bottoms off. I very much prefer 

 the latter way, for, as Dr. Miller says, it requires too much 

 attention to keep the entrance clear of dead bees when they 

 have only the usual summer entrance. The Doctor's way 

 may be the best of all, but if one does not have his kind of 

 bottom-boards they must do the best they can under the 

 circumstances. 



I always take off the bottoms before carrying into the 

 cellar, as I find that, no difference how carefully you handle 

 bees in carrj-ing in, the going from the cold atmosphere out- 

 side to the comparatively warm air of the cellar, always 

 rouses the colonies more or less, and when yon lift off from 

 the bottom you will lose a good many bees. 



While going into the warm air of the cellar with bot- 

 toms oS will rouse the colony the same, there is nothing 

 for them to crawl onto, and as they are all ready to be 

 quickly set in place, the disturbance is soon over and they 

 settle down. 



I like to have .the cellar pretty dark, just so I can see to 

 set the hives in place, and for this reason I seldom work at 

 putting them in in the middle of the day. 



While this article is too late to be of any use this win- 

 ter, I think it will pay any beginner to save it till next fall, 

 as it will save him considerable time to know just how to 

 proceed to get the bees in the cellar in the best condition to 

 stand the long confinement. 



With the common loose bottom, if the hives are within 

 three or four rods of the cellar, I pry them loose from the 

 bottom-board a day or two before cellaring-, so they will be 

 perfectly quiet and undisturbed when I go to carry them 

 into the cellar. The distance to raise them from the bot- 

 tom-board depends on the strength of the colony. If not 

 very strong, like mine were last fall, one only has to raise 

 them enough to slip a nail under each corner ; but if real 

 strong, and the combs nearly full of honey, you may have 

 to raise them a half inch or more. If there is a cold wind 

 blowing the bees will the more quickly draw up among the 

 combs and off of the bottom-board. 



In extreme cases, as an extra-strong and cross colony, I 

 carry the hive carefully and set it facing north, near the 

 door, the evening before I wish to put it in. Thej' pry it 

 loose from the bottom, and after an hour or two, when they 

 have quieted down again, I raise them some more at the 

 front end so as to get them all off the bottom. 



On a still night, with the temperature at zero, I have 

 had hives raised '4 to '4 inch from the bottom, and still 

 have the cluster touch the bottom-board. In such cases I 

 carefully pick up the hive and carry it into the cellar. The 

 loss of a couple dozen bees from such a colony is no damage. 



Right here I would like to say that these extra-strong 

 colonies, when wintered in the cellar, seldom are the best 

 when they come out, as they are largely old bees, and die 

 off fast throvigh the winter. I prefer a moderate colony 

 with young queen and plenty of honey for cellar-wintering, 

 every time. 



If the hives are more than three or four rods from the 

 cellar, I carry them the same as I do the extra-strong ones, 

 on a cold afternoon, and have them all ready to take in 

 earlj' in the morning. Sometimes I carry in some in the 

 evening if it is moonlight. Have the cellar prepared before 

 hand, by taking an empty hive or super, and level it on 

 four bricks. Fix as many of these as you need, side by side, 

 as close together as necessity requires, then begin at the far 

 corner of your cellar, set in a hive of bees, then take a 

 couple sticks about 2 inches squai-e and as long as the hive 

 is wide, and lay one on top of the hive just set in, at each 



end, for the nest hive to set on. Pile up this way till the 

 pile is as high as you want it, then begin on the next one. 



If I had only four or five hives I would pile them in one 

 pile, as I think the)' are better off up from the floor. 



The advantages of this way of piling, over the way 

 commonly recommended, is that it is easier to fix the 

 stands, and if you happen to make a jar, as you will some- 

 times, you only jar the pile of hives you are working on, 

 while the other way you jar the whole lot of hives. 



Hives arranged as above in a cellar of the proper tem- 

 perature will need little or no attention through the winter, 

 and the combs and bees will stay perfectly dry and clean. 



To take out in the spring, take a bottom-board, lay it 

 on a box or on the cellar floor, set a hive on it, and they are 

 ready to go out. 



Tight-bottom hives need top ventilation in the cellar. 



If for any reason I wish to leave the bottom on a hive, I 

 put a quilt of muslin over the frames while it is yet warm 

 weather, then when I get them into the cellar I carefully 

 remove the cover and pile in the cellar the same as those 

 with bottoms off. 



All work putting bees in the cellar should be done with 

 the greatest care to avoid jars or shaking of the frames. 

 Always carry a hive endwise of the frames, that is, if a 

 Langstroth hive, the entrance should be in front as j-ou 

 carry it. Crawford Co., Iowa. 



Wintering' Bees in the Cellar. 



BV S. T. PETTIT. 



ON page 602 (1898) may be found the following : 

 '■ To prevent mold in hives, tlie editor of Revue Internationale 

 says a plan that has proved satisfactory to all who have tried it, is 

 to have an openings at the back as well as front under the hive, allowing- 

 the air to pass through. In this country the same object is attained by 

 those who cellar their bees, by having a front entrance two inches deep, 

 or by removinjr the floor entirely." 



I wish to .say, if the writer, by the term " thiscountry,"" 

 means to include Canada, that he is laboring under quite a 

 big mistake. Since the winter 1886-87 I have practiced and 

 advocated providing air-passages throtigh under the hives by 

 placing 's-inch blocks tinder the rear ends of the hives. I 

 also elevate the rear end of each about two inches higher 

 than the front end. There is great gain in having the air 

 to pass automatically through under the hive from front to 

 rear. The difference in temperature between hive air and 

 cellar air causes the air to pass sogentl)' and surely through 

 and around the bees and out at the highest opening that the 

 effect is all that can be desired. A good many in Canada 

 are adopting this plan, and those who do not will, .so I think, 

 continue to suffer more or less, and you will hear of them 

 using arts of one kind or other to coax their bees upstairs in 

 the comb honey supers. 



In the light of my own experience and observation I see 

 it as follows : A hive that depends only upon a large en- 

 trance for ventilation has only what is gained by the diffu- 

 sion, assisted by the efforts of the bees. Now, I presume 

 we all know that cellar air in a cellar filled with bees is a 

 good way off' from being pure, and con.sequently the hive 

 air has only foul cellar air to purify it. Well, it follows 

 that the diffusion will be sluggish, and the cleansing very 

 imperfect ; and the bees, feeling the consequent depression, 

 will, in order to effect a change of air, tuse their wings, and 

 a disquietude and murmuring will tell the attentive bee- 

 keeper that all is not well. But very likely the colonies will 

 pull through, but the)' cannot be in just the same vigorous, 

 condition that they would be if they had been, during the 

 winter, in a perfectly comfortable condition, not feeling the 

 necessity of moving a wing. 



It is a good thing at this time of year to examine and 

 stud)' our bees and bee-cellars, and our methods, atid take 

 another step forward in our profession. One thing is cer- 

 tain, and that is this, if our bees are noisy there is room for 

 improvement. 



I will add that in my cellar the hives set one upon 

 another to the top of the cellar, with a chaff cushion be- 

 tween them, so that the floor of each hive above another is 

 kept warm through the cushion by the heat of the one upon 

 which it sits. In most of the hives the bees lie upon their 

 own warm floor, kept warm by the heat of the bees below 

 them, and, I tell yoti, it gives me a good deal of pleasure to 

 go through my bee-cellar two or three times a week, candle 

 in hand, and see the dear little "hum-bugs" sleeping—rest- 

 ing so comfortably and free from care. I have no anxiety 

 about their .safe wintering. With pleasing anticipations I 



