368 WINTERING. 



657. Those, who have no cellar, can successfully winter 

 their bees in. clamps or silos as advised by the Rev. Mr. Scholz, 

 of Lower Silesia^ already mentioned in several instances. 

 These clamps are made similar to those in which farmers 

 place apples, potatoes, turnips, etc., to preserve them during 

 cold weather. The only objection to this mode, is the damp- 

 ness of the ground in wet and warm Winters. The hives are 

 put, on a bed of straw, in a pyramidal form (fig. 139), and 

 covered, first with old boards, then with a thick layer of 

 straw, and another, of earth. Wooden pipes are placed at the 

 bottom (fig. 140), and one in the shape of a chimney, at the 

 top, for an air-draft. The requisites are the same as in cellar 

 wintering, an equal temperature, sufficient ventilation, a fairly 

 dry atmosphere, and quiet. 



658. We must warn novices against the wintering of bees 

 in any repository in which the temperature descends below 

 the freezing point. In such places the bees consume a great 

 deal of honey, and they soon become restless, for want of a 

 flight. Their Summer stand, even without shelter, is far safer 

 than any such place, because they can at least take advantage 

 of any warm Winter day to void their excrements. These 

 facts are demonstrated beyond a doubt. 



Spring Dwindling. 



659. When the conditions necessary to the successful 

 wintering of bees are not complied with, and they have suf- 

 fered from diarrhoea {784t), many colonies may be lost by 

 Spring dwindling, especially if the Spring is cold and back- 

 ward. Even colonies, which appeared to have gone through 

 the Winter strong in numbers, may slowly lose bee after bee 

 till the queen alone remains in the hive. This is sometimes 

 mistaken for desertion (-107), as will be seen in the following 

 paragraph, which we quote from The London Quarterly Be- 

 view, and in which the author attributes to lack of loyalty 

 in the bees, that which evidently must have been due only to 

 Spring dwindling: 



