346 WINTERING. 



646. In the North of the United States, and in Canada, 

 they are generally wintered in cellars, and remain there in 

 quiet from November till April, sometimes till May. 



In all localities, where the bees cannot fly at least once a 

 month, in the Winter, it is best to follow this method of 

 wintering. 



As Dzierzon says, a dry cellar is the best, although bees 

 can be wintered in a damp cellar, but with more danger of 

 loss, especially if the food is not of the best. The honey of 

 Northern countries is generally of finer quality than that of 

 the South. 



647. In the first place, the bees should be moved to the 

 cellar, just after they have had a day's flight, at the open- 

 ing of cold weather. We take only the brood-apartment 

 leaving the cap, and sometimes the bottom-board, on the 

 Summer stand, being careful to mark the number of each 

 hive inside of its cap* so as to return it to the same location 

 in Spring (32-33). In the cellar, the hives are piled one 

 upon another. An empty hive or a box is put at the bottom 

 of each pile, so that the bees will be as high up from the 

 damp ground as possible. If the bottom- board is brought 

 in with the hive, the entrance should be left open. It is 

 well to raise the lower tier of hives from their bottoms with 

 entrance-blocks. Some upper ventilation had better be 

 given also, for the escape of moisture. If the cellar is 

 damp, the combs will mould more or less ; if it is dry, they 

 will keep in perfect order. 



648. After the bees are put in, they should be left in 

 darkness, at the temperature that will keep them the quiet- 

 est. We find that from 42 ° to 45 ° is the best. Every 

 Apiarist should have a thermometer, and use it. The cost 

 is insignificant, and it will pay for itself many times. 



The fact that bees, in Russia (645), are confined in 



*ln a woU-ro;^iilateil Apiary, each hive beard a number painted on the body. 



