THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



77 



Became© Uini<c©inmirortalbl©o 



BY E. A. MORGAN. 



"IN the February Review for 1903^ 

 i page 46, appears an article by Ira 

 Barber, entitled "Keep Fresh Air 

 From the Bees," which isg-ood advice, 

 but the reasons given as to zv/ij the 

 bees roared, are away off. 



It has taken him twenty years to 

 learn that when bees roar thej'' are 

 moving honey, and, instead of being 

 out of condition, they are as happy as 

 a kitten at pla}'. I have spent twenty 

 years in proving that when bees roar 

 in cellar they are out of condition, and 

 noi happy; neither are they moving 

 honey. All moving of honey is done 

 out in the yard in October, long before 

 the bees are set in, and during my 

 twentj' years' watch I have never 

 known a drop of honey to change lo- 

 cation in the cellar. It is a mistake to 

 say the bees are too warm when they 

 roar. They are either too cold, or the 

 air is too foul — generally the former. 

 Are bees too warm on their summer 

 stands when the thermometer registers 

 40 degrees below zero? Go out and 

 listen, and you'll find every strong 

 stock roaring for keeps — and the water 

 running out of the hives. 



Currents of fresh air in the cellar 

 make the bees uncomfortable, and they 

 rouse up and roar for a time, then be- 

 come very quiet. Roaring, at any 

 time, is a sign of discotnfort. A cellar 

 or winter repository that will main- 

 tain a temperature of 40 degrees, re- 

 gardless of what it is outside, needs 

 little ventilation directly; but a ceiling 

 overhead porous enough to allow the 

 steam and moisture to escape without 

 losing the heat will be found best. 



The 242 colonies mentioned under 

 the living rooms, which came out so 

 strong, had just the right ceiling to 



allow the air to purify itself and be- 

 come changed so gradually that it was 

 always sweet. Had the floor above 

 been air-tight, the bees would have 

 roared. I have never had bees roar 

 in winter quarters but what they soon 

 had the dysentery, dwindled, and 

 died. 



Yes sir, Mr. Barber, if the bees roar 

 they are unhappy and out of condition; 

 the trouble is bad food, foul air, or 

 too cold, and the sooner you bank up 

 warmer, give new food, or change air, 

 the better for them. 



HIGH TEMPERATURE NOT DETRIMENTAL 



—QUALITY OF STORES OF MOST 



IMPORTANCE. 



In the winter of 1887 my winter re- 

 pository was a cave. With 200 colo- 

 nies it warmed up to 50 degrees, and 

 even to 60 degrees, and the bees all 

 clustered out as they would on a hot 

 night in June; yet, on April 1st, I set 

 them out in the best condition I ever 

 had bees— every stock ready for the 

 sections, and the least consumption of 

 stores I ever had. The next winter 

 they had poor stores, roared all winter, 

 and dwindled down with dysentery 

 until they were nuclei. I would have 

 no draught of cold air, but I would 

 have porous covering so that there 

 would be enough ventilation to keep 

 the repository sweet. 



EXPOSING HONEY TO ROBBERS IS NOT 

 ADVISABLE. 



Again, on page 51 of the same issue, 

 is some advice how to stop robber bees 

 from following the apiarist from hive 

 to hive in doing necessary work when 

 no honey is coming in. Mr. C. W. 

 Post recommended setting out some 

 smeared combs for the bees to clean up. 



