116 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Bees Expelling Water from Sweets. 



Query, No. 19.— Some have asserted that 

 bees have the power of expelling water from 

 diluted sweets, when on the wing, etc. Now, 

 I long to see this matter subjected to the eye 

 of science. Has there been a gland dis- 

 covered whose function, resembling that of 

 the kidneys, seems to be that of separating 

 water, etc.?— La Porte City, Iowa. 



Dr. G. L. Tinker replies as fol- 

 lows : " Bees never expel water from 

 diluted sweets when on tlie wing. 

 This whole question is intimately 

 related to one of the most common 

 causes of bee-diarrhea. When from a 

 low or a moderately cool temperature 

 bees are unable, by pulmonary or cu- 

 taneous transpiration, to expel water 

 from sweets, whether diluted or not, 

 water will accumulate in the intes- 

 tines ; but there exists all the more 

 danger of such accumulation If the 

 winter stores of sweets are diluted or 

 tiiin from any cause, such as late- 

 gathered sweets or thin sugar syrup 

 that the liees are unable to evaporate 

 to the proper consistency for sealing 

 up before winter sets in. Another 

 cause of thin honey or syrup, is a very 

 humid atmosphere and dampness in 

 the hive. Any of these causes where 

 there is long confinement, especially, 

 will cause bee -diarrhea. Diluted 

 sweets, under any circumstances, must 

 be considered unhealthy for bees 

 whenever the conditions of tempera- 

 ture in the hive are such that the 

 evaporation of sweets by transpiration 

 cannot readily take place. Bees have 

 no gland corresponding to a kidney ; 

 hence all normal expulsion of water 

 from bees is by the lungs and the sur- 

 face of the body." 



Fall and Spring Weight. 



Query, No. 20 What becomes of the 



ditrerence between fall and siiriiiK- weight of 

 colonies, sometimes amountiiif.' to •-'■. or :10 

 pounds, unless it evaporates from the bodies 

 of the bees ? What becomes of it, especially 

 when the bees havi- no (light for several 

 months, as the debris usually remaining in 

 ihe hive in spring is of trifling amount V— 

 (ato, Mich. 



W, Z, Hutchinson, says that " the 

 loss can be accounted for by perspira- 

 tion and respiration." 



G. W. Demaree answers thus : 

 " The natural food of the honey-bee 

 contains the least possible amount of 

 gross matter ; and as bees do not take 

 on fat and thereby increase in weight, 

 the digestion of honey in the stom.ich 

 of the bee, is equivalent to its com- 

 bustion. Tlie 1 ey is ' burned up,' 



and passes into the aeriform state." 



Dr. C. C. Miller replies thus: 

 "The quantity of water often seen 

 running out at the entrances of hives 

 in winter, shows a large amount of 

 evaporation, probably enough to ac- 

 count for all ditt'erence in weight." 



Prof. A. J. Cook remarks thus : 

 " Tliat there is much vaporous excre- 

 tion through evaporation, is certain. 

 This is true of all animals, and espe- 

 cially when the food is mostly of the 

 carbo-hydrates." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE replies as follows: 

 " Mainly by evaporation, and partially 

 by ihe excrement, and brood which all 

 good colonies commence to rear in 

 January, February and March." 



James Heddon answers thus : "If 

 that 2.5 or ;;0 lbs. of food that is gone, 

 was very free from solid nitrogenous 

 matter, it passed off in liquid or 

 vaporous form, by way of sensible 

 and insensible perspiration and res- 

 piration, except the small amount to 

 be found in the bodies of the bees 

 (not enough to disease them). If, on 

 the other hand, the stores do contain 

 much nitrogenous matter, you will 

 find that it partly passed in vapor (as 

 above), and partly in the bodies of the 

 diseased bees, and on top of the 

 frames' sides of tlie hive and combs, 

 and we call it bee-diarrhea," 



J, E. Pond, Jr., remarks as fol- 

 lows : " This question brings us face 

 to face with the ' pollen theory,' and 

 shows its impracticability. Stores are 

 used as a matter of course ; we know 

 this for we find them gone ; the resi- 

 due or debris left in the hive, or found 

 in front, after being removed by the 

 bees, is too inconsiderable to account 

 for the loss to the colony. Bees when 

 confined to the hive under right con- 

 ditions, use the least amount of stores 

 possible ; the food thus taken is used 

 up largely in producing muscular 

 force, and is of such a nature, that 

 very little residue forms — not enough 

 to overload the intestines in a long 

 period of time, and what is formed is 

 passed off in a dry state. Tests made 

 on the human system have shown that 

 by promoting excessive perspiration, 

 and the use of concentrated food, the 

 amount of debris passed off from the 

 intestines is astonishingly small. We 

 can reason by analogy that our bees 

 are similarly circumstanced, especially 

 when we know that nature always 

 works in harmony with herself so long 

 as her laws are not violated. I shall 

 look with much interest to answers to 

 this question." 



