336 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



^vhen they began to die. Perishing' from thirst day by day the cluster 

 dwindles until, a mere handful being left, they succumb to the cold. 



Excessive thirst and prolonged low temperature cause what is called 

 " roaring in the hive." Disquietude froui any cause induces excessive 

 consumption; dysentery follows; dcatli usually results. I have fre- 

 quently quieted roaring in the hive and restored the bees to tlieir nor- 

 mal condition of quietude by supplying water. 



For furnishing the bees water in winter without disturbing the clus- 

 ter, across the tops of two comb-frames, and above the interveiiing space 

 between, we place a block, 3 inches or 4 iuches square ami 2 inches 

 thick, through which is a 2-inch auger hole. In the hole in the block is 

 Xdaced a sponge dipped in water and squeezed out suiliciently to pre- 

 vent the vrater from d^ropping on the bees below. The blanket being 

 replaced, the heat from the bees prevents freezing, and usually the 

 sponge will be sucked dry in twenty-four hours. 



The spouge should be thoroughly rinsed before refilling. The water 

 given the bees should be lukewarm and brackish. The salt is relished 

 by the bees and acts as a corrective. If cushions are used above the 

 frames the sponge may be sus])ended between the frames above the 

 cluster by means of a fine wire. A mild day should bo selected for 

 watering the bees. If after the bees have been confined fifty days a 

 sponge full of water be given every thirty or ibrty days during their 

 stay in winter quarters, in many cases valuable colonies will be saved 

 which would otherwise be lost. Whether the bees are to be wintered 

 indoors or on summer stands, the arrangement of the hives should con- 

 template the practicability of giving water. 



BEES vs. FRUIT. 



For the purpose of testing the capacity of bees, under exceptional 

 circumstances, to injure fruit, we built a house 10 feet long by 10 feet 

 wide, and 8 feet high at the corners. Large doors were hung in each 

 cud, and a part of the siding on each side was adapted to be raised up 

 on hinges. Screen doors were hung on the inside of the outer doors, and 

 wire cloth covered the openings on the side where the siding was raised. 

 The house is entirely bee-proof. When the sides are raised up, and the 

 outer doors opened, the temperature and light in the house is substan- 

 tially the same as outside. Along the sides of the house we built shelves 

 npou which fruit was placed so that the rays of the sun might strike the 

 different varieties in ditierent stages of ripeness, from green to dead 

 ripe. Plates of ripe peaches, pears, plums, grapes, &c., were placed on 

 the shelves ; clusr<?rs of dilierent kinds of grapes, green and ripe, sound 

 and imperfect, and such as had been stung by insects, were suspended 

 from the rafters and cross-ties of the house. 



The 1st of September we removed three colonies of bees from their 

 hives, carefully and quickly, so that they would carry very little honey 

 with them when transferred from one hive to another. Two of the colo- 

 nies were hybrid bees, and one Italian. These colonies -Avere hived on 

 empty combs, and placed in the house with tiie fruit. A wood stove 

 was pat in the house, and for a number of hours each day a high tem- 

 jierature was maintained. The physical conditions which would ordi- 

 narily prevail in nature during a i)rotracted and severe drought were 

 artificially produced and steadily maintained. 



The bees were brought to the stages of hunger, thirst, and starva- 

 tion. The houSe was kept locked, and .we carried the key. 



Every inducement and opportunity was afforded the bees to satisfy 



