THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



341 



safely be made from the data on 

 these four cellars is that concern- 

 ing the capacity of the L,tmosphere 

 for water at different temperatures. 

 Other factors entered into the win- 

 tering of bees in these four cellars 

 so that probably no reliable conclu- 

 sions could be formed fr«jfa data 

 as to the food consumed* by the 

 various colonies even if these were 

 available. In one case, the second, 

 the bees during the following seas- 

 on, 1913, broke ail known records 

 for comb honey production but 

 they were in partnership with Dr. 

 C. C. Miller and, as you all know, 

 that fact is responsible for the 

 cream of the great crop that he 

 reports for the year. These bees, 

 now some time dead, will probably 

 long live in the history of bee- 

 keeping as the maximum producers. 

 While 1 would not desire to de- 

 tract from their glory, I insist on 

 dividing it at least equally with 

 their owner. Most of us would give 

 him more of the credit than that. 



In discussing the condensation 

 of moisture in the hive and the var- 

 ious methods by which it may be 

 avoided, we must not lose sight of 

 the fact that little is definitely 

 known as to the effects of such 

 condensation or of a high relative 

 humidity on the wintering of bees. 

 From the experience of numerous 

 beekeepers we are justified in con- 

 cluding that bees winter better 

 in the dryer cellais but it is not 

 so clear whether this statement 

 would hold true for all cellar tem- 

 peratures. In most systems of cellar 

 ventilation the object accomplished 

 is not so much providing oxygen 

 for the bees as the eLmination cf 

 the exhaled moisture without too 

 great condensation. The amount of 

 oxygen needtd to oxydize a couple 

 of pounds of hcney per month is 

 not great. Even in a cellar in 

 which a ton of honey is consumed 

 during the winter, as in the the- 

 oretical case cited, sufficient oxy- 

 gen would probably get in without 

 any special provision for ventila- 

 tion. This is not true for the elim- 

 ination of the water however. 



In discussing the exclusion cf 

 moisture from the hive it is neces- 

 sary to bear in mind one other 

 hiding place for moisture, usually 

 overlooked. In hives where conden- 

 sation is common the hive and cov- 

 er often become saturated and suf- 



ficient moisture may be held in 

 this way that it comes througli 

 and blisters the paint on the out- 

 side surface of the hive. It anyone 

 chooses to use this as an argument 

 for not painting his hives, there 

 will perhaps be no objei tion raised 

 to its validity. Evidently propolis 

 is not an imprevious coating. It is 

 clear that on account of this ab- 

 sorption of water by the hive, many 

 records of weights on the removal 

 of bees from the cellar fail to give 

 accurately the loss in weight by 

 the consumption of honey and the 

 death of bees. Much honey finds 

 its equivalent in the water in the 

 soaked hive. Before drawing any 

 conclusion as to the honey con- 

 sumed w^e must be sure that con- 

 densation or evaporation do not af- 

 fect the weights of parts assumed 

 to be constant. A reverse example 

 of this phenomenon is to be found 

 in some records made of the 

 vv^eight of a hive and combs (with- 

 out Dees) made recently. The hive 

 lost weight constantly by evapora- 

 tion when placed in a dry room. 

 Records cf food consumed are 

 really of little value unless we 

 know the actual loss in honey and 

 the death rate of the bees and we 

 have no records taken with such 

 precautions. 



Jilitects of Humidity 



It may as well be stated that 

 we have no data showing the ef- 

 fects of an increase or decrease in 

 the relative humidity on the a('tivi- 

 ties of the bees in winter. We 

 therefore do not know what relative 

 humidity is best, for we do not 

 know whether the moisture is the 

 cause or the effect of poor winter- 

 ing. Prom practical experience it 

 may be concluded that excessive 

 condensation is indicative of poor 

 wintering and most beekeepers aim 

 to have their cellars as dry as 

 practical. Whether this is desirable 

 for the warmer cellars remains to 

 be determined. 



Elwood* falls into a common er- 

 ror, in which he is probably ac- 

 companied by many beekeepers 

 when he states that a damp cellar 

 at 45° to 50° F. is no warmer than 

 a dry cellar at 38° to 40° F. This 



* Elwood, P. H., 1895, Indoor winter- 

 ing- in York State. Gleanins-s in Bee 

 Culture. Vol. XXIII. pp. .S.51-S52. Com- 

 pare also tlie above reference to rfnteb- 

 inson. 



