The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-29
Another Method of yvintering Bees.

Ira Ball at North American Bee-Keepers' Conven-
tion.
''1t is quite often said that no one has learned
the secret of wintering bees, so that they can be
wintered safely every time; but deny the as
sertlon, and ask this association of bee keepers
II quarter of a century of successful wintering
OF hundreds of colonies of bees without loss, ex-
cept where an occasional one starves, is not long
enough to establish the fact that bees can be
wintered as safely as any other stock
For long term of years have wintered bees
without loss, and fully so per cent came out as
good as when they were placed in winter quar-
tiers. Ii you ask where l winter my bees my
answer would be in a warm, damp cellar. Why
prefer warm cellar is because warm atmos-
phere is natural element of the honev-bee: and
why L prefer damp atmosphere is because
bees are moro quiet and healthier than in a
warm, dry atmosphere for so long time as ITO
days, without water.
'1n warm cellar. where the temperature is
from sixty to ninety degrees, there is no dis
charge from the bees while in the cellar, unless
1t be In dry state; and if bees have to be fed
for winter, it can be done the last thing before
placing them in, and then the bee keeper knows
just what the bees have, and no harm will be
done because their feed is not sealed. The
hives should be packed in a solid body when
kept in a high temperature. and piled one on top
Of the OTHER, three or four feet Deep with no up
ward ventilation. In this way of packing if some
OF the bees get uneasy and leave their hive they
are quite sure To enter some other htV6, and 10
harm is done.
in winterine in a warm cellar, bees re-
Quire all the combs that they occupy Ia the
summer, and they will be all over the
combs and do not cluster. The cellar must
be closed, with no currents of air, either
hot or cold, passing through it to arouse the
bees. 1t is necessary to have small ventilator
from the top of the room for constant draft; a
three-inch pipe is sufficient for two hundred col
onies A fire should be kept in the room above
the bees whenever the mercury goes below zero
"a warm atmosphere dsposes of all moisture
that arises from the bees without any absorb
ents. Every colony should have plenty of food
to carry therc through the longest winters, be-
fore they are placed in, SO that their owner will
have no excuse to go near them until spring
They will use more feed in warm room than in
a cool one.
'The time to place bees in the cellar is before
cold weather arrives, about the middle OF No
vember, as rule. use caps from the hives to
set the broodchamberS on, so that each tier of
three or four hives rests the one cap. The
caps should be placed close together, and when
each stand is separate, so that there is no jarrng
when handling in taking them out The bottom
tier of hives should be raised off the bottom
boards about half an inch at one end of the hive,
while all the rest should be left just as they
came from the yard. with a good top and sound
top board we'll glued in every hive. When all
are in, close the cellar and let them entirely
alone until there is something for them to do in
the spring About the time that willow begins
to bloom is early enough in most localities"