918 
WINTERING IN CELLARS 
ture of the cluster should be, as nearly as 
possible, 57 degrees thruout the period of 
confinement, it will be easy to regulate the 
size of the entrance or the temperature of 
the cellar, or both, so that the temperature 
of the cluster shall be, as nearly as possible, 
57 degrees. 
Unfortunately, not all the colonies of the 
cellar will be of the same strength. If the 
Fig. 4.—One of Peter Sowinski’s bee-cellars. 
temperature is nearly right, say around 45, 
the internal temperature of individual 
clusters can be regulated by the size of the 
entrances. 
To determine the temperature, it will be 
impracticable and entirely unnecessary to 
stick a thermometer into a cluster. For all 
practical purposes, if a thermometer placed 
on the bottom-board, inside of the entrance, 
shows a temperature of about 52, it may be 
surmised that the temperature of the 
cluster will be about 57. Let it be supposed, 
for example, that there are two small colo¬ 
nies in a certain cellar. The average tem¬ 
perature of the cellar is somewhere around 
45. If there be shoved into the entrances 
of colonies of different strengths an or¬ 
dinary dairy thermometer tested for accur¬ 
acy, or even a common house thermometer 
(if it can be shoved into the entrance), it 
will be possible to determine in these colo¬ 
nies the temperature of the bottom-board. 
If the variation is not very great, and the 
temperature stands around 52 a few 
inches back from the entrance, it may be 
assumed that the cellar temperature is 
about right. But if it is found that one 
colony has a bottom temperature of 47 or 
48, and another one a temperature of about 
55 to 56, it is obvious that the entrance of 
the first named should be contracted to a 
point where the temperature will be about 
52. The other entrances should be en¬ 
larged until the mercury in the thermome¬ 
ter drops down to the required point. In a 
word, the temperature of the cellar should 
be at a point that will give as nearly as 
possible the proper temperature of the 
cluster, and that is 57. See Temperature. 
If Avhen one puts the bees in the cellar 
Fig. 5.—This cellar (7 Vs x 25) belongs to Peter Sowinski of Bellaire, Mich.; so also does the cellar 
(7 x 30) shown in Fig. 4. Mr. Sowinski wintered 285 colonies in these two cellars without loss. The 
embankment in Fig. 4 appears to be covered. The home cellar, Fig. 5, embodies all the ideas of David 
Running. The author went into this cellar at the time of his visit, and, notwithstanding the temperature 
was 80 degrees in the shade outside, it was down to 45 in the cellar. Mr. Sowinski keeps his vegetables, 
butter, eggs, and other foodstuffs in this cellar. The drinking water, kept in jugs here, seems to be as cold 
as ice. The scheme of ventilation was the same as Mr. Running’s. 
