THE HONEY-BEE. 23? 



Does the increase of heat supply, to a certain extent, 

 the place of food ? Does it. render their aliment 

 more nutritive ? I have reason to helieve, that dur- 

 ing the winter, and previous to the breeding season, 

 a small hive consumes as much food as a large one. 

 Do the inmates of the small hive consume individu- 

 ally a greater quantity ? and is this greater consump- 

 tion necessary to keep up the requisite degree of 

 warmth ? I propose these inquiries to the Naturalist 

 After this discovery, as important as it is inexpli- 

 cable, I varied my experiments in order to insure ab- 

 solute certainty ; and to obtain the most unequivocal 

 proofs of the fact, I united three swarms* in autumn, 

 and when I weighed the hive in spring, I found that 

 it had scarcely consumed a pound weight of provi- 

 sions more than a single hive. I went farther. 1 

 had a large hive, well-peopled, and amply provision- 

 ed. Without removing it from its place, I joined to 

 it the bees of four other hives. This enormous po- 

 pulation produced so strong a heat, that during the 

 whole winter, which was severe, there was heard 

 from them a loud humming, like that which proceeds 

 from a hive on the evening of a fine day in spring. 

 The vapour expelled by the continual vibrating of 

 their wings was condensed, and formed icicles at the 

 entrance of the hive during the hard frosts. Well 

 when in spring I weighed this hive, which contained 

 five families, and from which had exhaled so much 

 moisture, I found it but three Ibs. lighter than my 

 ordinary hives. It threw excellent swarms, long 

 before the others in the apiary, and I was well re- 



