MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 261any change when the temperature runs up to 90 degrees, norwhen it runs down on cold nights.Q. Do you use ventilation under supers, or open at the topthrough the summer?A. Generally, with section-supers, I have ventilation at theback end, between the hive and lower super, and sometimes inthe cover of the hive as well. In a cool time, however, it is betterto have the ventilation closed, for sections at that part arenot finished so soon.Q. In your text-book you give a plan of ventilating the upperstories by shoving them forward and back, leaving a space at oneend. Does the rain not get in through the space?A. I suppose it does, but it never seems to do any harm, beingat the end. At any rate, the harm is overbalanced by the good.Q. How is the best way to ventilate hives in winter?A. In the cellar it matters little how, provided there be enoughventilation and there is no danger of having too much. Formerly,with box-hives, a good plan was to turn the hive upsidedown, with no covering over it. That left it all open above and allclosed below. Of course, no sort of hive ventilation will availif the air in the cellar is impure. For outdoor wintering, the entrancemay be three-eighths by six inches for a strong colony,and less for a weak one; besides this opening at the entrance,some cover with some sort of packing that allows a little airslowly to pass upward. Others leave the cover sealed down as thebees left it in summer and fall. But in this case the top must bewarmly covered.Q. What do you think of ventilation at the top of a hive inwint'pr? Is it important, and, if so, would it not be proper tocut a 2-inch hole through a quilt and place the cloth cushionsfilled with cork chips on top of this? I use table oilcloth forquilts in summer and winter. Is there anything better?A. There is a decided difference of opinion as to the matterof upward ventilation in winter, some reporting success withsealed covering, others reporting disaster. In either case it isimportant to have warm covering overhead for outdoor wintering.You are on the safe side not to have all sealed tight, and the planyou propose may work all right. I used oilcloth, same as you,for years, but for many years past have had no covering overbrood-frames except the hive cover, and this method I like better.But it must be remembered that I winter in the cellar.