THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



327 



tare, he was, as he says, satisfied "to let 

 well enough alone. " If there is any time 

 of the year when the bees will bear a high 

 temperature, I think it is towards spring. 

 Some have found it a great advantage to 

 heat up the cellar for a day or two at a 

 time toward spring. Mr. H. R. Board 

 man of Ohio is notable as a man who 

 follows this practice. In the fore part of 

 the season, when the bees have settled 

 down into a quiet state, I think it better 

 not to disturb them by a high tempera- 

 ture; or by a low temperature, either. 



The most convenient place for a bee- 

 cellar is, of course, on a side hill. Then 

 there is no carrying of the bees up and 

 down cellar stairs. Stone is the most 

 substantial material for the walls; and a 

 honey -house is a most excellent covering. 

 In Wisconsin I found a large number of 

 cellars covered with earth. The frontis- 

 piece this month shows a cellar walled up 

 with pine logs, instead of stone, and cov- 

 ered with earth. I once built a cellar 

 similar to this, but I used green beech 

 and maple logs instead of pine^ and cov- 

 ered it with heavy, seasoned, oak rails. 

 Over the rails I spread a little straw, and 

 then covered it with three feet of earth. 

 It answered very well for several years, 

 and then began to show so many signs of 

 decay that I did not dare to use it. The 

 next year after it was discarded, the tim- 

 bers gave way and it all fell in. I did 

 not use the materials that I did from 

 choice, but because the house over the 

 cellar that I usually used burned in Nov- 

 ember, and I was compelled to prepare 

 some kind of shelter for the bees on very 

 short notice, and had to take any materi- 

 al that I could get. I presume that pine 

 logs would last a long time. My exper- 

 ience with this cellar was long enough to 

 show me that it was entirely satisfactory 

 with the exception that the water dripped 

 in too much to suit me when it rained. I 

 saw several .such cellars in Wisconsin 

 that had roofs over them, .\fter we go to 

 the expense of a foundation and a roof 

 it seems as though we might as well add 

 the walls and have a building. 



A cellar that can not be kept warm 

 enough is a very poor place in which to 

 winter bees. As I have already said, a 

 large number of colonies may warm up 

 what would otherwise be a cold cellar; 

 but a small or moderate number of colo- 

 nies must have a cellar below the ground, 

 or else depend on artificial heat. As Mr. 

 Heddon once remarked: "Cold is a giant 

 in the cellar." Out in the open air there 

 will come occasional respites. The sun 

 on some pleasant afternoon will occasion- 

 ally warm up the bees enough to allow 

 them to spread out a little or change the 

 form of tneir cluster. The cold in a cel- 

 lar may not be very severe, but it is con- 

 tinuous — there is no "let up." I would 

 not use artificial heat unless compelled 

 to do so. I would have the cellar under 

 ground where the warmth of the earth 

 will keep it at the proper temperature. 

 ••Vs I mentioned last month, I have used 

 artificial heat with good results, and I 

 know of nothing better than at oil-stove; 

 but there must be a hood and a pipe to 

 carry off the gases of combustion. I be- 

 lieve that Mr. Boardman uses an ordinary 

 stove, but the stove is kept in an ante- 

 room; and then the warmed air from this 

 room is admitted to the bee-department 

 of the cellar. 



Flint, Mich, Nov. r, 1S99. 



TEMPERATURE OF BEE CELLARS. 



Siiccessfid Wintering When the Heat Drives 

 the Bees from the Hives. 



IRA B.\RBER. 



E.\RLV in the eighties I had, for several 

 years, an unusual experience; that of 

 wintering bees in an exceedingly high 

 temperature. The facts, exactly as they 

 occurred, were given to the public at the 

 time; yet I see, from time to time; a.sser- 

 tions in the different bee journals that no 

 thermometer was used — that all was 

 guess work, with nothing reliable, about 



