1G8 



glea:ni:ngs in bee culture. 



Mah. 



eoquence, a proportional amount of heat. The tin, 

 if it would answer the purpose, would bo prefera- 

 ble to the glass, as it would be less liable to be bro- 

 ken. One would suppose that these changes, in- 

 stead of being improvements, would give inferior 

 results; but a careful test of one as thus modified 

 showed 180°. Facts seem to say. One sheet of glass 

 is preferable to two, as any additional thickness of 

 glass absorbs just so much more heat. For this 

 reason, greenhouse men prefer only one thickness 

 of glass. To illustrate further, I took friend Green's 

 extractor into the greenhouse, where there was a 

 summer temperature of 70°. Tn here, with a sum- 

 mer sun, as it were, I argued in my own mind that 

 the wax-extractor ought to give the same results as 

 if it were outdoors in a hot July day. To my aston- 

 ishment the tliermometor in the extractor, after it 

 had been in the greenhouse for a short time, show- 

 ed scarcely 170°— somewhat less than that indicated 

 when the extractor was in the open air at a tem- 

 perature of 5u°. Now, while I think that two 

 sheets of glass do not materially lessen the amount 

 of heat, j'Ct, as I see, there is no advantage in hav- 

 ing two. The amount of heat lost in radiation from 

 a single sheet is overbalanced by heat lost in ab- 

 sorbtion with two sheets of glass, as already stated. 

 The bright tin for a reflector seems to answer 

 every purpose of the looking-glass; besides being 

 cheaper, it will not break. 



THE UTILITY OF THESE W.\X-EXTKACTOKS ; HOUS- 

 ING EGGS IN THE SUN. 



You notice that we obtained, with the solar wax- 

 extractor, 170 and 180 degrees when the tempera- 

 ture in the open air was only 50°. With a summer 

 heat of 70° outside, if the temperature increases in 

 the extractor proportionately, we ought at least to 

 reach the boiling-point, 213°. According to this, 

 J. A. Green's speculation of eggs boiled in the sun 

 is not so impossible after all. Why, I declare I 

 will coax the "queen clerk" to try her hand at fi}j- 

 i)iy eggs in the sun when the weather becomes 

 suitable. What fun it would be to run opposition 

 to gascline stoves'? "Steady, young man," some 

 one says; "you are a little premature; besides, the 

 boiling-point is not the f rying-point." 



" Oh ! well, ray good friend, if the eggs won't fry, 

 I will say the foregoing is ' a scientific pleasantry,' 

 and that it was Green's notion, not mine;" but, 

 mark you, if the speculation should be a success, 

 then I will try to claim a sh .re in the idea; and 

 with as much originality as possible I will say, 

 " i told you so." 



THE CONDITION OE OUH BEES UP TO DATE. 



The Holy-Land colony that I mentioned on page 

 90, of this current volume, as being uneasy and 

 showing signs of dysentei-y. is now[dead. All the 

 rest of the colonies are in good condition up to 

 date; and as we have had quite a number of warm 

 spells, they have been breeding quite heavily. The 

 result is, that many have run short of stores, and 

 will have to be given more combs of sealed honey, 

 to prevent starving. I would suggest, as a caution 

 to beginners, when these warm spells in March 

 come, that they would do well to examine all stocks 

 on their summer stands. If they have been breed- 

 ing heavily as above, and their stores ai-e low, feed 

 them or give them sealed combs of honey. 



A little caution now may save you a few colonies 

 later. If the weather is such that the bees are not 

 |l^iu{f ujuch, T don't tbinl> I would tinker with the 



colonies unless you have good reason to think that 

 some particular swarm is running short of stores. 



Two bad months are before us, and so we can't 

 " count our chickens " yet. I will report later. 



Ernest K. Hoot. 



USE OF THE THERMOMETER. 



HOW IT MAY MISLEAD US IN USING IT IN A BEE- 

 CELLAR. 



"TN talking about temperature, I want to premise 

 m- that it is very doubtful if any one can lay down 

 ^li a fixed rule for temperature, that will be safe 



'•■ for all others to follow. ]f A has fixed upon 

 4.5° as the best temperatura for his cellar, B 

 may have his bees in different hives, or packed 

 differently, so that, if put in A's cellar, it would bo 

 better to have the temperature above or below 45°. 

 Smith and Jones may have their bees exactly alike 

 as to hives and packing, both in equally good con- 

 dition. Smith says he keeps his at 40°; Jones, at 

 5;^°. But the same thermometer, placed alternate- 

 ly in each of the cellars, on one of the central hives, 

 shows that the bees in both cellars are kept at ex- 

 actly the same temperatui-e. Smith has bis ther- 

 mometer hanging in the coldest spot in his cellar; 

 Jones, in the warmest. Or, the difference may be 

 mainly due to a difference in thermometers, for 1 

 have noted a difference of 7 degrees in a lot ofither- 

 mometers hanging in the same spot in a drugstore. 

 Of course, it is of value to get the experience of 

 others; but each one must decide for himself at 

 what point his bees keep best, and then, with the 

 same thermometer always hanging in the same 

 place, try to hold steadily at that point. 



WAK.MING AND VENTILATION. 



The same means used for warming may aid in 

 ventilation, so the two may well be considered to- 

 gether. In my shop cellar there is no special pro- 

 vision made for ventilation, excepting that a 4-inch 

 stove-pipe runs up through the floor. I don't cite 

 this because I think il's right, but 1 want to work 

 from facts, and, moreover, there are many who may 

 want to know what^to do with .just such cellars. 

 The cellar is 18 by 34, on a side hill; a large double 

 door, or, rather, two doors with a fl'j-inch air-space 

 between them, leading'out on the level on the south 

 side; a small window with double shutters on the 

 west, and one on the east side, and a trap-door 

 overhead. November 10, 124 colonies wei'e put in 

 the cellar. Tn a few days the bees appeared some- 

 what uneasy; there was a close, disagreeable smell, 

 and mold was found in spots over the earth floor. 

 A wood tire made in the cellar helped matters, dry- 

 ing it oft', and of course the warmer the air the bet- 

 ter the ventilation. The heat, however, was very 

 unsteady, and at night the fire would die out entire- 

 ly, the exit for the air being greatly.lessoned by the 

 closed stove, and in the morning the thermometer 

 would be down. 



About the middle of December I determined on 

 more radical measures. I put in the middle of the 

 cellar a common small cylinder stove for anthracite 

 coal, the inside diameter between the flre-bricks 

 being a little more than eight inches (1 also put two 

 in the house cellar). In this I have kept a constant 

 Are, day and night. It makes a steady heat, so little 

 light that I think it does no harm; and the stove- 

 door being always open, makes the'best exit for air. 

 The mold has disappeared, the air always smells 

 swept, and at this writing: tlje bees appear quiet, w<\ 



