310 FIFTY YEARS A^IONG THE BEES 



taking them in, or early in the spring. At such times I 

 open up the cellar at dark. If very warm, all doors and 

 windows are opened wide and by morning generally all 

 are aniet. I leave all open as long as possible in the 

 morning ; sometimes till noon ; when the bees begin to 

 fly out all must be darkened. Very likely it would be bet- 

 ter if there were a way to admit air in abundance without 

 admitting light. 



COOLING AND AIRING CELLAR. 



Years ago, when the temperature became too high in 

 the cellar in spring, and I wanted to keep the bees in the 

 cellar still longer, I tried cooling down with cakes of ice. 

 But it was not satisfactory. The trouble was not so 

 much with the temperature as the quality of the air. Then 

 I learned that opening the cellar was more effectual. 



OPENING CELLAR AT NIGHT. 



The first time I tried that trick I got a pretty bad 

 scare. It was in the sprins^, and there came a warm spell, 

 lasting perhaps two or three days. It kept getting warmer 

 in the cellar, and the bees kept getting noisier. At the 

 same time I kept getting more uneasy, not knowing just 

 what the end might be. After the trouble got pretty bad, 

 I thought I would venture to open the cellar wide in the 

 evening, hoping that it might become cooler through the 

 night. I think it was 50 or 60 degrees outside, and not 

 far from that in the cellar. The bees were quite noisy 

 when the cellar was opened, and I listened closely for the 

 quieting down. It didn't come. On the contrary, the 

 noise increased to a roar that could be heard some dis- 

 tance from the cellar, and the bees were running all over 

 the hives, some of them hanging out in great clusters as 

 if getting ready to swarm. I felt afraid they would all 

 leave their hives and make a wreck. I assi^re you I was 

 badly frightened ; but I didn't know of anything to do, so 

 I didn't do anything. As nearly as I now remember, I 