Feeding Bees in Winter. 



Query, No. 21.— What is the best method 

 of feeding a colony of bees that is found to 

 be without food in the hive in midwinter, if 

 the colony is out-of-doors or in the cellar ?— 

 Solon, Maine. 



Dr. C. C. Miller says: "Give 

 combs of sealed honey." 



Pkof. a. J. Cook replies thus: 

 " Without experience, I should say by 

 placing cakes of the ^<;ood candy' 

 above the frames. We should never 

 allow our bees to be in this condi- 

 tion." 



G. M. Doolittlk answers thus : 

 "By setting in frames of sealed honey 

 or combs filled with syrup. Such 

 combs of feed should be warmed for 

 (> hours or so before being placed in 

 the hive." 



J. E. Pond, Jr., remarks thus: 

 " If out-of-doors, put a small quantity 

 of ' Good candy ' on top of the frames, 

 and cover in close and warm. Keep 

 up the supply in the same manner un- 

 til the advent of settled warm weather. 

 I can imagine no better way for cellar 

 wintering." 



.James Heddon answers as follows: 

 " Many report success with sugar 

 candy. Could I succeed with it, I 

 should prefer it. In the few instances 

 tried, I have failed. I now use a broad, 

 flat feeder, with a large open com- 

 munication (1^ the size of the whole 

 top of the hive). I put warm sugar 

 syrup into it, pack the liive and feeder 

 well, and carry it into a warm place, 

 when the bees carry the liquid into 

 their combs from the feeder, with per- 

 fect success." 



G. W. Demaree replies as follows : 

 " To feed bees successfully in cold 

 weather, the feed must be placed 

 in reach of the cluster. When you 

 have no frames of sealed honey to 

 give them, the next best way is to 

 make a bag of the thinnest cotton- 

 cloth you can find — say 5x8 inches in 

 size ; partially fill the bag with candied 

 honey, or with sugar made into 

 ' mush ' by mixing it with warm 

 water, or what is better, melted honey. 

 Fill the bag so that it will assume a 

 fiat shape, and press it down flat, 

 right over the cluster of bees, and 

 cover all snugly with the bee-quilts. 

 This is safer than any bee-candy. The 

 bees will draw the feed through the 

 cloth, and in process of time cut 

 through to the more solid contents of 

 the bag." 



W. Z. Hutchinson advises the fol- 

 lowing : " Make a soft candy and lay 

 it upon the tops of the frames, cover- 

 ing it up warm so that the bees can 

 cluster upon it." 



Location for an Apiary. 



Query, No. 32.— Which is the better loca- 

 tion for an apiary, where the bees are win- 

 tered out-of-doors, in a low location where 

 it is somi'ivhat tmsly and reasonably well 

 shelteic-d from tlic storms by hills, or one on 

 high ground free from dampness, and with 

 no shelter from the winds e.Vcept what may- 

 be made by a tight board-fence ?— East Liv- 

 erpool. O. 



G. W. Demaree answers thus : "I 

 have moved my apiary three times 

 since I located at this place. A low, 

 sheltered site for the hives, has given 

 the best satisfaction."- 



Dr. C. C. Miller says : " I should 

 prefer the low ground sheltered by 

 hills." 



Prof. A. J. Cook replies thus : "I 

 should prefer to have them up well 

 and sheltered by a wind-break." 



J. E. Pond, Jr., answers as follows: 

 " For myself and my own locality, I 

 should prefer the low location. I con- 

 sider that high,cold winds and sudden 

 storms, and the consequent, changes 

 produced by them, cause far more in- 

 jury than severe cold can possibly do 

 in a frosty location, even if somewhat 

 damp ; as dampness of a locality can 

 have but little effect in frosty weather, 



