WINTERING BEES 3 



prevailing winds, it does not require that degree of skill 

 made necessary when the "bees are confined in the cellar. 

 Therefore,, the majority of beginners, especially where the 

 climate is not. severe, are advised to winter outdoors. But 

 it is important to observe right here that the spot where the 

 bees are kept must be sheltered from prevailing winds. 

 With either the indoor or outdoor plan it is fair to state 

 that, after a very severe winter, in which the mercury plays 

 below the zero-point for weeks at a time, and when, spring 

 is very late, with a warm spell followed by a very severe 

 cold one, losses are likely to be heavy, ev,en among the most 

 experienced be'ekeepers. But these losses can to a very great 

 extent be minimized, even in bad years, provided one makes 

 a study of his locality,. regarding the average weather condi- 

 tions that prevail. It will, therefore,: be the object of this 

 booklet to set forth as nearly as possible some of the diffi- 

 culties to be encountered, so that the reader may intelligent^ 

 ly undertake the problem. It is well to state,, though, that 

 the very severe winters referred to do not occur more than 

 once in 10 or 20 years, when for some reason the whole year 

 seems to be thrown entirely Out of bala-nce; but at all other 

 times, if one follows carefully the directions here given his 

 losses will not exceed ten per cent, and he may keep them 

 down as low as two per cent. Indeed, some have wintered 

 their bees winter after winter with a. loss.not exceeding five 

 per cent, if we throw out of calculation the. one year in ten 

 which proves abnormally severe. 



OUTDO OB WINTEBING. 



This is the simpler plan for most beginners, and the prin- 

 ciples involved help to lay the foundation for the more 

 difficult problem of indoor or cellar wintering. The prjane 

 requisite for both methods of wintering is a large force of 

 young bees reared during the latter part of summer or early 

 fall. A colony made up of old wornout bees with very few 

 young, no matter how strong, will be almost sure to succumb 

 before spring, or reach such a weakened condition as to 

 become practically worthless for the following seasons. As 



