12 



In taking temperatures, it is very necessary to have a reliable thermometer. 

 Cheap thermometers may be quite accurate at 32°, but may be several degrees in error 

 between 45° and 50°, which are the principal temperatures that we wish to record 

 accurately in the bee cellar. The temperature near the ceiling of the cellar is usually 

 several degrees higher than near the floor. 



If it is desired to measure the relative humidity of the bee cellar, a dry and wet 

 bulb thermometer may be waved or revolved briskly in the air and the percentage of 

 relative humidity may be calculated from tables based on the difierences in the two 

 readings. About 50, per cent relative humidity in the bee cellar is a good percentage, 

 but a wide range from below 40 to over 60 per cent may also be satisfactory. Under 

 certain conditions, and for a short period, as low as 30 per cent and as high as 80 

 per cent may do no harm. It must be remembered, however, that while the relative 

 humidity of the main part of the cellar may be low, and it may also be comparatively 

 low inside the hives in the upper tier, the relative humidity in the back corners of a 

 hive in the bottom tier in a damp, cool corner of the cellar may be at saturation and 

 water may stand here the whole winter and mould the combs and do considerable 

 harm to the colony. 



It is the usual practice of Canadian beekeepers to keep the bee cellar temperature 

 rather low, at about 42°, because it is found that a higher temperature frequently 

 makes the bees restless, especially towards spring. This restlessness, however, as has 

 been shown, does not originate from the high temperature but from unfavourable con- 

 ditions, of which the most important is unwholesome stores which make the bees 

 restless in the higher temperature. It is quite possible, by having the bees on whole- 

 some stores and bringing them into a suitable cellar before they have been exposed 

 to much cold, to keep them quiet in a cellar temperature ranging_ from 47° to 52° 

 throughout a long winter, and under such conditions they winter very well. 



The entrances of the hives in the bee cellar should be left open — wide open in 

 most cellars- — and the bees should be disturbed as little as possible. Mice must be 

 kept out of the bee cellar; they will do great harm to the bees and combs if allowed. 

 The air of the cellar should be kept clean and sweet, and for this purpose in a cellar 

 crowded with hives, the dead bees should be swept up and removed once or twice 

 during the winter. 



Beginners are often in doubt as to the best time to bring the bees into the cellai 

 and when to take them out. The best time to take them in is as soon as possible 

 after they had the last good flight that can be expected. In many places, this is 

 early in November. The best date to bring them out is usually when the willows 

 come into bloom; that is to say, when the blossom heads are showing yellow, if the 

 weather is favourable. But on the coast and in other places where a considerable 

 period of chilly weather may still be expected it will be wise to leave them in the celiac 

 a week or two longer. If, however, the bees are very restless and the mouths of the 

 hives are much spotted with dysentery, it may be advisable to bring them out before 

 willow bloom in the early morning of a day that promises to be sunny and warm in 

 order that they may get a good cleansing flight as early as possible. The best time of 

 day to bring the bees out of the cellar is in the evening or early morning, because an 

 immediate flight is not desirable, and may cause confusion and robbing. Laundered 

 articles should not hang out to dry near the apiary after the bees have been brought 

 from the cellar until they have made their cleansing flight. 



SPEING MANAGEMENT 



In many places it is an advantage to protect the colonies that have been brought 

 out of the cellar with packing cases or paper covers, but at Ottawa, where the spring 



