86 ALEXANDER’S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 
whole cellar. You will also notice that, where we have left the under 
cover on, we raise it from the hive and put a piece of section under 
it, forming a little crack for the foul air in the hive to pass off. But 
we prefer a piece of light canvas over the top without the under cover 
on. In order to test this thoroughly, last winter we left some hives 
with both canvas and under cover on, as you will notice in the photo. 
This cellar was built late last fall, and the walls were laid up 
with stone and Portland cement. It is 614 feet between floors, and has 
about a foot of space under the floor, which is of matched lumber. 
Under this are two drains which convey water out all winter. The 
walls were very wet during the whole winter, as we had no time for 
them to dry, putting the bees in only one week after they were finished. 
Then in addition to these wet walls we put a building over it of green 
lumber, with a roof of galvanized iron. The floor over the cellar was 
of matched lumber, and double, with building paper between. This 
kept the cellar very warm with so many colonies in it; but with the 
perfect ventilation we gave it the bees came through the winter in 
as fine condition as I ever saw bees wintered, and only 2 hives out of 
725 showed a spot of dysentery, although the bees were in the cellar 
from the 11th to the 14th of November until April 18th. 
Last winter we had very changeable weather here. The tempera- 
ture outdoors varied from 20 degrees below zero to 72 above—a varia- 
tion of 92 degrees—while in the cellar it changed only from 44 degrees 
to 52, or a variation of 8 degrees. This 44-degree temperature inside 
lasted only about 24 hours, and was caused by a temperature of 20 
below zero outside for two days, and the wind blowing a perfect gale. 
We kept a thermometer in the cellar, and could seldom find the tem- 
perature change more than one degree either way from 46. 
In speaking of moisture in our cellar I often think of a bit of ex- 
perience I had many years ago. I put 250 colonies in the driest cellar 
I ever saw. It was under a dwelling-house where two fires were kept 
burning nearly all the time. A short time after we put the bees in 
they became very uneasy, many leaving their hives and flying about 
the room. I had made a large tight room inside the cellar, of matched 
lumber, and put a plank floor in it. I kept the temperature about 45 
degrees, but still the bees became more and more restless, and, when 
taken out in the spring, I shoveled up 14% bushels of dead bees. That 
was the worst wintering I ever had, and it was a sight to see those 
that lived through the winter go to wet places after water as soon as 
they had a chance to fly. It seemed as if every bee went for water 
before it returned to its hive. Their honey was so dry and gummy 
that the bees could hardly eat it until it had been moistened with the 
water they got outside. The dead bees on the floor were so dry that, 
if you gave a handful a squeeze, they would crumble up almost as fine 
as corn meal. 
Since my experience that winter I have changed my mind very much 
in regard to wintering bees in a dry cellar. The best success we have ever 
