2 :8 WIIfTERING. 



a furnace, during the most disastrous seasons, when 

 nearly all the bees near him perished ; he had admirable 



success. 



DETNESS. 



I can not place too much stress upon the necessity of 

 dry air and surroundings where bees are to be wintered. 

 It is generally conceded that Mr. Quinby was the first to 

 advocate the importance of keeping bees uniformly warm. 

 Could he, instead of myself, have been able to revise thig 

 work, he would have urged the imperative need of a dry 

 atmosphere as well as a uniform temperature. After his 

 discovery that the bee, when in a healthy condition, 

 voided its faeces in a dry state, he clearly saw that to aid in 

 carrying ofE the moisture, a dry atmosphere as well as a 

 sufficient degree of heat was indispensable. Therefore, 

 after experimenting with nearly every method that has 

 been brought to my notice, I have come to practice and 

 advise in-door wintering exclusively, because in no other 

 way can these requisites be so certainly provided. The 

 objection that this involves extra labor and expense is 

 more than met by the diminished consumption of food. 

 Experiments in weighing colonies monthly, both in-doors 

 and out, prove that bees properly provided for in-doors, 

 will consume from one-third to one-half less honey than 

 when exposed to the changeable weather of our northern 

 winters. This saving will more than balance any consid- 

 erations of extra expense. 



Objections to wintering in a cellar often arise from a 

 lack of understanding of some of the requisites. To 

 economize room, the hives are often set as close to the 

 wall as possible, where they absorb moisture, and become 

 mouldy and unhealthy. Again, they are placed upon 

 shelves attached to the supports of the floor above, and 

 are thus subjected to every jar from the room above them, 

 with proportionately bad results. 



