230 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



plies of fresh air from the outside. From 

 that article I make several extracts which 

 will speak for themselves: 



' when I was in the habit of airing my bees in winter 

 quarters, they did all of their roaring in the celljr; but 

 when they got to their stands in the spring there was 

 no roar left, for there would not be enough bees left to 

 get up a good respectable roar. After 1 learner) that 

 bees would winter nicely with what air was in the cel- 

 lar, and what naturally finds its way there, I found 

 my bees did their roaring on the wing; and 75 or 80 

 per cent of them were ready for the sections when 

 sent out. ****** 



; I should like to have Dr. Miller, and several others 

 who are in the habit of airing their bees, agree to test 

 this way of wintering, and see for themselves how 

 strong and healthy their bees will come out. Don't be 

 alarmed if they do roar, for they are always happy, as 

 a rule, when they roar the loudest. * * * 



I* I have wintered them so hot they could not stay in 

 the hives, but would be all in a mass together, yet 

 they came out the strongest lot I ever saw. No fresh 

 air was allowed to reach them in that condition. 



In ca.>-e a man has only a few colonies they will win- 

 ter fairly well in almost any cellar; and, of course, 

 would not raise the temperature (f the cellar so as to 

 require any spcial attention; if it did not freeze, the 

 bees would" be all right. 



It is where large numbers are kept together, that 

 fresh air is so demoralizing to them. 



Then a little further on, referring to my- 

 self, he says: 



I hope that if E. R. Root comes up into this State 

 next summer he will come on to this locality, where 

 some of the largest bee-keepers of the State are to be 

 found, and where all use large hives, ard where all 

 winter the bees in cellars as I have described. 



If circumstances had been so I could 

 have 'g-otten away, I certainly would have 

 taken a run up to Mr. Barber's cellar, and 

 incidentally stopped off to see Doolittle's. 

 I will try to do so next winter. 



Our own experience shows that the bees 

 in a cellar without ventilation, especially 

 where the temperature can not be controlled, 

 is disastrous to the bees. They roar, fly 

 out on the cellar bottom, and die in large 

 numbers; and roaring with us seems to 

 presage no good. 



Last year we had something over 200 colo- 

 nies in one of the compartments of our shop 

 cellar. On the floor above there was heavy 

 machinery in motion, with the occasional 

 dropping of heavy castings, and yet the bees 

 wintered well, and are now doing so again 

 this winter. 



In February, of last year, when it began 

 to warm up outside, the temperature in the 

 cellar began to rise. The bees became uti- 

 easy, flew out on the cellar bottom, and it 

 was evident that the loss would be consider- 

 able. We picked out one warm day, and 

 set a part of the bees out for a flight. Af- 

 ter a good cleansing they were returned to- 

 ward night. That lot of the bees became 

 immediately quiet, but the other portion 

 roared as before. These were set out on 

 another day, and returned, when they also 

 ceased their roaring. Previous to this 

 when we found the bees would become un- 

 easy we could quiet them down by giving 

 them ventilation at night, closing the doors 

 before morning. This had the effect of 

 neither increasing nOr decreasing the tem- 

 perature; but it did purify the air. 



This winter we put in only 40 colonies 

 where formerly we had 200; and at this 

 date, March 10, there are not enough dead 



bees on the floor to fill a two-quart pan; 

 and those that are on the floor are as dry 

 as though they had been dead for some 

 time. We have not had to ventilate, for the 

 simple reason that the compartment is large 

 for the number of bees confined; and it may 

 not be necessary to give them a winter 

 flight. 



Now, my own theory of the matter is this: 

 That a lack of pure air causes the bees to 

 become uneasj' and hence active. They 

 consume their stores, as a matter of course 

 clogging the intestines. This makes them 

 stilt more uneasy. When they are restless 

 from this cause, nothing but a flight will 

 quiet them; but when they are restless from 

 want of pure air, a supply of it makes them 

 immediately contented and quiet. 



The accompanying letter, received from 

 one of our correspondents, you will notice 

 is along the same line: 



I wish to add my testimony in regard to ventilating 

 a bee cellar, and in takirg bees out for a flight and 

 returning them to the cellar. I use a part of my house- 

 cellar partitioned off with matched boards. The tem- 

 perature keeps between 38 and 41 degrees, with but 

 little variation ; air is rather damp, but I have a ce- 

 ment floor, and cellar is mouse-proof. 



The winter of 1901 being the first I had tried, as I 

 was afraid the cellar was too cold and damp, I put six 

 colonies in for experiment. In March they were mak- 

 ing more noise than earlier in the winter, causing me 

 much anxiety; so when we had a warm day about the 

 middle of the month. I set them out. They had a good 

 fly. cleaned the hives of dead bees, etc.; were carried 

 back in the evening, and were very quiet till they 

 were set out for good a month later. 



From what I have read since, I do not think they 

 had become so uneasy as to cause a veteran to worry; 

 but I think it did them good, for afterward during the 

 whole month they were very quiet — as quiet as when 

 first put in. and all came out well in the spring. 



This winter I have eleven colonies in the cellar; 

 have taken more pa-ns to ventilate, and up to the pres- 

 ent time (Feb. 221 they are very quiet — more so than 

 those were 1 ist year. I have 40 colonies out of doors, 

 packed in planer shavings. Chas. S. Blake. 



Ashby, Mass., Feb. 22. 



I do not presume to contradict so good an 

 authority as Mr. Doolittle or Mr. Barber; 

 but I firmly believe that, in the average 

 cellar, and with the average bee-keeper, he 

 will do better to ventilate occasionally, and 

 perhaps set the bees out some warm day 

 for a flight. A plan of procedure that will 

 work well with experts like Mr. Doolittle 

 or Mr. Barber might prove disastrous with 

 the average bee keeper. Mr. Doolittle has 

 a cellar that will maintain the temperature 

 absolutely within half a degree. This 

 makes, no doubt, a modifying condition, ren- 

 dering it unnecessary for him to give his 

 bees any other ventilation than what would 

 percolate through the cellar doors or walls. 

 The absolutely uniform temperature keeps 

 the bees quiet, or in a state of quiet and 

 sleep, where the activity, and consumption 

 of stores, are kept down to the lowest point 

 possible; hence little ventilation is needed. 

 But now comes our friend Mr. Barber, in- 

 sisting that temperature is not essential, 

 and that they must have no fresh air. 



Another winter, if my health and time 

 will permit, I hope to see that cellar, to de- 

 termine, if possible, why his experience 

 and ours should be so diametricall3' oppo- 

 site to each other. 



