1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



245 



storms, so will continual perseverance lead 

 you on and on through these trying hours 

 until a clear unclouded sunset welcomes you 

 to a land of rest 

 Delanson, N. Y. 



[The suggestions that our correspondent 

 has made are, as a whole, good. There is 

 one point, however, on which a few of our 

 subscribers might take issue; namely, the 

 profits in the honey business. Mr. Alexander 

 estimates that, one year with another, there 

 will be about $5.00 per colony, spring count, 

 clear of all expenses, and he believes this 

 will be a "moderate estimate." In Mr. A.'s 

 locality this would not be far from right; but 

 in the average locality the returns would be 

 somewhat less than that. Mr. W. L. Cogg- 

 shall, one of the most extensive bee-keepers 

 in the world, once told us that, if he made 

 on an average $2.00 per colony, fx'om all his 

 bees, he would be well satisfied, and he had 

 some apiaries in places where buckwheat is 

 one of the main crops. 



But a large number of colonies in a locality 

 will not begin to give the average net returns 

 of a small number. A bee-keeper located 

 where there are no other bees, with 25 or 50 

 colonies, if he devoted them to the produc- 

 tion of fancy comb honey, might get on an 

 average $7.50 to $10.00 per colony; yes, he 

 might even double these figures if he had a 

 good market. 



In our A B C of Bee Culture, under the 

 head of ' ' Profits in Bees, ' ' we estimate that, 

 in a locality not overstocked, the annual in- 

 come per colony clear of expenses will be 

 $3.50. If a feeding in the fall were required, 

 it would make it approximately 50 cents less. 

 Much will depend on whether the honey is 

 sold at retail or to jobbers in the cities. 

 Many a small bee-keeper works up a small 

 trade that comes to the house for the honey, 

 paying for it retail prices. In such cases the 

 profits are necessarily lai'ger than when the 

 honey is sold in a lump in the city. — Ed.] 



WET BEE-CELLARS. 



Another Case where Bees Wintered Al- 

 most Without Loss in a Wet Cellar ; 

 Ventilation Necessary. 



BY ERNEST W. FOX. 



Mr. Alexander's article on cellar winter- 

 ing of bees, page 27, interests me very much, 

 as I have also made a success of wintering 

 bees in a wet cellar. My cellar is made es- 

 pecially for bees, in a steep bank, covered 

 entirely with dirt. It has always been so 

 damp that the dirt on the bottom is gummy. 

 Two years ago this winter we had a very 

 heavy snowfall, and consequently there was 

 no frost in the ground to speak of, so almost 

 all the water from the snow soaked into the 

 ground. 



I hadn't been in my cellar for two weeks. 

 During that time it had been so warm that 

 nearly all the snow was gone. I was very 

 anxious to see what condition the bees were 



in. To my great surprise I found about four 

 inches of water on the cellar floor. I dug a 

 trench thi'ough in under the doors and drain- 

 ed the water out as best I could. I feared 

 bad results, as it was nearly a month after 

 discovering the water before I dared to take 

 the bees out, But, on the contrary, it seem- 

 ed to be a benefit. They were more quiet 

 after the water ran in than they had been 

 for some time before. Bear in mind, though, 

 the temperature did not go below 45 degrees. 

 I lost just two colonies out of 83 that winter. 

 The rest all came out in tine condition. 



A year ago this winter my cellar was rea- 

 sonably dry at the time of setting the liees 

 in; but there came several heavy rainfalls 

 just after putting the bees in. There being 

 no frost in the ground to speak of, scarcely 

 any water ran off, so it soaked into the cel- 

 lar throu.gh the side wall again. 



Well, I thought I should get it in the neck 

 this time, sure. I opened up the trench 

 through in under the door, and most of the 

 water drained out. The cellar was wet all 

 winter. I had to keep this ditch open all 

 winter to keep the temperature down in the 

 cellar. There was a direct draft of air 

 through the cellar all the time, so you see 

 there was no chance for foul air. The tem- 

 perature ranged from 46 to 54 degrees. My 

 bees never came out in better condition. I 

 lost only one colony out of 117, and this one 

 had but very few bees when I set them in, 

 and I am sure they were queenless. Part of 

 the hives I have standing on bottom-boards, 

 just as they are on the summer stands — a 

 piece of burlap or old carpet over the frames, 

 the cover removed entirely. The rest I leave 

 the cover on and raise the front of the hive 

 from bottom-board on to one-inch blocks. I 

 like this way of placing the hives in the cel- 

 lar the best of any I have found yet. I have 

 been in several bee-cellars in this neighbor- 

 hood. They are all dryer than mine, and I 

 have had better success in wintering than 

 most of them. Almost every season I have 

 wintered a few colonies in the cellar under 

 house. I have .34 colonies in this cellar this 

 winter. It is what I call a really dry cellar. 

 The bees winter well; but they seem to come 

 out stronger and in better condition, every 

 thing considered, from the wet cellar. I 

 don't care if the cellar is wet if it is warm 

 enough to be well ventilated, allowing an 

 inlet as well as an outlet of air. I have 135 

 colonies in the cellai's, in fine condition. 



Hillsboro, Wis., Jan. 11. 



[Our correspondent mentions one vei'y im- 

 portant thing, namely, that the temperature 

 did not go below 45 degrees nor above 54 — 

 otherwise his losses would have been severe. 

 On this question of temperature hinges the 

 whole matter of successful wintering. A 

 cellar reeking with dampness at a low tem- 

 perature will kill bees at a fearful rate. 

 One with a temperature of 45. degrees aver- 

 age, with a maximum of 50 and a minimum 

 of 40, will winter bees whether wet or dry, 

 other things being equal; but we should very 

 much prefer to have it too dry than too wet. 

 —Ed.] 



