WINTERING. 244 
a furnace, during the most disastrous seasons, when 
nearly all the bees near him perished ; he had admirable 
success. 
DRYNESS. 
Ican not place too much stress upon the necessity of 
dry air and surroundings where bees are to be wintered. 
It is generally conceded that Mr. Quinby was the first to 
advocate the importance of keeping bees uniformly warm. 
Could he, instead of myself, have been able to revise this 
work, he would have urged the imperative need of a dry 
atmosphere as well as a uniform temperature. After his 
discovery that the bee, when in.a healthy condition, 
voided its faeces in a dry state, he clearly saw that to aid in 
carrying off the moisture, a dry atmosphere as well as a 
sufficient degree of heat was indispensable. Therefore, 
after experimenting with nearly every method that has 
been brought to my notice, I have come to practice and 
advise in-door wintering exclusively, because in no other 
way can these requisites be so certainly provided. The 
objection that this involves extra labor and expense is 
more than met by the diminished consumption of food. 
Experiments in weighing colonies monthly, both in-doors 
and out, prove that bees properly provided for in-doors, 
will consume from one-third to one-half less honey than 
when exposed to the changeable weather of our northern 
winters. This saving will more than balance any consid- 
erations of extra expense. 
. Objections to wintering in a cellar often arise from a 
lack of understanding of some of the requisites. To 
economize room, the hives are often set as close to the 
wall as possible, where they absorb moisture, and become 
mouldy and unhealthy. Again, they are placed upon 
shelves attached to the supports of the floor above, and 
are thus subjected to every jar from the room above them, 
with proportionately bad results. | 
