say, in the wide belt where both methods produce about equally good results, a more 

 important factor in deciding which plan to adopt is convenience. If the beekeeper 

 has a deep and dry cellar and well insulated from changes in temperature, by using 

 it he can save himself the cost of making cases and the labour of packing the bees. 

 If, on the other hand, the apiary — perhaps an out-apiary some distance from the bee- 

 keeper's residence — is well sheltered from wind, and no suitable cellar is available, 

 cases may be used and the bees, snugly packed away in them, will need no attention 

 throughout the winter, nor indeed until spring is well advanced, by which time they 

 will be found to be in a more forward condition than those that have been brought 

 out of the cellar and have been placed on their summer stands without protection. 



WINTERING OUTSIDE 



In wintering bees outside, it is very necessary to protect the apiary from wind, 

 and if there is not a good windbreak on all sides, consisting say of evergreens, which 

 are much more satisfactory than buildings, a fairly close board fence about eight feet 

 high should be erected around the apiary. 



The best and most economical type of wintering case for the bees is one made to 

 take four hives en bloc and usually back to back. It uses less material per colony 

 than cases made to take only one or two hives, and each colony is protected on two 

 sides by its neighbours. The credit for inventing the four-colony case is by general 

 consent accorded to Jacob Alpaugh, a Canadian. 



CONSTRUCTION OF QUADRUPLE CASE 



The four-colony wintering case shown consists of seven pieces: stand, floor, two 

 sides, two ends and cover. It is made to hold either four Langstroth or four Jumbo 

 hivea vrith three inches of packing underneath and about their sides and 8 inches to 10 

 inches of packing on top surmounted by a few inches of air space. 



The stand is made of |-inch material with blocks in the comers and a central 

 stringer on which the floor cleats bear. 



The floor is also made of |-inch material; it bears indirectly through the cleats 

 on the corner blocks and stringer, and directly for i inch on each side of the stand. 



The sides are constructed of f-inch material and bear indirectly on the stand — 

 the outsides being flush with the outsides of the stand. 



The sides and ends are fastened together by hooks attached to the corner posts. 

 In each end 8-inch by 1-inch entrances are made with revolving covers to reduce 

 them to 1 inch by | inch for the winter. 



The cover is constructed of f-inch material and made to telescope over the sides 

 — roofing paper being used or other suitable material to shed the rain. 



The case should be at least large enough to allow for three inches of packing 

 between the hives and the sides and bottom of the case, and eight or ten inches sur- 

 mounted with an air space on top of the hives. Where the regular single-walled ten- 

 frame Langstroth hives are used, these spaces will require a case having inside 

 dimensions of 46 inches by 39| inches, and about 26 inches high. The sides and floor 

 of the case should be of grooved and tongued boards. The roof should be of thin 

 boards nailed to a strong frame that telescopes over the sides, and it should be 

 covered with roofing to make it waterproof. 



