240 WINTERING 



not to be recommended for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and 

 similar sections. Outdoor wintering, however, may be safely 

 practised as far north as Canada if proper precautions are taken 

 in the winter preparations. The success or failure of outdoor 

 wintering in any latitude will depend to some extent on the sur- 

 rounding conditions, such as windbreaks, as well as the actual 

 protection of the hives. What has been said about the desira- 

 bility of spring protection for cellar wintered colonies will apply 

 with equal force to colonies wintered outside. 



Paper Cases. — One of the common plans for outdoor winter- 

 ing in the southern part of the region where winter protection is 

 necessary and one that brings fairly satisfactory results in ordin- 

 ary winters is the paper case. Tar paper or other black paper 

 should never be used because of its tendency to absorb heat. The 

 hive under a black protection case will suffer from such extremes 

 of heat and cold as to render it worse off than though it had 

 remained without protection. Light colored building paper, 

 however, will answer very well. 



To make such a case two or three corn cobs are laid over the 

 top of the frames and a cotton cloth or burlap spread over them. 

 The purpose of the cobs is to permit the bees to move freely from 

 place to place to reach their stores. An empty super is then 

 placed on the hive and filled with dry leaves or chafP. The cover 

 is then placed on the super and the whole covered with several 

 layers of newspapers. A large sheet of heavy building paper 

 or other waterproof paper is then placed over all and folded 

 around the hive and fastened as shown in Fig. 109. The hives 

 shown in the illustration are without the super of leaves. There 

 is a disagreement among bee-keepers as to the value of this porous 

 packing material over the frames. The purpose is to absorb 

 the moisture during cold weather. Some argue that the bees are 

 safer without it, but the author is a believer in absorbent cush- 

 ions. Building paper cases are at best a scant protection. 



The winter of 1911-12 caused such heavy losses among out- 



