WINTERING. 249 
should be provided with a tight-fitting damper in the 
room above, that may be regulated at will. The benches, 
or supports upon which the hives are to stand, should be 
short and rest upon the solid bottom of the cellar, 
and the hives placed upon them in tiers, so that 
the tiers will not touch each other, or the sides of 
the room. In this manner, but few need be dis- 
turbed at once in packing away, or what is more 
important, in taking out in spring. If the bench 
is long enough to hold several tiers of hives, there 
will be a disturbance of all when any one is moved, 
The thermometer (fig. 99) to test the temperature 
should be dropped through a hole in the floor 
above, and attached, by means of a cord, to a cork 
that fills the hole. The cage should be 
kept as nearly at 45° as possible. I should prefer 
that it never drop below 40° nor rise above 50°. 
If it rises too high, the damper in the pipe above 
should be opened to permit the warm air to be 
drawn out, and the tube from the outside also open- 
ed, to allow pure cool air to take its place. With 
a temperature of 45°, it is usually prudent to give 
both upward and lower ventilation in the hives. If a 
quilt is used over movable frames, it will be porous 
enough to afford the desired upward ventilation. In box- 
hives, the holes in the top should be loosely filled with 
rags, and the hives raised slightly upon the bottom board. 
to admit air. In this regard, my experience differs with 
that of Hetherington and Elwood, who use tight caps 
over their frames in wintering. 
Fig. 99, 
A SPECIAL BUILDING FOR WINTERING. 
Where bee-keeping is made a specialty, and the very 
best arrangements for wintering are desired, they may 
without doubt be best secured by building a repository 
