*96 THE FARMER'S MANUAL. 



at the same time ; all these have been considered 

 under the chapters, Diseases of Bees, and Enemies of 

 Bees. Many Apiarians, as well as common people, 

 believe, that cold is an occasion of the mortality of 

 Bees ; but this is true only in a limited sense ; and it 

 is found from the nicest observations, that more Bees 

 die, in proportion, in warm, than in cold climates. 

 The Bee flourishes well in Siberia, and throughout 

 Russia ; and where the summers are short, and the 

 winters long, the almost torpid state of the Bee dur- 

 ing winter, renders him incapable of devouring much 

 food, and yet they seldom if ever perish with frost, 

 in their hives. The woods of Russia are known to 

 abound with Bees, and the peasants have honey from 

 the forests in great plenty, and always at their com- 

 mand. 



Travels in Lapland, by a Swedish officer who ac- 

 companied the French Academicians, who went out 

 to measure the length of a degree at the Pole, states, 

 that " in these countries contiguous to the Pole, there 

 are three months continual night in winter, and the 

 cold is so intense that spirits of wine will freeze in 

 the thermometer ; when the door of a room is open- 

 ed, the exterior air converts the vapour immediately 

 into snow. In summer, there are three months con- 

 tinual day, and we are so annoyed with Bees and flies 

 of all kinds, that we are obliged to burn green wood 

 !o occasion a smoke to drive them away. 55 A sum- 

 mer of three months perpetual day gives the Bees an 

 advantage for laying in stores, which may always be 

 sufficient for food for their long winters, under their 

 *orpid state, and the natural heat of the swarms, suf- 

 ficient to preserve them from freezing to death. Mr, 

 Huish states, that he measured the atmosphere in the 

 aard winter of 1814 with the thermometer, when the 

 cold was 20 degrees below freezing point, and then 

 placed the thermometer within his bee-hives, and 

 found the temperature 20 degrees above it, making a 

 Difference of 40 degrees. This proved to his satis 



