If the bees are kept in apiaries of perhaps 100 colonies and if a cellar is built for each apiary, then it is possible to build a cellar of just the right capacity. If a central cellar is built for all the apiaries and the bees in outapiaries are brought into the home apiary for winter, the beekeeper will wish to build the cellar sufficiently large for future expansion of his business, and beekeepers are finding out, that they can keep many more colonies of bees than they formerly thought possible. Perhaps the better plan is to have a cellar in each apiary. [Illustration: Fig. 2.--Interior of bee cellar with hives In piles of four. Insulation above the ceiling is not shown.] The usual practice is to allow 1-1/2 to 2 square feet of floor surface for each colony, on the assumption that the colonies will be placed in piles of four (fig. 2). It is not desirable to pile hives higher than this, if the cellar roof is 6-1/2 feet high in the clear, and it is difficult to lift heavy hives any higher than the number specified. For an apiary of 100 colonies, it will be found desirable to have a cellar 10 feet wide and from 15 to 20 feet long, clear of the inner walls. If one is just getting a start in beekeeping he should build his cellar on the assumption that later he will increase the number of his colonies, and should allow for this, for it is better to have the cellar too large than too small. WALLS AND FLOOR. It has been claimed by many beekeepers that concrete walls and floor are not desirable, yet if the cellar is properly insulated there is no better material. If the cellar is built in a hillside of sandy soil, wooden sides will be satisfactory and no floor other than the soil need be provided. In such soil the drainage is good and the only function of the side walls is to hold the sides up to prevent caving in. In a moist soil a concrete floor and walls should be built, and the concrete should be waterproof. Under no circumstances should any of the side walls below the ceiling be exposed above ground. [Illustration: Fig. 3.--Diagram of bee cellar. Clearance 6-1/2 feet, ceiling 2-1/2 feet below ground level, packed with about 11 feet of sawdust.] ROOF.