In any event, one shaft 6 inches square running through the ceiling of the cellar to the outside will be sufficient for any cellar that is fit for the wintering of bees. During the coldest part of the winter the interchange of air between the inside of the cellar and the outside will be materially increased by the great difference in temperature and this one ventilator may be entirely or nearly closed. During the milder weather of the fall and spring this amount of ventilation will do no harm. The top of the ventilating shaft, which should extend at least 6 feet above the outer roof, may be painted black in order to induce greater movement of air when the sun shines. The shaft should be so arranged that it does not admit light to the cellar.
[PUTTING THE BEES INTO THE CELLAR.]
Before the bees are carried into the cellar it should be well aired and cleaned, and it will be well to keep it open for several days beforehand. No debris or refuse should be left in the cellar when the bees are taken in.
TIME.
For zone 1 ([fig. 1]) it is usually desirable to wait until about the middle of November before putting the bees into winter quarters. If one could know exactly when the bees would have the last opportunity for a cleansing flight, they would be put into the cellar just after that, but we can not always be sure that there will be suitable weather for such flight in late November, and there is, therefore, considerable doubt every year as to just the right time to put the bees away. Frequently it happens that the weather is suitable for a flight about November 20, and it is best to wait until then before attempting to put the bees in the cellar. The flight of only a few bees from the hive should not be construed as a cleansing flight. In this connection it is highly desirable that the beekeeper keep a careful watch of the weather maps daily, so that he may know at all times about what weather may be expected for a few days in advance. For the beekeeper's purpose the daily forecasts published in newspapers are scarcely enough; and if no daily weather maps are convenient near by, it will repay the beekeeper well to subscribe for them. They are valuable not only at the time of putting the bees into the cellar but at many other times of the year.
Soon after a period when the barometric pressure has been low, bringing high temperatures suitable for flights (at least 60° F.), there usually will be a period when the barometric pressure is high, bringing lower, temperatures. At the shifting from low to high barometric pressure there is frequently a time when it is cloudy. This is a fine time to put the bees into the cellar. These periods of high and low barometric pressure follow each other with rather marked regularity in the fall, and it is rather safe to assume that just at the end of the well-defined low pressure which next follows after November 15 is the best time to put the bees into the cellar. It is better to put the bees in the cellar a week or so before the last opportunity for flight than to put them in after exposure to cold which is not followed by a cleansing flight.
For zone 2 it will be desirable to put the bees away a little earlier, although the oncoming of winter is not so much earlier in the North as one might imagine.
HOW TO CARRY THE BEES.
When one person carries the bees into the cellar the best method is to stand at the back of the hive and grasp the bottom of the hive with both hands. The hive is then lifted and the cover brought up against the chest firmly, permitting the operator to walk without interference and with a minimum of stooping. If there are cleats on the ends of the hive bodies, those may be rested on the forearms, although with this method there is some danger that the bottoms will drop off unless they are stapled.