10 



Experiments covering seven years at Ottawa have shown that colonies wintered 

 outside in the four-colony cases begin breeding earlier and average stronger by the 

 end of May than those wintered in the cellar, but that they are more liable to die in 

 the winter, especially if it is a hard winter and if they have not been prepared in the 

 best manner. On the whole the advantage is in favour of wintering outside. 



These remarks are based on the use of the Langstroth hive, which has combs in 

 frames 9J inches deep and a space of five-eighths of an inch between the bottom bar 

 of the frames and the floor of the hive. In wintering outside there is some advan- 

 tage in having the combs somewhat deeper in order to give each section of the cluster 

 a larger available food supply, and in having more space under the combs, especially 

 towards the entrance. These features can be provided in the regular Langstroth hive 

 by placing over the brood chamber a shallow super containing combs of honey, and 

 by slipping a thin wedge between the brood chamber and floor on each side. The 

 additional stores and room supplied in the second chamber are particularly useful for 

 stimulating breeding in spring. It must be remembered, however, that in a cold 

 region it is not so easy for the bees to keep warm in a large hive as in a small one. 



WINTEEING IN THE CELLAE 



In a good bee cellar the temperature keeps steady between 45° and 50° F., th-i 

 air is fairly dry and well ventilated, and light is excluded. Two of these conditions, 

 the steady temperature and moderate dryness, are not always easy to obtain and main- 

 tain. To secure them, two important principles in cellar . construction should be 

 observed: the cellar should be so low in the ground that it is very little affected by 

 changes in the outside temperature, and the ground should be well drained. 



In a cold region, however, excellent results may usually be obtained, especially 

 if only a few colonies are to be wintered, by boarding off for the bees a portion of 

 the basement of the beekeeper's residence, not near to, nor very far from, the furnace, 

 because the furnace and the warmed rooms above help to supply and maintain the 

 required conditions so well that minor defects in the construction of the cellar do 

 not matter, and but very little special attention is needed because the temperature 

 is maintained and regulated by the furnace which burns better in the colder weather. 

 The warm air around the furnace rises and causes air circulation, which dries and 

 ventilates. If, in mild weather towards spring, the temperature is apt to rise too 

 high, the cellar may be cooled by opening the basement windows a little. The 

 chamber for the bees should be near or against the wall of the basement. This part 

 of the wall may be banked outside with earth to above the level of the bees' chamber. 

 The bees should not be placed in the same room as the roots. 



"Where a cellar is specially excavated for the bees, concrete is a good material for 

 the walls, and it is a good plan to build over the cellar the house that is to be used 

 as a workroom, for extracting the honey and for storing bee supplies. If the rooms 

 above the cellar are not heated during the winter, it will be necessary to have the 

 ceiling of the cellar double-walled with a large interspace packed with sawdust or 

 other non-conducting material. The height from floor to ceiling of the bee cellar 

 should be about six and a half feet, and the ceiling should be below the frost line. 

 For good drainage and insulation, the side of a hill is a desirable place for building 

 a bee cellar, and such a location has the advantage that a door can be placed at the 

 floor level for easily bringing the bees in and out. To prevent the escape of heat, 

 there should be one or two inner doors. To carry off the moisture produced by the 

 bees, and to supply ventilation, a chimney should be provided. This chimney may 

 open into the upper chamber. 



