396 Burying Bees in Winter. 
having all our hives, combs and honey, we can buy col- 
onies in the spring wih a perfect certainty of making a 
good per cent. on our investment. IZven withthe worst 
condition of things, we are still ahead, in way of profit, of 
most other vocations. 
BURYING BEES, OR CLAMPS. 
In principle this is the same as cellar wintering. There 
are two serious objections to it. First, we do not know 
that the temperature is just right, and secondly, if aught 
goes wrong we know nothing of it—the bees are away 
out of sight. If this is practiced, the ground should be 
either sandy or wedl drained. If we can choose a side-hill 
it should be done. Beneath the hives and around them, 
straw should be placed. I should advise leaving the entrance 
well open, yet secure against mice. Zhe hives should all 
be placed beneath the surface level of the earth, and a 
mound should be raised above them sufficient to preserve 
against extreme warmth or cold. A trench about the 
mound to carry the water off quickly is desirable.’ In this 
arrangement the ground acts as a moderator. I would 
urge the suggestion that no one try this with more than a 
few colonies, for several years, till repeated successes show 
that it is reliable in all seasons. I tried burying very suc- 
cessfully for a time, then for two winters lost heavily. 
These last winters the bees would have wintered well on 
their summer stands, as the weather was very warm. The 
bees became too warm, and were worried to death. 
SPRING DWINDLING. 
As already suggested, this is not to be feared if we keep 
our bees breeding till autumn, prepare them well and early 
for winter, and use a good cellar for wintering. It may be 
further prevented by forbidding late autumn flights, fret 
quent flights in winter, when the weather is warm, and too 
early flying in spring. 
I am aware that this matter of spring dwindling is most 
stoutly urged as an objection to cellar wintering, and as an 
argument in favor of chaff-hives. I have had excellent 
success in cellar wintering, and never yet lost a colony by 
