1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1263 



many, in building bee-cellars, insist that they 

 be dry and well ventilated. An answer in 

 Gleanings would be very much appreciat- 

 ed. E. Meaker. 

 . Auburn, N. Y. 



[As the above question was addressed to 

 Dr. Miller, his reply follows.— Ed.] 



It does look a little contradictory to have 

 ventilated dryness on one hand and unven- 

 tiiated damnness on the other, and yet each 

 considered all right for wintering bees. No 

 wonder you want the two things reconciled. 



I don't believe bees can live without air. 

 The importance of fresh air for the human 

 family — and abundance of fresh air at that 

 — is only beginning to be understood proper- 

 ly, and it is doubtful if many bee-keepers 

 correctly estimate the importance of pure air 

 for their bees. 



On the other hand, the ill effect of damp- 

 ness, per sc, upon bees in winter is probably 

 overestimated. More than one bee-cellaV 

 has water running through it, the effect be- 

 ing helpful rather than harmful. It is quite 

 true that, when a cellar is damp and moldy, 

 the bees ilo not winter well in it— not because 

 the cellar is damp, but because the air is 

 poor, and the dampness shows that the cel- 

 lar is not well ventilated. 



Ac a certain temperature, somewhere in 

 the neighborhood of 45 degrees, bees are very 

 nearly dormant; and at that temperature 

 they require only a small amount of air 

 That amount of air will work through the 

 walls of a bee-pit in any reasonably porous 

 soil. The pit keeps the temperature quite 

 even, and, if arranged to keep near 45, the 

 small amount of air 

 will suffice. When Mr. 

 Townsend says there 

 is "no ventilation" he 

 probably does not mean 

 that, strictly speaking, 

 there is no change of 

 air, but that he has 

 made no special provi- 

 sion for ventilation. 

 There may he such a 

 thing as a pit with no 

 ventilation, as where 

 the soil is a stiff, im- 

 pervious clay; but, if I 

 am rightly informed, 

 bees sealed up in such 

 a pit will die. 



The special advan- 

 tage of a pit is that it 

 keeps at an even tem- 

 perature, bees winter- 

 ing in spite of the 

 dampness, because kept 

 constantly at the point 

 where the least ven- 

 tilation is needed. Set such a pit against a 

 cellar that by any means is kept just as even 

 in temperature (hard thing to have such a 

 cellar), and at the same time well ventilated, 

 and I'd choose the cellar. Guess I'd take 

 the cellar anyhow, even if not quite so even. 



C. C. Miller. 



[If we are correct, successful wintering in 

 clamps or pits is possible only in sandy soils 

 that are porous in their nature, letting water 

 drain away and more or less of air to perco- 

 late through them. If there is any case 

 where successful pit wintering has been se- 

 cured in a heavy clay soil we should like to 

 hear of it. This may explain why some can 

 get along wiih no ventilation and others not. 



A uniform temperature of 45 degrees in- 

 duces a quiescent sleep bordering on a semi- 

 hibernation where very little air is consum- 

 ed and very little food as well. If the tem- 

 perature can be maintained at this point not 

 much air will be required; but where the 

 thermometer varies considerably, then a 

 great deal of ventilation is needed. — Ed.] 



BEE KEEPING IN FLORIDA. 

 A Vi.sit at the Home of G. O. Poppleton. 



BY FRED W. MUTH. 



The picture of Mr. O. O. Poppleton among 

 his bees gives one an idea of his migratory 

 apiaries, and at the same time portrays an 

 excellent likeness of our old friend when 

 working with his little pets the honey-bees. 



When the honey-tiow at his home yards 

 proves a failure, or even if it does not come 

 up to his expectation or his liking, he inva- 

 riably shifts his apiary either up or down 

 the Indian River, often for a distance of 100 

 miles, until he reaches a spot in that beauti- 

 ful country that he considei's suitable for 

 him and his bees. For this part of the woi'k 



O. O. POrPLETON AAIONG HIS BEES, AT STUART, FLORIDA. 



he is well equipped, having a lai'ge launch 

 that will hold some 60 hives of bees, as well 

 as a barge that will tow an entire apiai'y at 

 a time. Mr. Poppleton is an eflicient pilot. 

 I shall never forget the trip I made with him 

 on his launch Thelma, from Fort Pierce to 

 his home at Stuart, Fla. We called upon 



