26 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[From the Bienenzeitnng.] 



A Well- Ventilated Hive. 



[The following novel experiincut will fur- 

 nish matter for reflection and study to bee- 

 keepers who believe that, in the construction 

 of hives* perfection has not j^et been attained. 

 It may be true that, in northern climates, the 

 plan could not be made serviceable, even tem- 

 porarily for any purpose. But observation has 

 satisfied us that in the middle States bees would 

 work and prosper in the open air, during the 

 summer months at least, with no better accom- 

 modation or more protection than Major de 

 Hruschka gave to his weak second swarm. It 

 may, therefore, be possible to turn the fact to 

 account, particularly in the Southern States, 

 when the idea comes to be "worked up "by 

 some inventive genius] : 



The successful issue of some of my former 

 essays have encouraged me to make further ef- 

 forts in various directions, in the hope of ulti- 

 mately advancing practical bee-culture. Among 

 several experiments not yet fully carried out, 

 there is one of which I feel impelled to commu- 

 nicate an account, trusting that some inquiring 

 apiarian, favorably situated, will thus be in- 

 duced to take up the matter, repeat Avhat I have 

 done, and aid in rendering available any ideas 

 that may be suggested or new facts that 

 may be developed. This experiment will 

 probably be the more generally interesting 

 as it involves the question which has engaged 

 the attention and study of bee-keepers for ages 

 — the hive and liome of the honey bee. 



On the 15th of May, 1866, I put in train of 

 execution a long cherished idea. I desired to 

 observe the whole career and final fate of a 

 colony of bees to which, by Avay of novelty 

 and variety, no habitation had been assigned. 

 Whilst a large second swarm was clustered in 

 my garden, an apparatus was hastily con- 

 structed, designed to support the combs that 

 would be built, securing moveableness at the 

 same time, and leaving the bees entirely uncon- 

 fined on every side. This was accomplished by 

 placing nine bars, or slats, of the usual length, 

 though somewhat thicker, on a crossbar 

 fastened on the top of a strong staff. Strips of 

 comb guides were cemented to the lower side 

 of the bars ; and if the combs and slats were 

 subsequestly attached to the cross-bars by the 

 bees, the attachments could readily be severed 

 with a knite, and comb after comb could then 

 be easily removed if desired. 



This skeleton fixture was then gently and 

 slowly pushed into the clustered swarm from 

 below ; and before evening the bees had so 

 completely taken possession of their airy habi- 

 tation, that I could carry it to my yard and fix 

 it there by inserting the pole in the ground at 

 a suitable spot where it was accessible from 

 every side. Next morning, satisfied that the 

 bees were disposed to remain, as they had al- 

 ready begun to work, a wax-cloth roof was 

 placed over them, about ten inches above the 



cluster, to shield it from rain and the direct 

 rays of the sun. Thus, exposed to the elements 

 and to whatever might choose to assail it, it 

 was left to its fate in the belief that, sooner or 

 later, its destruction was inevitable. Mean- 

 while combs were built very rapidly, and, iu 

 proportion to their numbers, the bees were ex- 

 ceedingly active. On the evening of the third 

 day I could already see the edges of the snow- 

 white combs protruding from the cluster. In 

 due course ot time the population began to in- 

 crease, and in July it had eight combs of brood, 

 each ten inches long by eight inches broad. 



I was now unavoidably absent from home 

 several months, and though thus totally uncared 

 for and neglected, my little colony weathered 

 the season admirably. On my return in Octo- 

 ber I found it still vigorous and working indus- 

 triously. 



The original intention was that the colony 

 should be literally sacrificed for the sake of ex- 

 periment, and it was therefore allowed to re- 

 main in its assigned location till autumn was 

 already well advanced. But on finding it 

 covered with hoar frost several mornings in 

 succession, and perceiving that the bees on the 

 periphery of the mass, were regularly dropping 

 from the effects of cold and could not be re- 

 vived, I removed it to a chamber in the north- 

 ern side of my house, on the 5th of November, 

 and there again suspended it as before. The tem- 

 perature of the room could be kept at from 40" 

 to 42° without fire during the winter. The 

 windows and shutters were kept constantly 

 closed. I allowed them to remain there undis- 

 turbed, even when, during six days in January, 

 the outdoor temperature was at from 66-^ to 68°, 

 and the bees of my apiary in the garden Avere 

 flying briskly and gathering pollen. Hitherto 

 few bees have died, nor has the colony appar- 

 ently been in want of anything. 



The observations made during the progress of 

 this experiment thus far, though unavoidably 

 interrupted for several months, were these : 



1. The combs remained beautifully white for 

 a much longer period than they do in close 

 hives, even when brood has been repeatedly 

 reared in them. 



2. On the other hand the lees themselves 

 grew perceptibly greyer and darker, even in 

 midsummer. Among the later bred bees no 

 variation in color was observable. 



3. Though their flight was unobstructed in all 

 directions,"and the small roof afforded equal 

 protection on every side, shading it alike all 

 round at noon, the bees departed and returned 

 almost exclusively on the south side — the combs 

 running in parallel ranges north and south. 

 The south side was ever the scene of greatest ac- 

 tivity. On the other sides the bees were for the 

 most part inactive, and I never saw them clus- 

 tered there in festoons, as though elaborating 

 wax. 



4. The colony never suffered in the least, and 

 was never annoyed by attacks from the bees of 

 my other thirty-six hives, nor from moths, nor 

 from Cetonia opaca, the most obtrusive and de- 

 structive enemy of bees in southern Europe; 

 nor from Sphinx airopos, &c. This carefully 

 noted fact can be accounted for from the entire 



