THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



709 



The Wintering of Bees. 



D. A. JONES. 



Tliis is a subject which has baffled 

 our most scientific bee-keepers for 

 ages, and a doubt still seems to exist 

 in the minds of some if this subject 

 has been fathomed, which, however, 

 to my mind, is not the case. To me 

 the wintering of bees is very simple, 

 and I have no more question a^out 

 wintering every colony in proper con- 

 dition than I have in wintering horses, 

 cattle, or any other kind of stock. It 

 is only necessary to have a knowledge 

 of their requirements ; complying 

 with these, means success. 



I have tried all the ditferent meth- 

 ods ; spent thousands of dollars in ex- 

 perimenting, and have no hesitation 

 m saying I have had a larger and more 

 varied experience than any other bee- 

 keeper. I liave succeeded for years 

 in wintering by tlie system which I 

 have adopted, and hundreds of others 

 have been successful who have care- 

 fully followed the same instructions 

 and directions. 



This system is so simple and easy 

 that any novice can carry it out witli- 

 out difficulty, and can be applied to 

 suit all bee-keepers irrespective of 

 number or kind of hive. 



I will give five different methods of 

 wintering, viz : In Bee House ; in 

 Cellar ; in Clamp ; in Chaff or Sawdust 

 Hives ; in Boxes Packed. 



WINTERING IN BEE HOUSES. 



To do this successfully it should be 

 so constructed that tlie out-door tem- 

 perature cannot affect that of the bee 

 house ; and, in order to accomplish 

 this, its walls should be packed tightly 

 with two feet of dry sawdust or three 

 feet of chaff, packing overhead same 

 thickness, and the bottom so protected 

 that no frost can penetrate. Next, it 

 should have a ventilating tube at the 

 top, of not less than one square inch 

 to each colony of bees. It should have 

 sub-earth ventilation by means of a 

 tube laid below the depth frost will 

 penetrate, and from one to three hun- 

 dred feet m length, coming in contact 

 with the outside atmosphere at the 

 other end ; as air passes through this 

 tube it is tempered by the distance 

 through the earth, and conies into the 

 house at an even temperature. By 

 means of slides at these ventilators, 

 the temperature can be arranged in 

 the bee house, which should stand 

 from 43^ to 46^, and in no case should 

 it fall lower than 42-. Now, if a bee 

 house is constructed in this way it will 

 not change its temperature more than 

 from 1^ to .S-' during the winter, and 

 can be regulated, as before stated, by 

 means ot ventilating slides. Have 

 t,ight fitting triple doors, making two 

 dead air spaces. 



When the bee house is filled, and 

 during warm weather in the spring, 

 where a person does not want to set 

 them out until the first pollen appears 

 (which IS generally from Tag Alder or 

 Black Willow), it is necessarv that the 

 temperature of the room be kept at 

 the wintering standpoint. This may 

 be done by means of an ice-box or 

 refrigerator, tilled with ice or snow. 



and suspended at the top of the room 

 in close proximity to the ceiling. The 

 bottom of the box must be so con- 

 structed that while the warm air may 

 be allowed to pass up through the re- 

 frigerator, the drippings will not drop 

 to the floor and create a moisture. 

 This latter may be prevented by 

 means of a tube running from the box 

 down through the floor. 



Pkkpauation. —AH this must be 

 done in the fall. They should be 

 strong in stores, have plenty of young 

 bees, and should be crowded up to 

 have no more comb than they can 

 cover, and these should be well stored 

 with pollen and honey (say 20 to 30 

 lbs. of the latter). If you have not 

 this quantity, feed granulated sugar 

 and water (2 lbs. of the former to 1 lb. 

 of the latter) brought to a boil and 

 allowed to cool before feeding. This 

 makes a good, and even better, feed 

 than the best of honey, and should be 

 fed in time for the bees to seal it over. 

 Commence feeding about the 1st of 

 September, or immediately after the 

 first frost has killed the flowers. No 

 glucose thould ever be fed. Winter pas- 

 sages should be made through the 

 combs, between which a space of half 

 an inch should be left. During the 

 last sunshining days in the fall re- 

 move the lid and cloth from the hive 

 and allow the sun to shine in ; this 

 purifies and dries them. Then put on 

 a cloth free from propolis ; that same 

 evening carry the bees carefully into 

 the house, placing them on a bench 

 10 to 12 inches from the floor or ground; 

 this keeps them out of the carbonic 

 acid gas, which is given off by. the 

 bees in the hive, and which sinks to 

 the lowest part of the bee house. The 

 lids should be removed, and only a 

 cloth or cushion of chaff or sawdust 

 allowed to remain on the hive. Leave 

 the entrance wide open. 



