THE beekeepers' DIRECTORY. 



77 



out than ever comes in. I have tried holes of one inch in diam- 

 eter, also an inch and a half,, but I find one and three-fourths 

 about the correct size, and they should always be covered with 

 wire cloth. I begin to unpack my hives about the first of May, 

 or when they begin to call for more room. The standing or 

 closed-end frame seems best adapted to my system of winter- 

 ing. The new Bay State hive is of this description and must 

 at least be a good one for out-door wintering. I don't think I 

 should care to use chaifhives or those in which -the pac^cing 

 is permanent, as they are too expensive and heavy to handle, 

 also liablp to get water-logged. If packing' becomes wet and 

 frozen it is worse than none at all. 



In my opinion packing is much better than a mere dead-air 

 space. Did you ever ^ee an ice-house built on the " dead-air plan" 

 without being packed with spent-tan or sawdust? The same 

 principle applies to the bee-hive. We pack our bees to keep the 

 animal heat in, and we pack our ice to keep the solar heat out. 

 The best packing material is that which is the poorest conductor 

 of heat and cold. Water is a good conductor ; therefore, damp- 

 ness destroys the value of the packing. 



When I go to bed on a cold winter night I don't cover myself 

 up in enartiel cloth or a rubber blanket expecting to keep warm 

 by preventing a circulation of air. Did I do so, I should find 

 myself damp and cold, and sickness would soon follow. But I 

 cover myself with pdrous woollen blankets, ^that pass off damp- 

 ness and keep me dry and warm. Why not give the bees the 

 benefit of the same logic ? I am well aware that bees winter 

 at times under almost any kind of treatment, and again die out 

 with the best of care. But these exceptions should not impinge 

 against the rule of applied common sense. , ^ 



I will now describe the method practised in regard to winter- 

 ing in the Bay State Apiary. " 



All the colonies , kept in our apiary are wintered on the sum- 

 mer-stands. This we could not do successfully were our bees in 

 single-wall hives. A good double-wall hive is the best, and in fact 

 is the only hive which I think should be used for outside winter- 

 ing. 



I believe no one claims that bees do not sometimes winter 

 well in single-wall hives. They do sometimes winter well ; and 

 no one cares to assert that bees are certain to winter even id * 



