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WmS W EEPUES, 



Wet Bee-Cellar§ — Material 

 Cellar Floors. 



for 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 562.— I have a cellar under my 

 house 26x30 feet, and divided in the centre by 

 a brick partition. The walls are hollow and 

 frost proof. Bees have wintered well in it, 

 none dying except from starvation ; but it 

 seems to be quite wet. It has two chimneys 

 that commence in the cellar and have open- 

 insrs 3'/2 feet from the bottom. It has a ground 

 floor which is heavy clay. 1. What material 

 Is the best for a floor to keep the dampness 

 down ? 2. Is a cellar in clay (tround as good 

 as in gravelly or sandy ground ? — Wisconsin. 



2. Yes, if cemented. — 



1. Cement. 

 M. Mahin. 



If bees winter yell in your cellar, 

 you had better let it alone. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



1. A board floor raised 1 or 2 feet. 

 2. No. — Dad ANT & Son. 



1. Brick and cement. 2. I think so, 

 though I am not certain. — J. M. Ham- 



BADGH. 



1. A coarse grout, or gravel, and 

 cement. 2. It is not as dry. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



If the bees have wintered well, you 

 should be satisfied that the dampness 

 does no harm. — G. M. Doolittle. 



1. A good cement bottom made from 

 water-lime and sand. 2. I prefer a 

 cellar in sand or gravel. — H. D. Cut- 

 ting. 



The fact of your cellar being a little 

 wet I think would not make it unsuit^ 

 able for a winter repository. Put in a 

 wood floor of fat yellow pine, with the 

 same sort of sleepers. — J.P.H. Brown. 



1. Drain thoroughly, and then if 

 you want a harder and smoother bot- 

 tom, cement it with water-lime mor- 

 tar. 2. Yes, if as dry as the gravelly 

 or sandy ground. — A. B. Mason. 



2. A cellar in clay would generally 

 be damper than one in sand. For luo.st 

 purposes to which a cellar is devoted, 

 one in clay would be best. For bees, 

 I prefer one in sand. — R. L. Taylor. 



Gravel or sand would be better than 

 clay. Our Kentucky clay is very re- 

 tentive of moisture. Brick laid in 

 cement makes the best floor for a cel- 

 lar or " mound house " that I have 

 tried. — G. W. Demaree. 



1. As your own report indicates, 

 dampness does not hurt bees if the 

 temperature keeps up, and I should as 

 soon have water 6 inches deep in my 

 cellar bottom, as otherwise, as far as 

 injuring the bees is concerned. — James 

 Heddon. 



That bee-cellar is exactly like mine, 

 with the exception that mine has 

 a cement bottom, and is diy. 1. Dig 



out a foot or so of clay unless it is 

 deep enough. Then put in 6 inches 

 of broken stone and gravel. Make 

 your cement quite thin, and pour over 

 the stone, filling all holes. Put on two 

 or three coats, smoothing it down with 

 a trowel. 2. Yes. — C. H. Dibbern. 



Work a tile drain in under the cellar 

 wall all around with suflicient fall to 

 carry the water off to the outlet ; then 

 cement the bottom of the cellar thor- 

 oughly. I have a cellar that winters 

 bees perfectly, and it has a clay floor, 

 but it is as dry as a bone. — J. M. 

 Shuck. 



If your cellar has wintered your bees 

 well so far, why make any change ? 

 1. It will be difficult to prevent damp- 

 ness by any change of bottom. 2. This 

 depends upon so many other consid- 

 erations th.at it is impossible to an- 

 swer. — J. E. Pond. 



1. " The proof of the pudding is in 

 the eating." If your cellar has always 

 wintered bees successfully, that beats 

 anj' man's theories. I should let well 

 enough alone. 2. If a choice were 

 possible, I should choose gravelly 

 or sandy ground. — Eugene Secor. 



The only way to have a dry cellar 

 in clay soil is to drain it thoroughly. 

