352 WINTERING. 



they are dry. I never lost a good colony that was dry, and 

 had plenty of honey." 



The absorbents generally used are eha££ in cushions, straw, 

 forest leaves (maple leaves preferred), corn cobs, woolen 

 rags, or wool waste, etc. Mr. Cheshire used cork-dust, which 

 he claimed gave fourteen times as much protection as a dead- 

 air space. The oil-cloth, which makes an air-tight covering, 

 must be first removed, and if no straw-mat is used, the cushion 

 of absorbents may be placed right over the frames. We use 

 the straw-mat, and fill the upper half -story with dry leaves, 

 these being the cheapest and best absorbent at our command. 



In the coldest parts of our country, if upward absorbents 

 are neglected, no amount of protection that can be given to 

 hives, in the open air, will prevent them from becoming damp 

 and mouldy, even if frost is excluded, unless a large amoimt 

 of lower ventilation is given. Then they need as much air as 

 in Summer. Often, the more they are protected, the greater 

 the risk from dampness. A very thin hive unpainted, so that 

 it may readily absorb the heat of the sun, will dry inside much 

 sooner than one painted white, and in every way most thor- 

 oughly protected against the cold. The first, like a garret, will 

 suffer from dampness for a short time only; while the other, 

 like a cellar, may be so long in drying, as to injure, if not 

 destroy, the bees. 



Some apiarists have objected to this paragraph, because 

 they have never had the experience mentioned in the two 

 Winters above named. Such Winters are rare, but we must 

 be prepared for a recurrence of similar conditions, as we too 

 often have Winters similar to those of Siberia. 



637. If the colonies are wintered in the open air, the en- 

 trance to their hives must be large enough to allow the bees to 

 fly at will. Many, it is true, will be lost, but a large part 

 of these are diseased; and, even if they were not, it is better 

 to lose some healthy bees than to incur the risk of losing, or 

 greatly injuring, a whole colony by the excitement created by 



