596 
necessitates a cleansing flight, or diar- 
rheal difficulties ensue, combs and hives 
are soiled, the air of the hive becomes 
polluted, and at last the individual bees 
become too weak to generate proper 
warmth or drive off the surplus moisture 
which then invades the cluster and 
brings death to the colony; or, what is 
more frequently the case, a cold snap 
destroys the last remnant of the colony, 
which has been reduced by constant loss 
of bees impelled by disease to leave the 
cluster or even to venture out for a cleans- 
ing flight when snows and great cold 
prevail. 
The problem then is: To retain the 
warmth generated by the bees, which is 
necessary to their well-being, and at the 
same time to prevent the accumulation of 
moisture in the hive. A simple opening 
at the top of the hive would permit much 
of the moisture to pass off, but of course 
heat would escape with it and a draft 
would be produced. Absorbent material 
about the cluster creates, without free 
ventilation, damp surroundings, and 
again the temperature is lowered. It is 
only necessary, however, to surround the 
bees with sufficient material to protect 
them fully against the greatest cold likely 
to occur, and to take care also that this 
enveloping material is of such a nature 
and so disposed as to permit the free 
passage of the moisture which would 
otherwise collect in the interior of the 
hive, and to permit the escape into the 
surrounding atmosphere of such moisture 
as enters this material from within. This 
packing should also be fully protected 
from outside moisture. 
South of Virginia, Kentucky, and Kan- 
sas single-walled hives may be employed 
in most localities with good success in 
outdoor wintering. On the approach of 
the cool or the rainy season a close-fitting 
quilt should be laid over the frames and 
several folded newspapers pressed down 
on this, or a cushion filled with dry chaff 
or some other soft material may be used 
instead of paper. The cover or roof 
should be absolutely rainproof, yet be- 
tween this cover and the cushion or 
papers should be several inches of space 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
with free circulation of air In order to 
permit this ventilation above the top 
packing, the cover should not rest upon 
the cap or upper story all of the way 
around, or if it does, an auger hole in 
each end, protected by wire cloth against 
the entrance of mice, should give free 
passage to the air In the more northern 
portion of the section refe1red to some 
further protection 1s advisable, and is 
really necessary in the mountainous 
parts of the same territory if the best 
results are to be obtained Farther north, 
and especially in the cold Northwest, 
much greater protection becomes an abso- 
lute necessity. Quilts with newspapers 
or thin packing above do not alone suf- 
fice. The side walls of the hive may be 
made of pressed straw. These, with top 
packing, if kept dry outside, are excel- 
lent for outdoor wintering, even in cli- 
mates so cold that ordinary wooden hives 
do not afford sufficient protection 
In the severest climates, however, still 
greater protection on all sides of the col- 
ony is needed, and packing with chaff or 
other soft material is decidedly the best 
plan. The thickness of this surrounding 
packing should be from two inches to 
eight or ten inches for single colonies, 
according to the severity of the climate, 
but if four or more colonies are grouped 
for the winter, so as to make the natural 
warmth generated mutually advanta- 
geous, somewhat less packing will be suf- 
ficient. A most important point is to 
have the soft warmth-retaining packing 
come in close contact with the edges of 
the combs, and above all not to have a 
hive wall, either thick or thin, between 
this material and the bees. A good plan 
is to construct an open framework or 
skeleton hive of laths, cover it with sack- 
ing, or, preferably, some less fuzzy cloth 
which the bees will not gnaw, and after 
placing it in an outer wooden case large 
enough every way to admit of the neces- 
sary packing about the colony, to fill in on 
all sides with some dry, porous material. 
If the frames are shallow, like the Lang- 
stroth, it is better to construct the inner 
case so as to place them on end, and thus 
give a deeper comb for the winter. Layers 
