1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



483 



pollen, particulai'ly in the early part of win- 

 ter, is undesirable, and a feed of granulated- 

 sugar syrup in the fall for the center of the 

 brood-cliamber is desirable where the bees 

 are long confined in winter quai'ters. The 

 stores should be kept covered by the bees, thus 

 preventing granulation and the absorption of 

 germs and moisture. Empty combs outside 

 of the cluster, stores within, is what we want 

 rather than that which is too often the case 

 — the opposite condition. 



FALL PROTECTION. 



Yeai's of observation and reflection has 

 convinced me that bees are better in winter 

 repositories as soon as we have reason to be- 

 lieve that cold penetrating weather has ar- 

 rived. This, with us, is about Nov. 15. A 

 week or two out in the cold may do more 

 harm than can be undone by a later flight. 



HOW PROTECTED. 



The above is important, and generally does 

 not receive adequate consideration. There 

 should be svifficient ventilation through the 

 hive to carry from the bees and stores the 

 foul air and moisture, and yet not carry away 

 an unnecessary amount of heat. To do this 

 the coverings should not be air-tight, and yet 

 they should be sufficiently warm to keep the 

 air and heat from passing through more rap- 

 idly than to carry out the object heretofore 

 mentioned. I use an unsealed cloth; and, 

 upon this felt cloth, felt paper, old carpet, 

 tea-box matting, or chaff cushions 



VENTILATION. 



Bees respire. In that excellent address of 

 Mr. S. D. House, delivered at the late Brant- 

 ford convention, and already reported in 

 Gleanings, he gave the result of a series of 

 experiments reported by eminent men. Un- 

 der the most favorable conditions for quies- 

 cence the bees gave only three to five respir- 

 ations in three to five minutes. No animal, 

 be it man or beast, can breathe without, in 

 the act, consuming oxygen and emitting car- 

 bonic-acid gas. If the air is foul the system 

 suffers; up to a certain point the respix'ation 

 and circulation increase. This law is as fix- 

 ed as that the earth revolves about the sun. 



We may say, "My bees get no systematic 

 ventilation, " and be correct. My stock of 

 cattle may live by browsing and feeding 

 where they can during the winter; the con- 

 ditions may be so they will do fairly well 

 without my care; but live stock must get 

 their feed, and bees must consume oxygen. 

 As we value our reputation let us desist fi'om 

 saying winter repositories require no venti- 

 lation. Bees have blood; that blood circu- 

 lates, and bees breathe through openings 

 called "spiracles," cari'ying air even to the 

 substance of the brain and nerves. These 

 organs being there, intelligent thought should 

 for ever preclude us from claiming that it is 

 not requisite that winter repositories with 

 bees do not require to be ventilated. 



It is a matter of whether that process of 

 ventilation can be seen and noticed, and is 

 under control, or not. No ordinary house 

 or cellar is ever air-tight. If the bees are 



quiet, and respiration at the minimum, 

 and the number of hives limited, probably, 

 in an ordinary cellar, there is generally 

 enough circulation without special means. 

 When winds are high, and the temperature 

 outside lower than that inside, ordinary cel- 

 lars generally have too much ventilation 

 with correspondingly rapid and injurious 

 changes in temperature. But when calm, 

 and the outside and inside temperature about 

 the same, then the lack of system and the 

 want of regular intakes and outlets, with 

 power to move the aii", is felt by the bees, 

 even if not by the bee-keeper. In my cellar 

 there is a system of ventilation, and by 

 means of fire in the bee-house above, or by 

 means of fire in the center compartment, 

 5X5, Fig. 1, two stovo-pipes discharging in- 

 to the chimney F, Fig. 1, I can get a current 

 of air up the chimney. Then through open- 

 ings on the north and south side, at the base 

 of the chimney, the foul air is drawn from 

 the bottom of the cellar, and a change of air 

 is maintained. I should like to see a fan in 

 the chimney, I'un by clockwork and weight, 

 or some other inexpensive power. 



TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT. 



Observation leads me, until I know more 

 at least, to prefer a temperature of 42 to 45°. 

 Darkness as absolute as we can secure it is, 

 I am sure, the desirable condition. 



QUIET AND ODOR. 



Bees may become accustomed to many 

 things; in fact, I believe they may be trained 

 to a greater extent than many admit. We 

 can, however, make no mistake by securing 

 as absolute quiet as possible, and I aim at 

 this as to vibration, noise, light, and odor; 

 no liquefying of honey, and no rendering of 

 wax is allowed in the bee-house above while 

 the bees are in the cellar below. 



DESCRIPTION OF CELLAR. 



The bee-house illustrated is of concrete, 

 and even the chimney is of this. The chim- 

 ney has a cowl on top of it, with its back to 

 the wind to assist in getting a draft. On 

 each side of the chimney is a box ventilator 

 projecting through the peak of the roof. 

 This is 12 in. square, with a slide to regulate 

 the amount of air passing through. These 

 shafts enter the cellar at the ceiling above, 

 and are for warm weather. The building is 

 50 ft. long by 25 wide. The cellar walls are 

 below the level of the ground, the object be- 

 ing to get a more uniform temperature in 

 the ground, and less liability for moisture to 

 condense on its walls. 



The ceiling of the cellar, to secure uniform- 

 ity of temperature and prevent condensation, 

 has, as seen in the upright-elevation plan, 

 Fig. 2, G, a tongue-and-groove floor; C E, felt 

 paper; D, air-space; (J, tongue-and-groove 

 floor; F, the floor of the cellar, is concrete. 

 The only openings from the outside into the 

 cellar are seen in Fig. 1. From B to A are 

 two glazed waterlime-jointed tiling, coming 

 above ground just outside of the bee-house 

 at B B, the wall going down 8 ft. into the 

 ground; then passmg under the cellar wall 



