56 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
running too fast. These same feeders may be used at the cntrance 
by having an enclosed passage about the opening of the jar leading 
into the entrance. The plan of feeding at the entrance is not so 
good if the nights are cold. 
“It is needless to say, that in preparing bees for the winter one 
should be sure to have in each colony a good prolific queen, prefer- 
ably of the current year’s raising. This is necessary to insure 
that brood rearing will begin at the proper time in the spring there- 
by replacing the old bees which die off rapidly at that season. 
With these matters attended to, the next essential is to nave a 
warm, dry and quiet place in which the bees may pass the winter. 
It has been our experience that with a colony that is strong enough 
to generate sufficient heat the matter of guarding against dampness 
becomes the all important matter. If bees are disturbed during 
the winter months they move about generating an undue amount 
cf heat and at the same time a considerable amount of water vapor 
which condenses, coming in contact with walls of the hive, produc- 
ing dampness. More than this, the bees consume more food when 
moving about and from this excessive feeding, diarrhoea may re- 
sult, for normally the bee retains the feces in its body until such 
weather comes as will permit it to fly out of the hive and cast it 
out. In the case of diarrhetic ‘bees the best remedy is a cleansing 
flight and if the weather will permit, bees wintered in cellars should 
he carried out for a few hours flight in the midddle of the day, in 
case of infection with this malady. 
Outdoor wintering is usually accomplished in chaff hives and one 
great objection is the expensiveness of these hives. Otherwise since 
it is the most normal condition for bees, this method is to be recom- 
riended for inexperienced beekeepers. The féature of these chatf 
hives is a double wall with from three to eight inches of space be- 
tween the walls on all sides including the bottom, filled with some 
non-conductor of heat like straw, chaff, paper or ground cork. The 
effect of this packing is to retain the heat and at the same time per- 
nit the moisture produced by the bees to pass off. To further per- 
nit this moisture to escape the oil or carriage cloth quilt used in 
summer is removed and a canvas quilt placed over the frames. 
Above this, newspapers, a piece of old quilting, or a chaff tray 
may be used to retain the heat. Then, above this material to re- 
tain the heat there should be an open space with free ventilation 
