REMARKS ON IN-DOOR WINTERING.
BY JAMES BOLIN.
BY JAMES BOLIN.
BY JAMES BOLIN.
Friend Novice:—While I freely endorse the most that is contained in the article on, How to Conduct an Apiary, in the Dec. No. ofGleanings, I will have to dissent from a few of your conclusions, even at the risk of being accused ofheresyagain.
For instance: that the position that keeping bees warm etc., will save them, will have to be given up, and, since our wintering troubles, **** nothing that has been done has amounted to a row of pins, [Beg pardon, we meant toward curing sick ones.—Ed.] except fine weather etc. Now the above may be true in the case of your bees, but I cannot think it will apply to many. I have pretty strong evidence that keeping my bees warm and quiet,didsave them, as most of those in this neighborhood that were not wintered in warm depositories have perished with the bee disease, during the last two or three winters. Keeping mine warm has, in my opinion, amounted to a pretty long row of pins—a longer one in fact than any one would need, unless they wished to start a notion store, and even then they might be overstocked.
I do not think that I have ever claimed that cold was theonlybut merely themaincause of the losses that have occurred. The want of dryness and darkness in the winter depository has no doubt had considerable to do, in some instances, with the loss of bees that were housed, while disturbance, caused by taking a light in the room, looking at the bees, admitting strong currents of air, by opening the door at night, and introducing artificial heat has no doubt killed more bees than anything else, except cold. A prominent bee-keeper remarked last spring, that he regarded artificial heat as being indispensable in wintering bees; right in the face of the fact that he had lost about eight-ninths of his bees by its use, or at least, while using it. Rather a poor argument in its favor, I think. But I may be too practical in my views. Bees are very sensitive, and a slight jar, taking a light into the room etc., will often excite them to an injurious activity. I have frequently seen the advice given to open the door of the winter depository at night to cool and purify the air, but if the ventilators are arranged as they should be, I would much rather depend on them and keep the door shut.
You remark on page 139 of Dec.Gleanings, that opening the door and windows of your cellar only seemed to make the bees warmer. It no doubt had just that effect, as the bees were stirred up by feeling a current of air different from that in the room, [but whatshouldwe have done?—Ed.] and strong stocks, when disturbed, generate an immense amount of heat. I had a pretty fair sample of what they can do in that line two years ago when I put my bees in the house. We had a cold south-west wind at the time. The thermometer stood at about zero in the open air, and at 34° in the house when I began carrying the bees in. By having the door open it sunk to 20° in the house, by the time I had them in. I put in 88 swarms,—then shut the door for two hours,—when I went in again and they had run the thermometer up to 45°, being 11° higher than it was before the door was opened to put them in. It remained about the same all the time out of doors. By letting them alone, they soon became quiet and the temperature of the room fell to about 40°. Keeping beestoo warmwill excite them, and will have the same effect as keeping them too cold, cause them to fill themselves with honey, and if the excitement is kept up long, the result will be the same—they will be effected with the dysentery.
The thermometer in my bee house stands at 42° at this date, Dec. 14th, 1874, and a person on entering the room would almost think there was not a live bee in it, they are so still.
That the Editor, and all his readers, may succeed in carrying all their bees safely through the present, and all subsequent winters, is the wish ofJames Bolin.
West Lodi, Ohio.