362 



THE BBB-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



season. 



Those bees were in excellent 

 shape the fall before, and could they 

 have been wintered in the cellar 

 that I now have, my profits from 

 honey alone the following season 

 would have been worth at least 

 $1200.00 as we never had a better 

 stand of clover than we had that 

 year, but owing to outdoor wintering 

 theie was no profit for me that 

 year from the bee business with the 

 exception of about $200.00 made 

 from buying up combs from my 

 neighbor beekeepers who had al- 

 so lost all or nearly all of their 

 bees from wintering out doors. Since 

 that time I winter all my bees and 

 some of my neighbors' in the cellar, 

 even to chaff hives, having at the 

 present time 333 colonies in 8 frame 

 sjugie wall hives and 4 8 in Root 

 chaff hives stored away inside, 

 and even though I could winter out 

 doors without any loss in bees I 

 could not be tempted to do so, 

 since the saving otherwise is so 

 great. I find that the consumption 

 of stores is at least ten pounds per 

 colony less in the cellar. This alone 

 means a saving this winter of 3810 

 pounds of honey which figured at 

 9c per pound would bring $342.90. 

 Then there is the saving of winter 

 cases which amounts to quite an 

 item since lumber is getting so 

 high, and I find that winter cases 

 only last a few years at best since 

 they must be exposed to all kinds 

 of weather. Tlien there is another 

 thing which to me means a lot 

 and that is the SATISFACTION OF 

 KNOWING that in a good bee cel- 

 lar properly built, every winter is 

 alike, regardness of out side con- 

 ditions, and if we desire to go 

 away for the winter, which we did 

 the winters of 19 05 and 1906 and 

 190 6 and 1907, having put the bees 

 away in the fall. packing the 



cellar and remaining away until 

 spring, we can do so knowing that 

 we have the wintering problem un- 

 der our control, and that if we pre- 

 pare our bees we are just as sure 

 of wintering all of them as we are 

 of wintering our chickens or horses. 



Prepcring Bees for Winter-also 

 How the Cellar is Constructed 



Prepare all bees for winter early. 

 Have all feeding done in September. 

 Carry bees in the cellar just be- 

 fore you think settled cold weather 



is coming on, handling as carefully 

 as possible. 



Have entrance at least 1 1^ inches 

 deep and full width of hive. Keep 

 cellar quite well filled with smoke 

 while storing bees away and keep 

 them quiet. It is best to put them 

 in at night, especially if there are 

 many to go in, as the doors and 

 ventilators can be left open all 

 night and by morning bees will be 

 quiet and smoke cleared away. If 

 cellar is DRY and WARM ENOUGH 

 no top ventilation is needed, it is 

 never needed in our cellar. 



Take bees out in spring some 

 cold night after snow is gone. If 

 possible try and get them out two 

 or three days before they can fly, 

 NOT NECESSARILY the first warm 

 spell but just so they will remain 

 quiet a day or so, they will 

 locate their hives better, and not 

 drift. 



After bees are all set out, close en- 

 trance down to two or three inches 

 in width to three-eights or one-half 

 inch deep, this also prevents drift- 

 ing. Entrances can be made larger 

 after the bees fly, if needed. 



Before starting to take bees out 

 leave doors open one or two nights 

 giving them an abundance of fresh 

 air. Just before carrying out (if 

 done at night) fill cellar with 

 smoke. After getting them out and 

 entrances adjusted, leave entirely 

 alone for at least one month. By 

 that time some young bees are 

 hatching and weather is usually 

 getting quite warm. 



No good can come from breaking 

 the sealing around the cover, al- 

 lowing cold drafts to enter, and 

 disturbing the bees at that time of 

 year. 



It is a big advantage to get ceil- 

 ing of cellar below the frost line, 

 if possible, then the walls will be 

 dry. If frost reaches through the 

 walls, or if walls get cold around 

 top, moisture will condense there 

 and cause dampness. Would also 

 advise that you use two sets of 

 joists with six inch air space be- 

 tween sawdust and upper floor. 

 This will do away with disturbing 

 the bees when working in shop 

 above and will also protect joists 

 from rotting out. I would build 

 cellar walls of concrete and have 

 cement floor with tile laid under- 

 neath on all four sides. I would 

 (Continued on page 395) 



