clusters will perish from cold. The present style of Hoffman frames
divides the bee cluster into eleven divisions separated from each other
by a sheet of wax comb, with no direct communication between different
divisions except over, below or around the frames. If the bee cluster
contracts during the winter on account of cold the divisions of the
outside frames are sometimes left behind and die. Some bee keepers
perforate their frames to keep an easy passage for bees from one
compartment to another. If kept warm, even weak colonies may pass over
or around the frames without much difficulty. When cold, only the
strongest will be able to accomplish this difficult task. Wintering
bees in division hives or in two story hives, which give them a
horizontal bee space through the middle between the two divisions, is
highly recommended for successful wintering.

[Illustration: Francis Jager, Professor of Apiculture, University Farm,
St. Paul.]

In long-continued severe cold the bee clusters will contract into a very
small, compact mass. The tendency of this cluster is to move upward
where the air is warmer. If enough honey is stored above them they will
keep in contact with it. If the honey is stored at the side, the bees
sometimes lose their contact with it and die of starvation and cold.
This is another argument in favor of wintering in two story hives. Often
they will move towards one corner and die there, leaving the other
corners filled with honey. If you must winter in one story hives give
bees plenty of honey in the fall and place the cluster at one side of
the hive so that they move necessarily toward the honey supply.

Bees should be kept in a cellar at a temperature of about 45 degrees.
The difference in the temperature between the outside and the inside of