aa WINTHEING BUES 



ture or the wind for a few days they will never eome back. 

 On the other hand, a yard screened in by farm buildings, by 

 a growth of woods or dense shrubbery, will be able to with- 

 stand the cold much better. While the bees may fly out on 

 bright sunny days, experience shows that they quickly seek 

 the protected inclosure where their hives are, and soon enter. 



Likewise there are certain spots in an apiary where some 

 hives are exposed to a long windsweep, while others are in a 

 more protected position. Observation covering a period of 

 years has shown that the latter winter much better than the 

 former. 



Again, it has been shown that colonies in single-walled 

 hives may winter comparatively well in a sheltered location, 

 while those in double-walled hives out in the open air will 

 die. To say the least, the matter of protection and the mat- 

 ter of prevailing winds are of vital importance in outdoor 

 wintering. 



Windbreaks of woods or dense shrubbery ten or twelve 

 feet high are better than high board fences. Farm buildings 

 like barns and sheds at least twelve or fifteen feet high 

 afford excellent screens. The objection to a high board fence 

 is that the wind strikes it and glances upward, when it i* 

 caught by the blast of air from overhead. It may then dive 

 downward and strike the third or fourth row of hives from 

 the fence. Repeated observation has shown that this row 

 of bees may die when other rows winter comparatively well. 

 In the ease of woods or shrubbery the wind can not glance 

 upward and dive downward. The blast filters through, and 

 by the time it penetrates the inner inclosure its force is 

 broken. 



It therefore is of the greatest importance in locating an 

 apiary to find a spot that is protected, not only in winter but 

 in early spring and late fall, and even in summer weather. 

 We had one apiary located on a side hill and another in the 

 open. The side-hill bees faced the south. During a cold 

 speU in fruit bloom the last-named bees worked freely on 

 the blossoms, while in, .the yard exposed to the windsweep 

 there was nothing doing. The side-hill bees continued to 



