FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES ii«» 



five bees flying to the door. The light does not shine directly 

 into the room where the bees are, they being in an inside room. 

 I can see to read easily at the hives nearest the door. At 3 :20 

 it was .55 degi-ees outside and 50 degrees in cellar. In five 

 minutes I counted three bees flying to the door. It was then 

 getting cloudy, the sun having been shining most of the day. 

 I opened the window for five minutes and twelve bees flew to it. 

 At 6 p. M. the window was opened again, leaving all wide open 

 till it should again become bright enough on the next or some 

 following day to make the bees fly out, or cold enough to bring 

 the mercury down too far in the cellar." 



I have not given this as an example of the perfection of 

 wintering. It is far from that. But it shows that after 119 

 days of confinement the bees will stand a good deal of light 

 and warmth without showing much insubordination, providing 

 they have an abundance of good air. It must be higher than 

 45 degrees to induce them out when in good condition. 



SUB-EARTH VENTILATOR. 



Some years ago I put in a sub-earth ventilator of 4-inch tile, 

 100 feet long and 4 feet deep. It was of common porous drain- 

 tile, and becoming a little skeptical of the quality of the air 

 admitted I allowed it to become filled up. I am not sure that I 

 did wisely. I am strongly of the opinion that an air-tight pipe 

 large enough and deep enough would be a great aid to success- 

 ful cellaring. 



MICE IN" BEE-CELLAES. 



Mice are troublesome denizens of cellars in winter. Even if 

 a cellar should be entirely free from them, they are likely to be 

 brought into the cellar with the bees when the hives are brought 

 in. Some winters I have closed the entrances with heavy wire- 

 cloth having three meshes to the inch. This shuts out mice 

 without hindering the free passage of bees. Even if a mouse 

 is shut up in a hive, it will not be so bad as to let it have the 

 free run of the cellar. Other winters traps have been used and 

 various poisons, perhaps the most satisfactory poison being 

 strychnine thinly spread upon very thin slices of cheese, the 

 cheese being then cut into tiny squares. 



