214 A Modern Bee-Farm 
if a non-porous covering such as American oilcloth be 
used next above the frames (of course with warm material 
above that), then a wider entrance must be provided 
according to the-strength of the colony. 
Wintering with no Quilts 
above the frames may be supposed by my readers to be 
something unheard of, and yet some of my best stocks 
have been wintered in that manner, with a 6-inch entrance. 
The bees, of course, had tough combs to cluster in, and 
by the Spring were breeding merrily; in fact, they had 
larger patches of brood than some others covered up 
snugly. The large entrance no doubt caused immediate 
activity when any sunny spell occurred, while those stocks 
behind double walls, or having smaller entrances, were 
not so readily aroused to make the most of their oppor- 
tunities. 
Small Entrances Detrimental. 
I had two other hives in a bee house with very large 
entrances facing a constant westerly wind. Upon examina- 
tion in Spring, these showed three and five combs 
respectively occupied by brood. The entrance was then 
considerably reduced when the bees began to contract the 
extent of the brood nests. Evidently a free opening to the 
outer air is an, item of the first necessity, checking any 
undue inclination to fly, while at the same time allowing 
rapid flight when the temperature is suitable.* 
While small entrances appear to be detrimental, even in 
cool weather, with the close-fitting hives, the case is largely 
modified in respect of the Author’s hanging chamber hive, 
* Jt is usual to allow small entrances to nuclei, more especially in 
Autumn, when robbing is prevalent. 
