50 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



little liberty in it, once or twice in the 

 course of the wiuter. In some cases these 

 expedients have been successful. But 

 they are attended with considerable troub- 

 le, and with a large apiary, they are well 

 nigh impracticable. 



An intelligent bee-keeper has recently 

 propounded the theory that the cause of 

 all the trouble is want of water. He ar- 

 gues that bees are well known to be large 

 tonsumers of water during tlie active sea- 

 son. They cannot manufacture honey or 

 rear brood without it. All animals re- 

 quire more or less water, and cannot sus- 

 tain life any length of time without it. 

 lu proportion to its size, the bee consumes 

 more water then the horse or cow. Why 

 then should the bee be expected to do 

 without water all winter, any more than 

 larger stock ? 



The theorist referred to contends that 

 dysentery is caused by a feverish condi- 

 tion of the system, with a high state of 

 local information in the stomach and in- 

 testines, and an evil condition of the hu- 

 mors or juices of the system, accom- 

 panied by inflammatory action. In this 

 coiTupt condition, these humors have ac- 

 tually become a disease, occupying the 

 whole system of the honey-bee, and be- 

 ing so diseased, the physical system of 

 the bee attempts to expel the oftensive 

 matter, by sending it to the intestines, 

 where it is thrown out in the form of 

 dysentery, and death follows, as there is 

 no supply of water to replenish these 

 juices, which are as essential to life as 

 the breath. Water would have prevented 

 all this, by keeping up a supply of these 

 juices, and maintaining an equilibrium 

 throughout the system ; but dry food can- 

 not replenish the juices without the aid 

 of water. 



There is certainly an air of reason- 

 ableness about this theory. We do not 

 know whether its author has experiment- 

 ed upon it so as to be able to sustain it 

 by facts. But it is worthy of attention 

 by bee-keepers generally. When bees are 

 wintered out of dojrs, they have occas- 

 ional opportunities for flight, and at such 

 times, can obtain a supply of water, as it 



is only when the sun has power enough 

 to thaw ice and snow, that bees venture 

 to fly in winter. It may also be the case, 

 that in those well authenticated instances 

 of in-door wintering which are on record, 

 there was enough moisture generated in 

 the hive to supply the bees with moisture 

 and yet not render the hive damp and 

 mouldy. 



It seems to us that experiments are 

 greatly needed just now in three directions, 

 with regard to this matter of wintering. 



1. To get, if possible, a hive for out- 

 door wintering which shall be impervi- 

 ous to frost, and yet not so close as to 

 keep the bees too warm. Keyes & Finn, 

 of Clyde, .Jasper County, Iowa, advertise 

 in the American Bee Journal, that they 

 have a hive which meets these conditions. 

 It is double walled and has a chaflT ventila- 

 tor and feed box. They state that the 

 past three winters have established the 

 fact that their hive "winters bees safely 

 every time on their summer stands." Quite 

 an array of testimony from bee-keepers of 

 good standing sustains their advertisement. 

 We have not tried the hive in question. 

 In fact, our first knowledge of it was de- 

 rived from an advertisement in the De- 

 cember number of the American Bee 

 Journal. 



2. The plan of giving bees one or two 

 cleansing flights in winter is deserving of 

 further trial. Though difticult of adop- 

 tion with a considerable number of col- 

 onies, and as we have said, well nigh im- 

 practicable with large apiaries, bee-keep- 

 ers who have only a few stocks might 

 practice it to advantage. 



3. The water tlieory should also be 

 thoroughly experimented upon. 



Serious as the winter difficulty con- 

 fessedly is, it ought not to be regarded as 

 insurmountable. Surely it can be over- 

 come by patient investigation and perse- 

 vering experiment. lie who shall tell us 

 how to winter our bees with unfailing 

 success, will certainly deserve the well 

 wishes of his fellow-bee-keepers, and of 

 mankind at large, for it is here that, just 

 now, we most of all need enlightenment. 



C. 



