346 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



ventilation and good, dry quarters are al- 

 so important. 



Mr. Barnes very probably had good 

 reasons for building his stone wall only 

 part of the way down. But if I were 

 building I would build the entire wall of 

 stone, or all of dirt. If the spot is dry, 

 and there is no danger of any leak, a dry 

 earth wall boarded up and left slanting 

 outward to p''event caving in would cer- 

 tainl}' be the most economical and the 

 quickest built. But if there is danger of 

 any moisture, the earthen wall will prove 

 annoying after a few years. My experi- 

 ence with a cellar-wall placed like that of 

 Mr. Barnes, above the level of the cellar, 

 is that it will, in the course of a few years, 

 cause the dirt to settle, and will eventual- 

 ly be deteriorated thereby. So I would 

 say, make all stone or no stone. 



His cellar entrance is good. Double 

 doors, when connecting with the outside, 

 are a necessity. 



Mr. B. does not say how the ceiling 

 above is made. It is probably a double 

 floor with sawdust between the joists. 

 If the cellar is all made of earth, it would 

 probably be cheapest also to make the 

 ceiling of earth in a method similar to 

 that used in most of the Western storm- 

 caves, and commonly used for keeping 

 milk and vegetables. If the frost can be 

 kept out it will not be difficult to cool the 

 atmosphere of the cave by a little extra 

 ventilation when needed. 



A window or two might be made, with 

 double window-frames a foot or more 

 apart, and the space between the two fill- 

 ed with straw. It is necessary that the 

 cellar be fixed so one may readily enter 

 it without disturbing the bees or causing 

 much change in the temperature. This 

 is only so that the bee-keeper may be en- 

 abled to ascertain the exact conditions. 



As a rule, our bee-keepers are not o^■er- 

 supplied with read^- cash, and it will ver\' 

 often happen that the cheaper cellar will 

 be decided upon. But if I were to advise, 

 I would rather recommend the stone-wall 

 cellar, for two or three reasons, the most 

 important of which is its dvirability. 

 Then a stone wall is more easily made 

 rat and mouse proof. A cellar, dug in 

 claj', will probably be free from vermin 

 for a year or two, but in the course of 

 time it will become more and more un- 

 safe in this respect. 



I could not sleep well, winter nights, 

 if I knew that my bees were housed in a 

 cave or a room in which either mice or 

 rats congregated in any quantity. Their 

 depredations might not do much harm to 

 the bees directly, but they would be sure 

 to disturb them more or le.=s, and b}- this 



means cause a greater or less number to 

 become restless and wander away from 

 the cluster. Combs that were not cov- 

 ered by the bees would be more or less 

 gnawed by them, especially if they con- 

 tained honey, of which mice are very 

 fond. With a good stone wall, and a well- 

 made double floor above, it is not difficult 

 to have a rat and mouse proof cellar if 

 the sills have been carefully laid in a bed 

 of cement. Such a cellar would last a 

 lifetime. 



The cellar or cave need not be large. 

 The hives maj' be piled four or five in a 

 tier. We usually take them without 

 bottom or cap. Our hives are all sup- 

 plied with straw mats over the frames. 

 In the summer we have an oilcloth or 

 enamel-cloth between the brood-combs 

 and the straw mat. In the winter the 

 enamel-cloth is removed, and the straw 

 mat is quite sufficient to separate the 

 hives that are piled upon one another. 



We set the first hive on the floor, or on 

 timbers, for support, a little above the 

 floor. This first hive has its own bottom- 

 board, but is slightly raised, or if the bot- 

 tom board is nailed fast, as much ventila- 

 tion is given as the entrance will allow. 

 The other hives are then piled on top of 

 this with only the mats between the dif- 

 ferent brood-chambers. In this way a 

 hundred hives may be placed in a very 

 small compass. 



The time best suited for removing the 

 bees to the cellar can not be given ex- 

 actly, but only approximately. It must 

 vary according to the latitude and the 

 weather. In this latitude the first cold 

 spell, after a warm day, towards the mid- 

 dle or latter part of November, has al- 

 ways proven the best. We want a cold 

 day because the bees are less apt to fly 

 about and worry the operator; and we 

 want this to be as nearly following a warm 

 day as possible, because on that warm day 

 the bees have had a chance to empty 

 their bowels and feel fresh and yet quiet. 

 The longer you wait after the weather 

 has turned cold the more chance there 

 will be of the bees having begun to eat 

 and load their abdomens with food. 

 When they are once confined in the pro- 

 per repository, their consumption is ex- 

 ceedingly limited, and they can stay 

 month after month without stirring, if 

 the food that they do consume is of good 

 quality. 



The entire winter problem may thus be 

 summed in a very few words: Have good, 

 healthly food, an even temperature, 

 quietne.ss, and a fair amount of ventila- 

 tion, and your bees will come through in 

 good order in the most rigorous climate. 



