1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEP: CULTURE. 



29 



possible with Init little light, it disturbed 

 these colonies so that they were quite uneasy 

 for the rest of the winter, and wasted moi*e 

 than twice as much as the bees the other hives 

 did that were not disturbed. Another thing 

 I wish to speak of in connection with win- 

 tering is this: 



Many leave their bees out too late in the 

 fall. Last fall we put 300 colonies in our new 

 cellar, Nov. 11, and they had had no good 

 chance to fly for over two weeks. The 12th 

 of November was a wann In'ight day, and 

 the 425 colonies left in the yard had a good 

 flight all day. These we put into the cellar 

 on the 14th; and when taken out in the spring 

 they were in no way any better than those 

 put in on the 11th, although they had had a 

 flne flight some thi'ee weeks later than the 

 others; so don't leave them out to waste 

 away, as they always do with these cold 

 nights of early winter. If we would all real- 

 ize the importance of having our bees well 

 prepared for winter early in the season, and 

 then be careful and not disturb them any 

 mo:"e than can possibly be prevented until 

 they are carried out of their winter quarters 

 in the spring, our winter and spring losses 

 will be much smaller than they usually are. 



I shall have to make two articles of this 

 wintering subject, and in my next I will give 

 you some photos of the building we made 

 over our bee-cellar, and will take up this sub- 

 ject of ventilation, showing how easily this 



cellar can be well ventilated, and at the same 

 time not disturb the bees in the least. When 

 our bee-cellars can be ventilated in the prop- 

 er way it is one of the most essential things 

 connected with successful wintering. But 

 when done as it frequently is, it is the ruin- 

 ation of thousands of colonies, being one of 

 the principal causes of spring dwindling in 

 its worst form. So when you build a bee- 

 cellar don't be afraid of a little extra labor 

 or expense, but make both it and your store- 

 room for the thousand and one things nec- 

 essary in a large apiary as near perfect 

 as possible; then you will find that you can 

 save many steps and receive better results 

 in the end. 



Uelanson, N. Y. 



[This is one of the best articles we ever 

 published on cellar wintering, in my opinion; 

 and I say this, even though some of its teach- 

 ings may rim counter to some things I have 

 said on the same subject. 



In the first paragraph Mr. Alexander 

 speaks of the fact that a wet cellar with a low 

 temperature, with poor ventilation, is the 

 worst place bees can be kept for wintering, 

 and we all agree with him on that proposi- 

 tion; and yet, knowing that fact, many bee- 

 keepers are unable to control the tempera- 

 ture, and the result is disaster. 



On the other hand our correspondent says 

 a wet cellar, if properly ventilated, and kept 



E. ^^^ ai>exam>ki; .-< hee cellar, left side; the wiioi>i<: cellar will hold rJ.") < ol- 



ONIES. 



