REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 267 



insufficiently protected with packing, but the former one probably suffered most from 

 the water that found its way into the hive. 



The temperature of the cellar during the winter 1895-96 was : — 



November 38° to 40° T. 



December 40° to 44° F. 



January 38° to 44° F. 



February 38° to 43° F. 



March , . . 40° to 41° F. 



April 40° to 47° F. 



Season op 1896. 



April 13, 1896. — The weather being very fine, bright and calm (temperature in the 

 cellar 42° F., out of doors, 55° to 59°F.), three hives were taken out of the 

 cellar at noon and placed on their summer stands, which were set on about 

 one foot of snow. The bees began to fly at once, but at night there was a 

 considerable number of dead bees about the entrances. 

 " 14. — "Weather very cool ; very little flying. 



" 15, 16. — Very warm, bees actively gathering pollen on willows in the swamps. 

 " 16. — Kemaining colonies taken out. Temperature in cellar 47° F.; out of doors, 



75° to 78° F. 

 " 16-30. — Bees working well, gathering pollen on willows and soft maples. Some 

 bees seen attempting to rob ; entrances of threatened hives were contracted 

 so that only one bee could pass at a time. 

 May 1-7. — Bees gathering pollen. Two days were cold and windy ; some dead brood waa 

 carried out before the entrance of the hive. 

 8-13. — Bees began to work on cherry and plum blossoms. 



13.— Apple blossoms provide abundance of pollen and honey. 

 14. — Dandelions in full bloom and very attractive to bees. 

 15-20. — Very fine ; bees working well. 



20. — White flowers of Viburnum Lantana covered with bees gathering honey. 

 20-31. — Bees working well ; buckthorn hedges [Rhamnus frangula) thronged 

 with them. This, like the Viburnum, appears to be a very valuable shrub 

 for bees, as it comes in bloom so early in the season, before the clovers. Both 

 these shrubs, especially the buckthorn, make also good and useful hedges and 

 can be grown from seed. 

 June 4. — Bees clustering for the first time. Removed all cushions and propolis quilts. 

 Placed supers on all hives requiring them. 

 " 5. — Clover and Mock Orange (Philadelphus) beginning to bloom. 

 " 13. — First swarm of the season. 



" 19. — Bee-moth grubs found in some of the hives, of which the colonies had died 

 or deserted in the spring. These hives were taken into a closed room, and 

 fumigated with sulphur. For this purpose the brood chambers, after removal 

 of the top and bottom, were piled on the top of each other, and raised 

 sufficiently from the floor to allow of an iron vessel standing on legs, contain- 

 ing half a pound of sulphur to be placed under the lowest ; the sulphur was 

 ignited, and the fumes rose through all the frames and killed every grub. 

 " 22. — Inspected eveiy hive ; a considerable number of sections were capped. 

 July 1. — First honey taken off from the hives this season. 

 •* 3. — Noticed bees very thick on mustard and basswood, of which the blossoms 



are just opening. Marked all supers, and removed those that were full. 

 " 21. — Bees working still on clover and basswood, and beginning on the English 



horse-beans. 

 " 23. — Basswood blossoms just finished. 



" 24. — Noticed bees abundantly attracted by the following flowering plants : — 

 Asdepias tuberosa, Aster siHricus, Centaurea macrocephala, Linaria spectabilis, 

 Veronica spicata. 



