THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



fermeiitive process. Dr. Preuss, on the other 

 hand, contends that the fungus, which he chiims 

 to have discovered in the putrid larvoe, was the 

 cause of pulrefactiou in them. Otliers, again, 

 having seen that, at certain seasons, bees carry- 

 water into their hives, and relying on the repre- 

 sentations of previous observers, speali, especi 

 ally in the Bienenzeilung lor 1838, of " water 

 dearth " among bees— just as though thej' were 

 spealiiug of a human being, languishini? with 

 parched tongue for a drop of water to quench 

 his thirst. Bees Ivuow not thirst. They carry 

 in water simply to dissolve crystalized honey, 

 to enable them properly to concoct the aliment 

 required by the brood. This portion of their 

 labor might more appropriately be designated 

 as providing the means of solution. There are 

 others, also, who speak of " dysentery " among 

 bees, as though it were something that might be 

 regarded as a diseased condition of their organ- 

 ism, such as occurs at times in the intestinal 

 canal of human subjects ; and they liave even 

 advised recourse to, and have themselves em- 

 ployed, the remedies deemed efficacious in the 

 latter case. These, however, leave out of view 

 altogether the fact that bees must, within a 

 certain limited period of time, be able to dis- 

 charge thtir fjEces; and if the proper opportunity 

 to do this is not presented, the alvine viscera 

 become gorged. Bees are then constrained to 

 make their evacuations when and where they 

 can, oft of necessity polluting their combs and 

 the interior of their hives. This condition is, 

 no doubt a fearful one to the suffering insects ; 

 but is not in reality a disease. As soon as the 

 weather permits the bees to fly, the whole 

 difficulty is removed. 



We might greatly enlarge tliis catalogue of 

 transgressions against science, if disposed to 

 pursue the registration. But we should proba- 

 bly be thereby templed to engage in discussions, 

 •which might not indeed be of disservice to the 

 cause, though they should lead us too far away 

 from our present purpose. From these and 

 similar incongruous notions and doctrines, we 

 shall therefore only select that which from its 

 nature seems to bear a close relationship to 

 what has been called " water dearth." We 

 take occasion accordingly to speak somewhat 

 in detail, of i/te effect of water on the combs and 

 the life of the bees. 



What is called water dearth among bees is a 

 subject which, as we have already stated, has 

 been repeatedly and exhaustively discussed — 

 the singular notion of its occasional existence 

 having sprung from the fact that, in the spring, 

 bees are frequently seen sipping water at pools 

 and ditches, and conveying it into their hives. 

 Misled by this fact and the queer fancies which it 

 seems to have engendered, bee-keepers liave 

 been induced to institute various, experiments, 

 which, if viewed in the light of their possible 

 consequences, might well be regarded as design- 

 ed to work the uiter destruction and ruin of bee- 

 culture. No doubt this is a strong expression ; 

 but, it is nevertheless true. We have often read 

 in various bee journals, that practical bee-keep- 

 trs, wliea they saw that their bees were gelling 

 restless in the spriug,conceiving they were suffer- 

 ing from the supposititious water dearth, poured 



j water in the combs, and remarked triumphantly 

 that after such operation the bees became quiet. 

 The poor dear creatures! Ti)ink of a man con- 

 fined in a circumscribed space and gnsping for 

 fresh air ;* and now, instead of being blessed, 

 with what he sigh? for, a bucketful of cold 

 water is dashed, not indeed in liis face,but in his 

 narrow liouse, and judge how the poor disap- 

 pointed suffi-rer would feel! 



If it be asked, do not the bees need water ? 

 we must say in reply, they do. Honey, for in- 

 stance, if it remain long undisturbed in tlie cells, 

 becomes partially candied, the grape sugar it 

 contains alone remaining liquid. 1'he crystals 

 being of so compact and solid a nature, the bees 

 are unable to consume them in that form, or 

 prepare from them the jelly with which, in an 

 undigested state, tlie larva? of the workers and 

 drones are supplied in their last stage prior to 

 transformation, it is quite natural that they 

 should be dissolved and made available, by 

 means of water brought in from abroad. Hence 

 it happens in the spring, so soon as bees have 

 brood to nurse, and the honey trom which the 

 jelly is to be prepared is pailially crystalized, 

 water is in demand and some of the workers 

 are seen carrying it in. It is wise, therefore, at 

 this season, to supply them in convenient places 

 with pure rain or river water in a shallow pan 

 or dish, placing in it a piece of sponge, or moss, 

 or some chips, to save the bees from drowning. 

 Well water, if used for this purpose, should be 

 previously^boiled and allowed to settle, to free 

 it of mineral salts that might prove injurious. 



Bees never carry more water in their hives than 

 siifficefi for their immediate loants. No bee-keeper 

 ener found that they store up any in the cells for 

 future use. The reason of this is obvious. Per- 

 manent dampness or moisture in a hive is invari- 

 ably followed by the destruction of the colony. 

 Hence the instinctive antipath}' to it so unmis- 

 takably manifested by ihe bees everywhere in 

 the various functions of their life. This asser- 

 tion mny seem to require some further elucida- 

 tion. There are two points which, on close in- 

 spection of the combs of a hive and the sub- 

 stances therein deposited, supply us with the 

 tangible evidence why bees are fo solicitous to 

 exclude water and all dampness from ilieir 

 dwellings; and observant bee-keepers will not 

 have failed to see how sedulously they end^avor 

 to lid tbeir hives of all superfluous moisture 

 therein condensed or collected, so soon as the 

 temperature of the atmosphere will permit thrni 

 to do so. Every drop'of water is then re- 

 moved, as quickly as it makes its appearance. 



As warm-blooded creatures receive with their 

 nutriment two substances producing very differ- 

 ent effects on their organism, so likewise the 

 bees. They receive with the honey, a non- 

 nitrogenous substance (C 12 H 13 O 12xH 

 O), the combustiljle material, which combining 

 with the oxygen inhaled through their stigmata, 



*That bees require a constant supply of pure fresh 

 air in tlieir liives, for purposes of respiration and diges- 

 tion, will readily be conceded in view ut tlie large amount 

 of vapor, carbonic and formic acid^encraied therein— the 

 natural product of respiration and digestion. With ihe 

 editor's permission we may herealter treat of this topic 

 more fully in these columns. 



