374 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



of the approach of spring. At any rate, it 

 is held, and no doubt rightly, that fresh air 

 may be admitted in such a way as to do 

 harm. 



Mr. Doolittle, on p. 187, refers to the sub- 

 earth ventilator. I think I was one of the 

 last to hold on to this. I became skeptical 

 as to the quality of the air admitted through 

 porous tiles, such as I had; and as it was 

 the lazier way, to allow the pipes to be- 

 come filled up, the combination of laziness 

 and skepticism drove the sub-ventilator out 

 of use. I am just a little afraid it would 

 have been better if I had continued it. With 

 continuous piping perfectly air-tight, pre- 

 venting the possibility of the entrance of 

 injurious gases from underground. I am 

 strongly of the opinion that sub-ventilation 

 is a good thing. 



One trouble in deciding as to any one 

 point in wintering is that the whole prob- 

 lem is a complicated one, and you can not 

 separate that one point from the others. 

 Mr. Doolittle winters as well since ventila- 

 tion is given up; but does that prove that 

 ventilation is of no value ? May not a 

 change of other factors account for success, 

 not on account of, but in spite of, the lack 

 of ventilation? and might not the success 

 be still greater with ventilation? Because 

 there has been good wintering in spite of 

 the fact that at one time the air in his cel- 

 lar would not support the combustion of a 

 lamp, it would hardly do to argue that his 

 bees would winter equally well if confined 

 the entire winter in an atmosphere of such 

 quality. 



Mr. Doolittle speaks of his ventilation 

 that would change all the air of a cellar in 

 less than five minutes. A blast of air 

 through a 6x8 aperture sufficiently strong 

 to clear the cellar in less than five minutes 

 might be rather too windy a situation for 

 best wintering. If bees should winter well 

 with a quiet and constant change of air, it 

 does not follow that somewhere between 

 that and a cyclone the danger-point might 

 not be reached. 



The idea that, when the admission of 

 fresh air quiets noisy bees, it is because of 

 the admission of moisture, has, I think, the 

 merit of novelty; at least I do not remember 

 having seen it advanced before. Some cir- 

 cumstances connected with the matter in- 

 cline me to accept it, if I accept it at all, 

 somewhat warily. I have been sitting, try- 

 ing to recall some of the times when I have 

 opened the cellar on nights when the bees 

 were noisy. Sometimes the outdoor air was 

 warmer than that in the cellar, sometimes 

 it was colder — the result of opening doors 

 and windows was always the same, quiet- 

 ness the next morning. Usually the air in 

 the cellar felt more damp than outdoors, 

 and, to my regret, there was sometimes a 

 good deal more dampness in the hives than 

 I believed best. Certainly not always, if 

 ever, did the admission of outside air bring 

 in moisture, yet it always brought quiet. 



I never tried giving the bees water in the 

 cellar for the express purpose of quieting 



them; but I have tried it without any such 

 purpose, and I never succeeded in getting 

 any water taken. I don't know why, for I 

 know others have succeeded. Just now the 

 cellar is in an unusually dry condition, 

 possibly because of the unusually dry con- 

 dition of the soil after the terrible drouth of 

 last summer. It is possible the bees may 

 take water now. If you will excuse me a 

 few minutes I'll go down cellar and see. 



Yes. I took a rag dripping wet and put 

 it in a cluster of bees at the entrance, and, 

 while a number of bees ran aimlessly over 

 the rag as bees do when disturbed, I could 

 distinctly see three or four bees standing 

 with their tongues protruded as if licking 

 up the moisture. As this is the first time I 

 ever saw any thing of the kind, it is prob- 

 able that the cellar is drier than when I 

 tried it before. But if unusually dry, that 

 dryness does not seem to make the bees un- 

 easy, for at this date, March 6th, they are 

 very quiet. 



The time of greatest uneasiness in the 

 cellar comes late in winter or early in 

 spring, when the outside air is as warm as 

 the air in the cellar. No matter if the walls 

 of the cellar be dripping wet, and drops of 

 water be easily seen in the hives at the 

 back end of the deep bottom-board, the bees 

 are uneasy when the cellar is closed, and 

 it seems to me the plain explanation is that, 

 when the outer air is no colder than that in 

 the cellar, it will not force its way in, and 

 the foul air makes the bees uneasy. 



I do not undervalue the importance of a 

 correct and equable temperature; but along 

 with it I believe a pure atmosphere is of 

 great importance. In the pure atmosphere 

 of the outdoor air, bees can endure great 

 changes of temperature and a severe degree 

 of cold; and they do endure it, as thousands 

 oj bee-keepers can testify. 



Mj' experience does not confirm the posi- 

 tion Mr. Holtermann takes as to setting 

 bees out early, p. 186. He seems to reason 

 well that bees ought to do better for an 

 early flight, and I have given way to that 

 reasoning a number of times; but whenever 

 I have taken bees out before the blooming 

 of soft maples I have regretted it. Neither 

 is it wise to take them out when soft maples 

 bloom in years when weather is unfavor- 

 able. Repeatedly I have regretted taking 

 bees out too early: I do not remember ever 

 to have regretted taking them out too late. 

 Notwithstanding the number of times I have 

 taken them out too early, and the number 

 of times I have regretted it. I again took 

 them out early last year — March 18, eigh- 

 teen days before the blooming of soft ma- 

 ples — and again I regretted it. It is possi- 

 ble that I will experiment no more in that 

 direction. 



Neither do I believe it wise to set out a 

 few colonies at a time. If convenient — per- 

 haps I ought to say if possible — I always 

 set all of mine out the same da3', and I have 

 never seen any harm come of it. If I should 

 take the plan proposed, and out of every 100 



