272 DR. MILLER S 



know which of your thermometers is best, and it doesn't make 

 very much difference, although on general principles it's better to 

 have it correct. But here is what you're to do: Take whichever 

 thermometer you think best, and keep close watch until you find 

 at what degree your bees are quietest, then keep your cellar as 

 r.ear that temperature as you can, whether it be 42, 45, 55, or some- 

 thing else. The idea is to find at what temperature your bees are 

 most quiet by your thermometer, in your cellar, no matter what 

 authorities may say. 



Q. When in the spring is the right time to take bees out of 

 the cellar? I can't find it in any of the beebooks. (Missouri.) 



A. It isn't an easy thing to say when is the right time to take 

 bees out of the cellar, and I'd give a pretty penny to anyone who 

 could tell me with certainty the best time to take mine out this 

 spring. There has been as much as a month difference between 

 the earliest and the latest of my taking out, there being that dif- 

 ference in seasons. There must be more or less guessing about it 

 so long as one never knows in advance just what the weather is 

 going to be. So long as they are in good condition in the cellar, 

 and there is nothing for them to do outdoors, there's no hurry 

 about taking them out. If you will watch the blooming of red 

 maples, willows, or other trees upon which they work in your 

 neighborhood, you will generally find it best to take them out at 

 the time of such bloom, but not even then if the weather ap- 

 pears unfavorable. So far south as you are — in Missouri, 39 de- 

 grees — are you sure it is advisable to cellar bees at all? 



Q. We have had trouble about our bees rushing out when 

 taken from the caves and cellars, all getting mixed, apparently, 

 and when returning fill some of the hives full of bees and leave 

 others badly weakened, so as to make it detrimental to the de- 

 populated hives. Would a wet rag stuffed in the entrance be 

 good, leaving only room for a few bees to pass in and out at 

 once, or would simply closing the entrance almost entirely 

 answer ? 



A. I confess to you that there are things connected with 

 your question that I don't understand. Every year, for many 

 jcars, I have taken out my bees with a rush, taking them out so 

 that all could have a flight that first day. Others say that when 

 they do that, the bees swarm out and make lots of trouble, but 1 

 have never had an}' serious trouble. Some say to take out a few 

 each day. That would hardly work here, for when it comes time 

 Ic take bees out of the cellar there may not be two days in sue- 



