176 ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 



Omt'^Door Wintering of Bees. 



F bees can enjoy frequent flights, out of doors is the place to 

 winter them. If deprived of these flights, a temperature of 

 _[ about 45 degrees enables them to bear a much longer confine- 

 ment than does a temperature below freezing. In the South, 

 frequent flights are assured; in the North, no dependence can be 

 placed upon the matter. Some winters are "open," or there are 

 January thaws, allowing the bees to enjoy cleansing flights, while 

 other winters hold them close prisoners for four or five months. It 

 is this element of uncertainty attending the wintering of bees in the 

 open air that has driven so many bee-keepers to the adoption of cel- 

 lar wintering. Still, there are some bee-keepers who, from some 

 peculiarity of location or management, arc able to winter their bees 

 in the open air^with quite uniform success; others are compeNed, for 

 the present, at least, to winter the bees out of doors; in short, a 

 large portion of the bees, even in the North, are wintered in the open 

 air, and probably will be for a long time to come; and, while my pref- 

 erence is the cellar, there is much to be said in favor of out-door 

 wintering. Let me give one or two instances of success: Ira D. 

 Bartlett, of East Jordan, Michigan, which is away in the northern 

 portion of the lower peninsula, began keeping bees when only 14 

 years of age — began with only one colony — and when 21 years of age 

 he had ISO colonies, and had never lost a colony wintering them out 

 of doors. His method of protection was very thorough. Repacked 

 four colonies in one box, putting packing not only at the sides, and 

 on top, but also below the hives. The packing was fine, dry saw- 

 dust, and the roof to the box had eaves that extended over like the 

 eaves of a railroad station, which allowed the roof to be raised up a 



