The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1899-03-21
wlNTERING BEES.
r rptection Out of Doors Versus PInD.
ing Hives In the Cellar.

election Out of Doors Versus PIne.
ing Hives In the Cellar.
the northern states no one now
t Ks of wintering bees out of doors
v lout protection. Some beekeepers
U double wall hives, the space between
t walls being filed with ohaff. 9th
e are single wall hives, which are
C per, and they are protected with
I. sawdust, forest leaves or the like,
{ material being held in place by an
Q sr case made for the purpose or by a
king box of some kind. Sometimes
| ses are protected by being placed in
! ag rows, boards being put up at the
int, back and ends, then the packing
L aterial is put in and a roof put over
a 1. The packing ought to be three or
+ ur inches thick at the sides and five
OF six deep on top.
There is much talk of the damage
done by moisture in outdoor wintering.
The moisture does no harm SO long as it
il in the form of vapor, and it will re-
main in that form unless it comes in
contact with some cool surface. Some
make arrangements for this moisture to
pass off above the brood nest, but this
makes more or less of a draft through
the hive. A better way is to have the
hives SO well protected that the cold air
cannot strike the walls, then there will
be no condensation. The place to give
ventilation is at the bottom. Put a rim
two inches high under each hive. Have
an entrance in the upper edge of the
rim. This will do away with all clog
cling of the entrance with dead bees,
and no dead bees will become damp
and mouldy from the moisture that
escapes from the cluster.
Plenty of bees and an abundance of
stores are needed in outdoor winteripg,
but it has the advantage that a warm
day allows the bees an opportunity to
dy. If it we're not for this advantage,
the wintering of bees out Of doors in the
north would not be very successful.
There is no way in which the winter
ing of bees in the north can be reduced
to so exact a science as by wintering
them in the cellar or special repository.
The strength of the colonies and the
amount and quality of the stores can be
controlled, but in the open air there is
no control of temperature. In the cellar
the temperature can be kept nearly the
same. In short, the condition can be
made the same year after year. If we
fail one year and learn why, the mis-
take need not be repeated. Another
great advantage of cellar wintering is
the saving of stores. At the very lowest
estimate a saving of from six to ten
pounds per colony is effected. With 200
colonies in the cellar this means a saw
ing of 500.
The time to put bees in the cellar is
just before the coming Of hard, freezing
weather. The idea is to leave them Olt
as long as there Is a fair prospect of
their enjoying another flight, and yet
get them in before the first snowstorm.
When putting them in, manage to have
the weakest colonies at the top of the
piles of hives, IS this part of the cellar
is warmer than neal the floor. Leave
the bottom boards in the yard and put
two inch pieces on the top of each hive,
thus raising each one at least two inches
from the n below.
The regulation temperature is 40 de.
grees, but temperature is not the only
point to be considered. Moisture,
strength of colonies, kind of hives, etc.
a have a bearing. A moist cellar must
bo kept at a higher temperature than a
d one. The best guide is the behavior
OF ne bees themselves. If they are rest.
l. and noisy, it is likely that the tenn.
P ature is not right-that is, if the
fl I is of the right quality. says W. 2.
+ crimson, with whom the foregoing
&C ice originates in Prairie Farmer.