 Even the best cement floor will not 

 keep the water out if undrained. But 

 why mind the damp, if the bees winter 

 well, unless for your own health ? A 

 well-drained cellar in clay is as good 

 and as dry as one in sand or gr.avel.^ 

 A. J. Cook. 



1. Cement ; but you must have a 

 good drain if you woidd keep it dry. 

 Dampness, however, is not detrimen- 

 tal to bees in winter. 2. Yes ; if it is 

 as dry as one in the sand or gravel. — 

 The Editor. 



1. Yes. 2. Italians. 3. Smoke them 

 carefully whenever you handle them, 

 so that they will not sting 

 bors. — Dadant & Son. 



the neigh- 



3. A high 

 essential to 

 M. Ham- 



An Apiary in a Town L,ot. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 563.— I have 18 colonies of black 

 bees, and only a small town lot to keep them 

 on, where they are liable to intrude upon per- 

 sons on adjoining lots. 1. Would it be ad- 

 visable for me to change them to another va- 

 riety ? 2. If so, what variety ? 3. Are there 

 any particular instructions that would be of 

 benefit to one who lacks room for bees ?— 

 Strawberry. Iowa. 



I. For profit, Italianize them. 3. No. 

 — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



1. Change them to Italians. 3. Keep 

 them on a roof, as C. F. Muth does. — 

 G. M. Doolittle. * 



1 and 2. I should prefer Italians. 3. 

 You had better have high fences or 

 hedges. — C. C. Miller. 



1 and 2. I would change to the Ital- 

 ian. 3. No. I would locate them on 

 the part of the lot furthest from the 

 street.— J. P. H. Beown. 



1. Yes. 2. Italians, 

 board-fence is sometimes 

 protect timid neighbors.- 



BAUGH. 



1. No, not for the purpose stated. 

 3. Make room, go where you will have 

 plenty of room, or quit the business. — 

 H. D. Cutting. 



1 and 2. I would change them to 

 Italians or Carniolans, and keep them 

 pure, if possible. 3. Bees will bear a 

 gi-eat deal of crowding. — M. Mahin. 



1. Yes. 2. Italians. 3. Observe the 

 " Golden Rule." " Soft words " and a 

 little honey, properly used, will do lots 

 towards gettiiig, and keeping, good 

 neighbors. — A. B. Mason. 



Yes, either Italian or Carniolan bees 

 are less likely to sting. 3. A high, 

 close fence, or evergreen hedge be- 

 tween your lot and that of your neigh- 

 bor, makes the danger far less. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



1 and 2. I should change to Italians 

 in any case, as they are far more 

 pleasant to handle, and less liable to 

 trouble travelers. 3. Yes. plenty of 

 them ; far too many for this depart- 

 ment. Unless very peculiarly situated, 

 I should risk the present location with 

 Italians. Be sure and get them pure. 

 —J. E. Pond. 



1. I would change my location, or 

 sell the bees. I doubt if you can he 

 prosperous with any race of bees on a 

 small town lot, surrounded by near 

 neighbors, and retain the good-will of 

 the neighbors. If you can, you have 

 solved the problem. — Eugene Secor. 



There ought to be no difficulty in 

 keeping 18 colonies on a town lot. 

 You do not state whether the trouble 

 arises from swarming, or people being 

 afraid of stings. If your bees are very 

 cross, change to some gentle variety. 

 I now give Ihe preference to the Car- 

 niolans.— C. H. Dibbern. 



1. I would change the bees, anyway. 

 Italians are generally less inclined to 

 .attack than blacks, and Carniolans or 

 Krainers are still less inclined to make 

 trouble. 2. A " house apiary " is an 

 excellent arrangement where there is 

 lack of room. — J. M. Shuck. ' 



1. I think not. Destroy the queens 

 which you find produce ira.scible bees. 



2. A quiet strain of Italians would be 

 a little less likely to cause trouble. 3. 

 A high, tight board-fence, or a close 

 row of trees around the apiary would 

 cause the bees to rise in going a-field, 

 so that with proper care the chance of 

 their disturbing neighbors would be 

 very slight indeed. Beware of leaving 



