IN-DOOR WINTERING. 345 
In-poor WINTERING. 
G45. In some parts of Europe, it is customary to winter 
all the bees of a village in a common vault or cellar. Dzier- 
zon says: 
“A dry cellar is very well adapted for wintering bees, even 
though it is not wholly secure from frost; the temperature will 
be much milder, and more uniform than in the open air; the bees 
will be more secure from disturbance, and will be protected from 
the piercing cold winds, which cause more injury than the 
greatest degree of cold when the air is calm. 
“Universal experience teaches that the more effectually bees 
are protected from disturbance and from the variations of tem- 
perature, the better will they pass the Winter, the less will they 
consume of their stores, and the more vigorous and numerous 
will they be in the Spring. I have, therefore, constructed a 
special Winter repository for my bees, near my Apiary. It is 
weather-boarded both outside and within, and the intervening 
space is filled with hay or tan, etc.; the ground and plat enclosed 
is dug out to the depth of three or four fect, s0 as to secure a 
more moderate and equitable temperature. When my hives are 
placed in this depository, and the door locked, the darkness, 
uniform temperature, and entire repose the bees enjoy, enable 
them to pass the Winter securely. I usually place here my 
weaker colonies, and those whose hives are not made of the 
warmest materials, and they always do well. If such a structure 
is to be partly underground, a very dry site must be selected for 
it.” 
In Russia, bee-keepers dig a well from twenty to twenty- 
five feet deep, and six or eight feet wide. The hives, 
which, there, are hollow trees, are then piled horizontally 
upon one another, like cord-wood, with one end open. The 
well is filled to within six feet of the top, and a shed, made 
of straw, is built above. The bees are left there during 
the five or six months of Winter. 
In some other countries, they are kept in caves, aban- 
doned mines, or any under-ground place near at hand. 
