14 PEARCE METHOD OP BEE-KEEPING 



above the other and nothing but foundation in the upper 

 hive, and only a small supply of stores in the lower hive, but 

 they wintered well, being very dry, hence pay more atten- 

 tion to keeping your bees dry and not being afraid they will 

 freeze in a single thickness hive. I therefore feel sure if the 

 people of the far north will place their bees in those large 

 tall hives that will hold sufficient stores to carry them safely 

 through any winter, and will put them in suitable shel- 

 ters properly built, it will be possible for the people of 

 the north to keep bees long stretches of miles farther north 

 than they could have been kept in ordinary hives as form- 

 erly. I am confident in this way bees may be success- 

 fully kept away into the land of the Assiniboins, and far 

 above Winnipeg, even to Alaska in our own territory. This 

 would be a good thing for our neighbors of the north to 

 practice on and see how far north the successful line ox 

 bee keeping can be pushed. And our people who are so 

 favorably situated with plenty of bees in California, should 

 push bee keeping north to Alaska. But for these great 

 extremes, I would have large deep hives and would place first 

 in house attics and allow to fly at all times when they can. 



CHAPTER VI 

 Wintering Bees. 



The wintering of our bees successfully has been the 

 great problem confronting bee keepers. The winter losses 

 have been so great some winters as to almost threaten to 

 wipe out the industry. 



Cellar wintering has been resorted to very extensively 

 of late years, but it is found that while the bees will live in 

 the cellar through the winter, on account of their long 

 confinement without a flight or an opportunity to unload 

 their bowels, they come out of the cellar in a weakened con- 

 dition, so much so, that many are looking for a better way. 

 And our trials of buildings above ground would lead us to 

 feel confident that this way of wintering will entirely solve 

 the wintering problem. Because the disasters to bees win- 

 tered in the old ways in the past twenty years, have been 

 enormous; while the percentage of losses of bees in build- 

 ings above ground have amounted to nothing, although they 

 have had little or no care, except perhaps the care a novice 

 might bestow upon them, or had to get along with the care 

 they could give themselves as they would have to do in a tree 

 in t,he 'Foods. .. . . 



