5S6 



GLEANINGS liT BEi) CULttTKE. 



Oct. 



HOW I WINTER MY BEIES. 



A REBORT FROM THE MAN WHO WINTERED 341 COL- 

 ONIES WITHOUT ANY LOSS. 



# 



^pUDGINQ from the numerous articles In tbe bee- 

 papers upon the subject of wintering our bees, 

 one would justly conclude that we ought to be 

 iible to surmount all of the difficulties that have 

 heretofore existed. But from the numerous In- 

 quiries I have received of late upon that subject, it 

 is evident that, with the average bee-keeper, winter- 

 ing Is attended with much uncertainty, and dis- 

 astrous losses are not uncommon, even among those 

 who have had many years of experience. In view 

 of these facts, I shall not attempt to tell you how to 

 winter your bees, but will describe as well as I can 

 how I winter mine; and In doing so I am aware I 

 shall run against the pet theories of many very sub- 

 stantial bee-masters. 



THE BEE-HOUSE, 



In which I winter my bees will first claim a brief 

 notice. The building is double walled, packed with 

 seasoned sawdust 12 inches thick, with sawdust also 

 on the floor overhead, making it frost-proof. It is 

 divided into two or more rooms, one of which is 

 used for an ante-room between the bee-rooms and 

 the outside, and also through which the air must 

 pass before reaching the bees, and thereby modify- 

 ing it, a la sub-earth ventilation. 



The house that I have used longest has three 

 rooms — two in which to store the bees, with the 

 ante-room between. This room also contains a 

 stove, used for raising the temperature, expelling 

 the moisture, and facilitating the ventilation when- 

 ever occasion requires. A scuttle opens into the 

 chamber from the ante-rooms. The chamber is 

 ventilated by a window in each gable, all of which 

 may be opened or closed at pleasure. The ground 

 lloor le cemented upon a layer of pounded stone, 

 and is as firm as a rock, thus preventing any dis- 

 turbance by jarring. The windows are small, and 

 provided with shutters inside, by which the rooms 

 ean be made perfectly dark. The doors are also 

 double. 



THE HIVE I USE. 



This Is a deep 8-f rame hive, flat movable cover on 

 top, open bottom, ?^-inch bee-space on top of the 

 frames under the cover. 



CONDITIONS FOR WINTERING. 



I prefer to have the bees breed late as possible, 

 and go Into winter with plenty of young bees, a 

 good queen, and plenty of sealed stores gathered in 

 the fore part of the season. I disturb them as little 

 as possible late In the season, when they are dispos- 

 ed to become dormant. 



SETTING IN THE BEES. 



I set them Into the bee-house as near the 15th of 

 Nov. as the weather will permit, and let them re- 

 main until Apr. 15th, if favorable conditions can be 

 maintained. I choose a cool but not cold day, hav- 

 ing previously prepared the rooms by covering the 

 floor with seasoned sawdust; then having lettered 

 and numbered the hives with a piece of chalk, so as 

 to render mistakes impossible in setting them out 

 on the same stands again, I take each hive up from 

 the bottom-board or stand, and carry them into the 

 bee-house, and set them upon stringers, previously 

 placed to receive them, so that when so placed the 

 air will have free access beneath the hives, which 

 are now bottomless. Having set one row around 

 the outside, I lay stringers on the top of these, upon 



which I set another row of hives, and so on as high 

 as I can conveniently set them. I use 2x4-Inch 

 stringers on the bottom, and one inch on the top of 

 the hives. A thermometer is hung in each room, 

 and a careful record kept of the temperature in the 

 rooms, and also outside, visiting the rooms at least 

 once each day for that purpose, noting also any 

 thing 1 may think important. 



A'ENTILATION. 



The hives are ventilated only at the bottom. The 

 rooms are kept well ventilated, and at a tem- 

 perature averaging near 45° — somewhat below in 

 the fore part of the winter, and above in the latter 

 part. After being set in, the bees remain verj^ quiet 

 until some time in Feb., unless disturbed by an un- 

 usual warm spell. 



Sometime in Feb. there will be a noticeable increas- 

 ed activity, accompanied bs' a rise in temperature. 

 This is an indication that brood-rearing has begun. 

 If the weather continues warm for a long time, and 

 the bees become very uneasy, I sometimes set them 

 out during Feb. or March, and return them again as 

 soon as they have taken a thorough flight; but I 

 consider it of no Deneflt, if the temperature can be 

 kept under control, which I endeavor to accomplish 

 by opening the outside doors at night, and closing 

 them by day time. 1 have observed, that when the 

 temperature is quite low for some time after the 

 bees have commenced raising brood, that a bad con- 

 dition is almost sure to follow, and dysentery and 

 spring dwindling are often the result. Therefore I 

 am careful, at this time, that the temperature con- 

 tinue favorable for the brood, and the result is a 

 hive full of bees when I set them out in the spring, 

 and a considerable portion of them are young. If 

 the temperature is inclined to continue too low, I 

 resort to 



ARTIFICIAL HEAT, 



And from several years' experience I am satisfied 

 that there is no means of ventilation for the bee- 

 house in winter equal to artificial heat; and when 

 judiciously used I think it will always be attended 

 with good results. When the warm days of spring 

 come, and bring the birds and the flowers, and the 

 bees can find employment gathering pollen and 

 honey, I feel that the time has come to set them 

 out. Then on a warm pleasant day I set them each 

 out upon the stand from whence they were taken In 

 the fall, and the warmer andpleasanterthe weather, 

 the finer will be the condition of the bees; but if 

 the weather is cold and damp when set out, a bad 

 condition will be induced, however perfectly they 

 may have been wintered. H. R. Boardman. 



East Townsend, O., Sept. 24, 1883. 



Our friends will notice in the above report 

 that friend B. secures downward ventilation, 

 if that is the way to express it, by having 

 the bottom of the hives entirely open. There 

 is no question but that this arrangement 

 will give all the ventilation they will ever 

 need ; and it also allows the bees to form a 

 pretty warm cluster up in the body of the 

 hive, from the fact that warm air always as- 

 cends. If the colony is a strong one, I 

 should not fear that they would suffer from 

 too much air. Another thing: The dead 

 bees as well as the sickly ones drop out on 

 the ground. I suppose, however, that this 

 plan will hardly be practicable, unless their 

 wintering-room is kept pretty well up to 

 the temperature mentioned — 45°. Another 

 secret of friend Boardman 's success is, that 



