17 



CELLAR WINTERING. 



It is surprising how many beginners report failure from cellar 

 wintering, and with what accord the professional bee keepers 

 recommend it. Most of the honey producers of long experience 

 report that results were unsatisfactory when they first began 

 using the cellar. With conditions just right cellar wintering 

 seems to bring almost perfect results. The beginner usually 

 makes use of any cellar that happens to be within reach, and 

 too often it is too cold, or too damp, or subject to a wide range 

 of temperature, or other condition that makes it unsuitable for 

 wintering purposes. One of the principal advantages of out- 

 door wintering is that the bees build up earlier in spring. C. 

 L. Pinney of LeMars, Plymouth county, uses a sprinkling can 

 to water the colonies in the cellar once each week after February 

 15. The water is sprinkled on the alighting board and al- 

 lowed to run into the hive. Sometimes a sponge is saturated 

 with water and placed against the entrance. By this means he 

 induces the bees to begin brood rearing in the cellar. Mr. 

 Strong has tried placing a piece of ice on top of the frames and 

 found the bees took it very eagerly. 



ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD CELLAR. 



In his correspondence with the bee keepers of Iowa, the 

 writer has accumulated many good suggestions about the va- 

 rious matters relating to bee keeping, some of which are given 

 in brief herewith: 



S. W. Snyder, secretary of the Iowa Bee Keeper's association, 

 has one of the best cellars in the state, and one that meets 

 all requirements so perfectly that he has never lost a colony 

 that went into the cellar in normal condition, with plenty of 

 stores and a good queen. While much less expensive cellars 

 wall answer the purpose, the conditions to be met by all cellars 

 are similar. The majority of bee keepers place a good deal of 

 importance on having the cellar dry, although some say that 

 dampness is no disadvantage if the temperature is even and does 

 not go below forty degrees. Mr. Snyder's cellar is described 

 as follows: 



The cellar was constructed especially for the purpose and 

 is under the shop and honey house and large enough to ac- 

 commodate 200 colonies as he stores them. 



First a stone wall about sixteen inches through was built. 

 This wall was lined with hollow tile on which a coat of com- 

 mon plaster was applied. The cellar is ventilated by a chim- 

 ney built from the ground and with an opening at the bottom 

 and also at the ceiling. The chimney extends through the ceil- 

 ing to the usual height above the roof. In addition to the chim- 

 ney ventilator which is in the center of one end of the cellar, 

 there are two three inch ventilators in the corners at the op- 



