184 ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 



as that word is properly understood, and the amount of air necessary 

 for their maintenance is very slight. I believe it was Mr. D. L. 

 Adair who, years ago, removed a box of surplus honey from a hive, 

 and, leaving the bees in possession, pasted several layers of paper 

 over the entrance. As all of the cracks and crevices were stopped 

 with propolis, the box was practically air-tight. The bees were kept 

 confined several days, yet did not, apparently, suffer for want of air. 

 Mr. James Heddon tells of some man who, wishing to "take-up" 

 some of his colonies in the fall, plastered up the entrances with blue 

 clay, expecting to kill the bees by suffocation. Upon opening the 

 hives a few days later, imagine the discomfiture of their owner at 

 seeing the bees fly right merrily. I have several times wintered 

 bees successfully in "clamps" where the bees were buried under 

 two feet of frozen earth. Prof A. J. Cook even went so far as to her- 

 metically seal up two colonies by throwing water over the hives and 

 allowing it to freeze, thus forming a coating of ice over the hives. 

 The bees survived this treatment. It is not likely that, in any of these 

 experiments, the coverings surrounding the bees were absolutely 

 air tight, but enough is proven to show that, in winter, bees can sur- 

 vive, and, apparently thrive, with a very limited amount of air. 



Special ventilation, simply for the sake of securing fresher or 

 purer air, seems to be almost wholly unnecessary; the few bee-keep- 

 ers who plead for special ventilation do so almost wholly upon the 

 ground that they can thereby more readily control the temper- 

 ature. If the repository is sufficiently under the ground, it does not 

 seem as though ventilation would be very much needed for control- 

 ling the temperature, unless it might be towards spring when the 

 bees had commenced breeding, and a large number of colonies were 

 in the cellar. 



When bees settle down into that quiescent state that accom- 

 panies successful wintering, their need of air is very slight, indeed. 

 When their winter nap is ended, and spring arouses them to activity, 

 and to brood rearing, more air is needed. It is then, if ever, that 

 special ventilation is a benefit, but, as this can be secured, in the 

 ordinary cellar, by the opening of doors and windows at night, if it 

 ever becomes really necessary, it scarcely seems necessary to go to 

 the expense of supplying sub-earth pipes. I should not do it, nor 

 advise it. When bees are to be wintered in large numbers, in a spe- 

 cial repository, I would have some arrangement whereby the heat 

 could be allowed to pass off, if it should become advisable, yet not 

 allow the entrance of light. 



