344 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



tion. It often happens that misinform- 

 ed people try to winter their bees in emp- 

 ty rooms where the changes of tempera- 

 ture, although less sudden and extreme 

 than out-of-doors, are still quite great. 

 These attempts have almost invariably 

 proven failures. This is very easily ex- 

 plained. When the temperature is low, 

 say below the freezing-point, the bees 

 have to consume a quantity of honey pro- 

 portionate to the rigor of the weather, in 

 order to keep up the bodily heat, which, 

 in a healthy colony, should never get be- 

 low the temperature of the blood. This 

 consumption of stores necessarih- causes 

 their bowels to become more or less dis- 

 tended with fecal matter according to the 

 quality of the food — less if the food be of 

 best quality, more if of dark honey or 

 honey loaded with pollen. 



In a natural outdoor wintering the bees 

 will, at the first warm day, have the nec- 

 essary opportunity to unload their bow- 

 els, but if they are confined in a room 

 they will become restless and will suffer, 

 and eventualh^ die. On the other hand, 

 in the same repository, when the temper- 

 ature is higher than necessary, they feel 

 the natural instinct to rear brood, and 

 this adds the necessity of securing water, 

 which adds to their discomfort when in 

 confinement. 



If one had but two or three colonies 

 and plenty of leisure, and was so in- 

 terested in the bees that he would be sure 

 not to foiget them, they might be con- 

 fined in any dark room, so it was sufli- 

 ciently sheltered, and take them out on 

 warm days. This would of course l)e 

 much better than outdoor wintering, but 

 it is not possible with a large number of 

 colonies, owing to the work it would eji- 

 tail, and the fact that some winter days 

 are warm for a few short hours only, so 

 the colonies that were taken out last, out 

 of a lot of 75, might not have a fair op- 

 ])ortunit3' to take flight. 



In years past we were in the habit of 

 wintering two of our apiaries indoors; in 

 our home we have a portion of our cellar 

 partitioned f )ff from the main part pur- 

 posely for the bees. We have not used it 

 of late because the winters have not pro- 

 ven injurious. When our bees were in 

 the cellar, my father, who has a great 

 taste for experiments, used to go to the 

 bees several times in a week, and at dif- 

 ferent hours, to ascertain their condition. 

 He invariably found that they were quiet 

 at a temperature between 40 and 45 de- 

 grees, Fahr. Below this point thev 

 would show by their hum that a little 

 warmth was needed. Above it they were 



also restless, and an occasional bee would 

 stray out of its hive and fly up to the 

 light brought in 



I remember that an old York State bee- 

 keeper had publicly stated that the bees 

 could stand a very high temperature when 

 in the cellar, provided the moisture in 

 the air of the cellar was ade(juate to the 

 rise of temperature. This he so strenu- 

 ously maintained in public arguments 

 that I took pains to interview him at a 

 convention, and found out, to my great 

 surprise, that he had no thermometer in 

 his cellar, and was only "guessing" at the 

 temperature mentioned b}' him. '■' 



A thermometer costs but a trifle — from 

 25 to 40 cents — and I strongly urge all 

 who wish to winter their bees in a reposi- 

 tory to place one of these instruments in 

 the room. 



It matters but little whether the room 

 used is above or below the surface of the 

 ground, if the temperature mav be re- 

 tained at the point I have mentioned. 

 But it seems to me much more difllcult to 

 retain sufficient heat for the purpose in a 

 room above ground, even in a repository 

 lined with sawdust in a climate like that 

 of northern Iowa. In a very hard win- 

 ter, unless the room contains enough 

 bees to keep up the heat inside, we all 

 know that the cold will, after awhile, 

 penetrate a very thick lining of non-con- 

 ducting material. How nearlv the tem- 

 perature may be kept to the pro] )er degree 

 cannot be assured except b}- such as have 

 tried it. 



But to m}' mind, in a hilly country, it 

 would be cheaper and much safer to make 

 the repository' partly, if not altogether, 

 in the ground. The natural temperature 

 of cellars is higher than that reciuired bv 

 the bees, and it is much easier to bring 

 in cold air than warm air, unless we fuss 

 with a stove, which would lead to trouble 

 without end. So very probabl}- a cellar 

 would be best. 



I have in mind a cave owned ]}y Mr. 

 Parent, of Benton Co. Minn., which 

 seems to me to be about as cheap a build- 

 ing as may be had. I understand that in 

 those cold regions there is but little to 

 fear from dampness during the winter, 

 because the ground being frozen to a 

 great dejitli there is no possible chance 

 for surface water to infiltrate. Tlius they 

 are perfectly safe from a danger against 

 which we must carefully guard in our 

 latitude. 



The cave is dug in a gentle slope, closed 

 with a double door, with a good bed of 



* There i.s evidently some mistake here. See 

 article by Ira Barber on another page. 



