THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



489 



me about 2 cents per pound, and I 

 ■was selling it at a shilling ; but that 

 report was soon dropped when 1 of- 

 fered $1,000 reward to any who would 

 produce one ounce of such honey that 

 I had sold, and I would give them 

 the names of every person to whom I 

 had sold honey, there being plenty of 

 the lioney yet unconsumed. 

 Poy Sippi,0 Wis. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



The Prime Cause of Bee-Diarrhea. 



W. H. .STEWART. 



On page 393, Mr. Heddon says that 

 he must insist that I am mistaken in 

 my conclusions as written on page 

 343, that long continued cold is the 

 first cause of bee diarrhea; and as 

 proof that I am mistaken, he quotes 

 Mr. Shuck's statement, that bee- 

 diarrhea can be produced " in a few 

 hours in summer, with the tempera- 

 ture about eo'^, by feeding diluted 

 honey or sugar syrup." Mr. H. says 

 that he " knows that he (Mr. Shuck) 

 speaks truly ;" and further, " that this 

 shows the error of Mr. Stewart, and 

 the truth of the pollen theory." 



Now Mr. Ileddon will please under- 

 stand that I was not writing any- 

 thing about a disease that bees are 

 subject to, or may be forced upon 

 them in warm weather. I understand 

 that all this long discussion on the 

 " pollen theory " has had reference to 

 the diarrhea that is so destructive to 

 our bees in winter. I am aware that 

 we may by artificial means, freeze 

 our bees as solid as ice, even in mid- 

 summer ; also that we may give them 

 a temperature equal to midsummer, 

 when the mercury stands at 40° below 

 zero in the open air ; but all such 

 statements and mechanical experi- 

 ments do not help us out of our win- 

 ter troubles with bee-diarrhea. I 

 would not mix up the discussion of a 

 detached or isolated point by bringing 

 in far-fetched side-issues. I hold that 

 it is better to confine ourselves closely 

 to the subject if we would solve a 

 problem. 



How can Mr. Ileddon jthink that I 

 am mistaken in concluding that cold 

 long continued is the first cause of 

 bee-diarrhea in winter? He teaches 

 the same on page 214, for he there 

 says : " My opinion is, that when the 

 temperature falls below a given point, 

 in the hive, the bees add to the heat- 

 producing method of consumption of 

 oxygenized food, that of producing 

 heat by exercise, and this exercise 

 necessitates waste of tissue, and this 

 the consumption of tissue-making 

 food — bee-bread." 



Now, if Mr. Ileddon is correct in 

 his theory, that the consumption of 

 pollen or bee-bread is the cause of 

 bee-diarrhea in winter confinement, 

 any sane man must see that he teaches 

 us that cold caused the bees to make 

 extra exertion, extra exertion caused 

 the consumption of tissue, the con- 

 sumption of tissue caused the demand 

 for pollen or bee-bread ; and accord- 

 ing to his theory, the use of pollen as 

 food caused bee-diarrhea, and diar- 

 rhea was the cause of bee-death. In 



this chain of causes, is not cold the 

 first link V Then, wherein am I mis- 

 taken y 



But Mr. Heddon says on page 393, 

 that " the pollen theory has to do with 

 bee-diarrhea ; not with bee-death." I 

 have all the while understood that 

 Mr. II., and his opponents, had been 

 searching after the first link in this 

 chain of causes, one link of which is 

 bee-diarrhea, and the last link of 

 which is bee-death, while in winter 

 confinement. I think that Mr. Doo- 

 little understands the matter the 

 same. Now, Mr, H. cuts off the last 

 link, bee-death, and it seems neces- 

 sary, in order to keep the " pollen 

 theory " good, to cut off all preced- 

 ing links until he comes to the eating 

 of pollen or bee-bread. If he would 

 do thus, then why all this long dis- 

 cussion about first causes, prime 

 causes, etc. ? And again, why talk 

 about " low temperature in the liive," 

 waste of tissue, and extra exertion to 

 produce more heat i* These links 

 have not to do with the " pollen 

 theory," if bee-death has not. 



I will admit that bee-diarrhea may 

 be produced in summer by improper 

 treatment, and also diarrhea in other 

 animals the same. The same disease 

 may be produced in the animal by 

 various causes, and in many ways, 

 and be the same disease every time ; 

 but that is not what we have been 

 discussing. What we want to know 

 is, what is the first cause, not what is 

 an intermediate factor. 



