4u 
more northern portion of the section referred to some further protec- 
tion is advisable (fig. 17), and is really necessary in the mountainous 
parts of the same territory if the best results are to be obtained. 
Farther north, and especially in the cold Northwest, much greater 
protection becomes an absolute necessity. Quilts with newspapers or 
thin packing above do not alone suffice. The side walls of the hive 
may be made of pressed straw (fig. 18). These, with top packing, if 
kept dry outside, are excellent for outdoor wintering, even in climates 
so cold that ordinary wooden hives do not afford sufficient protection. 
In the severest climates, however, still greater protection on all sides 
of the colony is needed, and packing with chaff or other soft material 
is decidedly the best plan. The thickness of this surrounding packing 
should be from 2 inches to 8 or 10 inches for single colonies, according 
to the severity of the climate, but if four or more colonies are grouped 
for the winter, so as to make the natural warmth generated mutually 
advantageous, somewhat less packing will be sufficient. A most 
important point is to have the soft 
» warmth-retaining packing come in 
close contact with the edges of the 
combs, and above all not to have a 
hive wall, etther thick or thin, be- 
tween this material and the bees. A 
good plan is to construct an open 
framework or skeleton hive of laths, 
cover it with sacking, or, prefer- 
ably, some less fuzzy cloth which the 
bees will not gnaw, and after placing 
Fic. 18.—The American straw hive (Langstroth if in an outer wooden case large 
Eee ae enough every way to admit of the 
necessary packing about the colony, to fill in on all sides with some 
dry, porous material (fig. 19). If the frames are shallow, like the 
Langstroth, it is better to construct the inner case so as to place them 
on end, and thus give a deeper comb for the winter. Layers of 
newspapers may come next outside the cloth covering of the frame- 
work. Wheat chaff answers well to complete the packing. Wool is 
to be preferred, but is of course too expensive unless a waste product. 
Ground cork, waste flax,-hemp, sawdust, etc., in fact, any fine porous 
material, if thoroughly dry, may be used. 
A board passageway 3 or 4 inches wide and three-eighths of an inch 
high should connect this inner apartment and the flight hole of the 
outer case, thus affording an exit for the bees whenever the weather 
may permit them to fly. When these preparations have been com- 
pleted, the hive is ready for the combs, which, with adhering bees, are 
taken from the summer hive and inserted in the winter hive. A quilt 
is then laid on the frames and the top packing put on. This, for con- 
69 