When the first row has been placed 

 on the platform, from 2 to 6 inches 

 apart, take two strips 1 to 2 inches 

 wide, and place on top at the rear and 

 front of tne hives, and upon these 



Elace another row, so that the spaces 

 etween the hives in the second row 

 will come over the center of the hives 

 in the first row, thus allowing a free 

 circulation of air and the escape of 

 the moisture. Thus — 



[| 



Continue the above until all the hives 

 are placed. Care should be taken to 

 have the stronger colonies in the bot- 

 tom rows. 



Two thermometers should be placed 

 in every house — one opposite the bot- 

 tom and the other opposite the top 

 row, the former indicating 43-' and the 

 latter 46 '. 



Keep the house perfectly dark and 

 let them alone until you set them out 

 in the spring, unless they show signs 

 of dysentery by soiling the entrance 

 of their hive, in which case take them 

 out quietly on the first favorable day 

 and give them a fly, taking care to re- 

 place the liive immediatelv after they 

 have returned from their (light. 



WINTERING IN CELLARS. 



The preparation and management 

 in the fall and throughout the winter 

 is the same as is necessary in the bee 

 house, but they must be placed at 

 least two feet from the cellar bottom ; 

 keep the temperature the same as in 

 the bee house. 



Do not allow any decaying vegeta- 

 bles in the cellar with the bees. If 

 they show signs of dysentery and the 

 weather is fine, give them a flight, be- 

 ing sure to always put them on the 

 same stand again after tlie first flight. 

 Never leave them out over night, but 

 put them back in the cellar after they 

 return from their flight. Set out of 

 the bee house and cellar the first fa- 

 vorable weather when pollen appears. 



The hives must all be examined 

 carefully when setting out, and only 

 what combs the bees can cover must 

 be left. Take care that plenty of 

 stores are left in the liives, and have 

 the bees crowded together as much as 

 possibly by the use of the division 

 board. 



WINTERING IN CLAMPS. 



Prepare the colonies the same as be- 

 fore. Make a platform six inches 

 above the ground and wide enough to 

 have from 10 to 12 inches of space 

 in front of the hive, 12 to 1-5 inches at 

 the rear of the hive, and a platform 

 long enough to hold all your hives. 

 After placing them 4 to 6 inches apart, 

 if there is any space in the rear of 

 division board, pack it with dry saw- 

 dust or chaff ; remove the lids and put 

 clean cloths on the frames, or, if a 

 box hive or log gum, bore half a dozen 

 inch holes in the top of the hive, 

 and that covered with cloth allows 

 moisture to pass up into the packing 

 above. Place a stick, half an inch 

 thick, each side of the entrance, long 

 enough to reach the edge of the plat- 

 form ; upon these lay a board, by 

 means of this there will be a com- 

 munication with the outside at all 

 times ; then drive stakes at the front 

 and rear of the platform, set up boards 

 all around this platform inside the 

 stakes of sufficient height to allow 

 packing IS inches above the hive, 

 pack firmly with dry sawdust or chaff 

 around and between the hives and 

 about 18 inches on top, then lay boards 

 on the top of the packing, upon these 

 place stones or other heavy weights 

 (100 lbs. on each hive is not too much). 

 This will pack firmly and prevent 

 heat from passing up through it from 

 the inside of the hive and yet allow 

 moisture to escape. The" packing 

 should not be removed until about 

 fruit blossom, except slightly to ex- 

 amine condition of colonies. 



This clamp should be banked out- 

 side sufliciently to prevent frost from 

 getting under ; if sawdust were packed 

 under the clamp it would be better. 

 A slanting roof keeps off rain and 

 thawing snow. 



WINTERING IN DRY GOODS BOXES. 



Where parties have only a few colo- 

 nies old dry-goodsboxesmay be taken, 

 the bees placed in them and packed in 

 a similar manner to a clamp, but there 

 should always be 6 inches of dry pack- 

 ing under the hive, preventing frost 