On page 214 Mr. Ileddon says : " If 

 pollen had not been a main factor in 

 the cause of fecal accumulations in 

 bees, the whole problem would long 

 ago have been settled." Why did not 

 Mr. H. say, if pollen had not been the 

 main, or first, cause? I think that 

 most ot us are ready to admit that an 

 over-eating of pollen or bee-bread 

 may be an important factor in the 

 cause or causes of bee-diarrhea in 

 winter confinement ; but that it is the 

 cause, or first cause, is altogether 

 another question. 



I would thank Mr. Heddon and all 

 others for what they can do to point 

 out my real mistakes ; truth is the 

 only important lesson in all the ways 

 of life. I am anxiously looking for 

 Mr. Ileddon's promised article on 

 changing the winter stores of bees. 



Orion, p Wis. 



For the American Bee JourcaL 



Mr. D. A. Jones' Winter Report. 



WM. F. CLARKE. 



What with moving and other hin- 

 drances, I have been able to write 

 very little for the press of late, but I 

 have read the bee-periodicals pretty 

 closely, and have been surprised that 

 Mr. D. A. Jones' winter report has, 

 apparently, provoked no criticism. It 

 is to me a very astounding report, and 

 " I want to know, you know," a little 

 more about it. The success recorded 

 in wintering bees during a winter of ex- 

 treme severity is unparalleled. AV'hile 

 such men as A. I. Root, Ileddon, 

 Hutchinson, Doolittle, and a host 

 more that might be named, are still 



wrestling with the winter problem, 

 our great ("anadian apiarist seems to 

 find it no problem at <all. To him. 

 wintering bees is " as easy as rolling 

 oft a log." 



The report in question abounds in 

 "glittering generalities," and is a 

 grand exhibition of apicultural pyro- 

 technics. One is fairly dazed with 

 wonderment, and dazzled well nigh 

 to blindness with the brilliant results 

 of a skill or luck in bee-management, 

 never before attained in the annals of 

 apiculture. Let us quit our discus- 

 sions about the pollen, hibernation, 

 and other theories. Mr. Jones has 

 often told us that he has no bee-keep- 

 ing secrets. He is ready and willing 

 to tell every thing he knows. In the 

 name of all the fraternity of bee-keep- 

 ers who are trying their best to solve 

 the winter difficulty, I call upon Mr. 

 Jones to " rise and explain " how he 

 lias managed to winter his myriads of 

 bees witti a loss so trifling as hardly 

 to be worth mentioning. 



Mr. Jones does not tell us in exact 

 figures how many colonies he put into 

 winter quarters, nor precisely how 

 many he lost, but " putting that and 

 that together," the following are the 

 conclusions at which I have arrived : 

 First, as to the number of colonies 

 wintered over: A home apiary of 

 about 400 colonies is mentioned ; " one 

 of our bee-farms where we had about 

 250 colonies " is referred to ; several 

 clamps are spoken of, some of them 

 holding from 80 to 90 colonies, and 

 one smaller one, .50 ; besides an indefi- 

 nite number of colonies in double- 

 walled or chall-packed hives. Adding 

 the.se together without exaggerating, 

 we reach the following sum total : 



Home apiary 400 



"One of our bee-farms" 250 



This implies at least anotlier bee-farm, say — 200 

 Several clamps would mean at least 3, say 



two of HO and one of 90 250 



A smaller clamp of 50 



Miscellaneous sint^le hives, double-walled or 



chaff-packed, say 20 



Total number of colonies 1,170 



Now as to the losses : At the home 

 apiary, consisting of about 400 colo- 

 nies, there appear to have been no 

 losses whatever, only some queenless 

 colonies, but even these were " strong 

 in bees." One of the clamps con- 

 taining about 50 colonies "was 

 stronger apparently than when put 

 out in the fall"— "bees in extra fine 

 condition." Again, " those wintered 

 in-doors varied at the different api- 

 aries, some slightly better than others, 

 hnt all in fine condition." There were 

 "some colonies, placed in winter 

 quarters," which are described as 

 having been " t«o weak in bees to 

 keep up the temperature necessary to 

 successful wintering, either in-doors 

 or out. A feiB of these succumbed." 

 How many is a " few " of " some V" 



Next we have a rather longer state- 

 ment : " At one of our bee-farms 

 where we had about 250 colonies, part 

 were packed in clamps, and part in- 

 doors ; one of those packed in the bee- 

 house died from starvation, the rest 

 we put out in much finer condition 

 than it has been our pleasure to have 

 them for a long time. Those packed 

 in clamps were in about equally as 

 fine condition, but several were found 



