OUT-DOOR SHELTKRING. 337 



Mr. Geo. H. Beard, of Winchester, Mo., safely wintered 

 ninety-three colonies out of ninety-six, in the severe Winter 

 of 1884-5, in two-story Simplicity hives, (324) by removing 

 the oil-cloth and replacing it with coarse sack-cloth, fllMng 

 the upper story with maple leaves, and covering the hives, 

 on all sides, except the front, with what is commonly known 

 as slough-grass. This success is worthy of notice, for in 

 that memorable Winter, more than two-thirds of the bees 

 in the Northern States died, some Apiarists losing all they 

 had. Like that of 1855-6, _ it will long be remembered, 

 not only for the uncommon degree and duration of its cold, 

 but for the tremendous winds, which, often for days to- 

 gether, swept like a Polar blast over the land. 



We have, for years, wintered part of our bees on the 

 Summer stand, by sheltering them on all sides but the front, 

 with forest leaves closely packed, and held with a frame- 

 work of lath. 



636. One of the most important requirements for success- 

 ful out-door wintering, is the placing of warm absorbents, 

 immediately over the cluster, to imbibe the excess of moisture 

 that rises from the bees, without allowing the heat to escape. 



In March, 1856, we lost some of our best colonies, under 

 the following circumstances : The Winter had been intensely 

 cold, and the hives, having no upward ventilation, were 

 filled with frost, — in some instances, the ice on their 

 glass sides being nearly a quarter of an inch thick. A few 

 days of mild weather, in which the frost began to thaw, were 

 followed by a severely cold spell with the thermometer 

 below zero, accompanied by raging winds, and in many of 

 the hives, the bees, which were still wet from the thaw, 

 were frozen together in an almost solid mass. 



As long as the vapor remains congealed, it can injure 

 the bees only by keeping them from stores which they 

 need ; but, as soon as a thaw sets in, hives which have no 

 upward absorbents are in danger of being ruined. 

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