272 
DR. MILLERS 
know which of your thermometers is best, and it doesn’t make 
very much difference, although on general principles it’s better to 
have it correct. But here is what you’re to do: Take whichever 
thermometer you think best, and keep close watch until you find 
at what degree your bees are quietest, then keep your cellar as 
r.ear that temperature as you can, whether it be 42, 45, 55, or some- 
thing else. The idea is to find at what temperature your bees arc 
most quiet by your thermometer, in your cellar, no matter what 
authorities may say. 
Q. When in the spring is the right time to take bees out of 
the cellar? I can’t find it in any of the beebooks. (Missouri.) 
A. It isn’t an easy thing to say when is the right time to take 
bees out of the cellar, and I’d give a pretty penny to anyone who 
could tell me with certainty the best time to take mine out this 
spring. There has been as much as a month difference between 
the earliest and the latest of my taking out, there being that dif- 
ference in seasons. There must be more or less guessing about it 
so long as one never knows in advance just what the weather is 
going to be. So long as they are in good condition in the cellar, 
and there is nothing for them to do outdoors, there’s no hurry 
about taking them out. If you will watch the blooming of red 
maples, willows, or other trees upon which they work in your 
neighborhood, you will generally find it best to take them out at 
the time of such bloom, but not even then if the weather ap- 
pears unfavorable. So far south as you are — in Missouri, 39 de- 
grees — are you sure it is advisable to cellar bees at all? 
Q. We have had trouble about our bees rushing out when 
taken from the caves and cellars, all getting mixed, apparently, 
and when returning fill some of the hives full of bees and leave 
others badly weakened, so as to make it detrimental to the de- 
populated hives. Would a wet rag stuffed in the entrance be 
good, leaving only room for a few bees to pass in and out at 
once, or would simply closing the entrance almost entirely 
answer? 
A. I confess to you that there are things connected with 
your question that I don’t understand. Every year, for many 
years, I have taken out my bees with a rush, taking them out so 
that all could have a flight that first day. Others say that when 
they do that, the bees swarm out and make lots of trouble, but I 
have never had any serious trouble. Some say to take out a few 
each day. That would hardly work here, for when it comes time 
to take bees out of the cellar there may not be two days in sue- 
