34 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



"we succumb, becoming victims of unre- 

 mitted toil. Would we keep our mus- 

 cles in good condition we must give 

 them stated intervals of rest. Thus we 

 understand the phenomenon of sleep, 

 which is only a generalization of that 

 necessity which causes the woodman to 

 lower his axe, being an imperative re- 

 quisite to the recuperation of a tired 

 body, a body so exhausted that the nerve 

 as well as muscular system needs to 

 rest. 



Now, in the light of the above, can 

 we wonder that the " busy Bee" ever 

 active to obtain the most from a not 

 over long harvest — or in quest of that 

 which is not, so busy that the apiary 

 not only swarms with life by day, but 

 sends forth the full, joj^ous note of in- 

 dustry all the hours of the long night 

 through, should present a longevity so 

 brief. Is it not beautiful, and does it 

 not merit our gratitude — this fact that 

 the little Bee becomes a willing martyr 

 to the love of storing ? Because of this 

 unrivaled activity, the worker Bee lives 

 only from two to three months. Now, 

 suppose the queen ceases laying the 

 last of August, as she is quite sure to 

 do, if old or poor, especially if the Bees 

 are gathering no stores. By the time 

 Winter sets in the Bees will all be old, 

 and in the Spring the few that have sur- 

 vived will endure but few flights, so 

 that colonies — as was the case with so 

 many in our State during the past sea- 

 son — will Winter through, only to suc- 

 cumb to the more genial spring days, 

 giving no signs of dysenter}^, nor yet of 

 starvation. 



Bo again, it is probable that to in- 

 sure certain success in wintering, we 

 must see to it that breeding continues 

 well into the Fall, that every hive shall 

 have brood in October. 



Mr, Hosmer, of Minnesota, was the 

 first, as far as I know, who gave this 

 explanation, and reason certainly sus- 

 tains the view, unless forsooth, the Bees 

 that are old in Fall, revive by the long 

 Winter's rest, renewing their youth. So 

 we see, to uniform temperature in Win- 

 ter, and sufficient and the right kind of 

 stores, it is well to add the advice sug- 

 gested by the above, to so manage as to 

 have the brood reared in our apiaries 

 8ate in the Fall. 



Our last theory as to disastrous win- 

 tering is an entirely visionary one ; 

 Epidemic — a very convenient explana- 

 tion for we seem to give a reason, yet 

 when we analyze it, it is no reason, nor 

 are we usually able to give a reason 

 when we decide thus. 



A few 3'ears ago the chinch bugs, 

 which for a long time had been very 

 numerous and destructive in Illinois 

 suddenly disappeared. Dr. Shimer, a 

 distinguished entomologist, at once pro- 

 nounced it epidemic. Later experience 

 demonstrated that excessive rains ban- 

 ished them. That exceeding dampness is, 

 happily, very destructive to the chinch 

 bug. So too the silk worm epidemic in 

 France,yet the thorough and most praise- 

 worth}^ researches of Pasteur, brought 

 to light the real cause of febrine, and 

 consequently the cure was made known 

 and silk-culture saved from utter ex- 

 termination. 



So too in Bee diseases, I fully believe 

 that the maladies M^hich have been so 

 disastrous the past two Winters come, 

 as any one ma}" prove, within the easy 

 range of our understanding, and escape. 

 Should I be mistaken, or should a more 

 intricate trouble appear among us, we 

 need not even then despond, for the ex- 

 perience of the past bids us rest firm in 

 the hope that with careful study, ma- 

 king use of the appliances which science 

 brings to our aicl, we shall be able to 

 explain and conquer the most compli- 

 cated disease. 



Now having the theory of safe win- 

 tering before us, which, as we have 

 seen, combines even temperature a little 

 above freezing point, good and sufficient 

 stores, and late Fall brood, let us exam- 

 ine and see if there be any experiments 

 or experience that will sustain this 

 theory. 



The past Winter I buried my Bees in 

 snow, making them the nucleus of a 

 snow bank from the last of November 

 till the 1st of March. The result was, 

 they preserved an almost death-like si- 

 lence, consumed very little honey, and 

 in theSpi'ing there was not in any hive 

 a sufficient quantity of dead Bees to fill 

 a small tea cup. In fact, I never saw 

 colonies appear brighter, or do better 

 than they did. It has long been the 

 opinion of observing Boe-keepers, found- 



