142 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



CHAPTEE XXXIII. 



ON WINTER TREATMENT. 



Doctors differ in their opinions as to tlie treatment bees 

 should receive in the winter months. One says, Keep 

 them warm ; another says, Keep them rather cold. One 

 suggests a nice warm spot facing the south ; and another 

 recommends aU hives to face the north, lest the warm 

 rays of the sun tempt the bees to come out when the 

 atmosphere is too chilling. One prefers to winter bees 

 in the garret ; another has buried them in cavities under- 

 neath the ground. In America, some large bee-keepers 

 have erected large houses on purpose to hold their hives 

 during winter. These houses are meant to protect bees 

 from the severity of American winters. In Great Britain 

 such houses are quite unnecessary : here bees can be kept 

 sufficiently warm without anything of the kind. 



Would you keep bees warm, then, in winter 1 Yes ; 

 as warm as possible out of doors, so that they get fresh 

 air enough to breathe. The importance of keeping bees 

 warm in cold weather cannot be magnified too much. 

 They are easily benumbed by cold — easily chilled to death. 

 When a bee drops into snow, it seems to die sooner there 

 than if cast into a hot fire. Though bees apparently die 

 on touching soft snow, they are not quite dead ; for if 

 speedily gathered and carried to the heat of a fire, they 

 recover their powers. When snow is on the ground, 

 especially if the wind blows from [the south or west, 

 all hives should have their doors closed, so as to pre- 

 vent bees leaving them. 



In cold weather bees creep close together, but some 

 of them must necessarily be more exposed to the cold 



