188G 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



359 



to the efficacy of orange or lemon trees, it 

 maj' be that the pecuHar scent of the leaves 

 is attractive to the bees, in the same way in 

 which the scent of the oilof anise seems to 

 attract wild bees in bee-hunling. But aft- 

 er you have once succeeded in getting a 

 swarm to cluster on one particular limb or 

 branch, there is nothing particularly new in 

 the fact that all subsequent swarms cluster 

 on the same branch. The matter has often 

 been discussed in our back volumes. It is 

 quite common to have almost every swarm 

 from an apiary cluster on the same spot, or 

 on the same Jimb, that the lirst swarm of the 

 season occupied. Especially is tliis tlie case 

 after two or more have occupied the same 

 tree or branch. 



UPWARD VENTILATION. 



KVEUY KUI.K H.AS ITS EXCEPTIONS IN BEE CULTURE. 



fRlEXD G. M. Doolittle, on page 266, argues 

 against the necessity of confining- the heat 

 of bees to the liive by contracting the hive 

 and restricting upward ventilation. Wliether 

 lie docs this simply for argument or not, I do 

 not know; but as I have been a supporter of the 

 opposition, and you have alluded to me as such, I 

 wish to say a few more words on the subject. 



Every rule has its exceptions, and there are but 

 few rules in bee-keeping Avhich may not bo disre- 

 garded with impunity under certain conditions. 

 Experience has convinced me that bees, to winter 

 well under ordinary and average conditions, should 

 be restricted to a small hive, well protected from 

 the cold, and as nearly air-tight ^s possible, except 

 at the entrance, which should be lai-ge. Do not un- 

 derstand me to say that bees will not winter well 

 under other conditions. Some of the most succcss- 

 1'ullj' wintered colonics I have ever had were win- 

 tered in lai-ge hives with free upward ventilation. 

 ]n my spring report, given on page 3S2 of July 

 Gr-EANiNOs for 1883, are these words: " One of the 

 strongest swarms I have was wintered in a large 

 chaff hive, with V2 frames below and .5 above, only 

 partially covered with a piece of duck." 



As I look back over the many experiments I have 

 made in this line, and think of what I have learned 

 from others, 1 can recall cases where colonics that 

 liave wintered well in large hives, with an abun- 

 dance of ventilation, seemed to show an unusual 

 degree of vigor and energy the next season. 

 Whether tin's energy is the cause or result of their 

 successful wintering, I do not know; but I am in- 

 clined to think it is the former. I have often 

 thought it was because colonies in large hives are 

 not apt to be subjected to the ovei-hauling and 

 dirturbar.co of the brood-nest that is likely to fall 

 to the lot of those in contracted hives. 



lam not simply arguing in support of a theory, 

 suppressing all facts I know (hat may seem to dis- 

 prove that theory. It is the truth that I am seek- 

 ing, and, if 1 find it, I care not what theories are 

 overthrown. 



I freely admit, that I have frequently been suc- 

 cessful in wintering in large hives, and with free 

 upward ventilation; but the ratio of loss has been 

 so much greater in the colonies wintered by this 

 method that I have come to the conclusions given 

 In my article on page 42 of the present volume. 

 Oliver Foster hits the nail squarely upon the head 



on page 256. We never hear that; " upper absorb- 

 ents" are necessary in ventilating our homes and 

 public buildings. The impurities of the air must be 

 removed by ventilation and not by absorption, and 

 it is generally agreed that the most satisfactory 

 and economical systems of ventilation are those 

 which provide for the escape of the contaminated 

 air at the bottom of the apartment. It is true, that 

 the impurities thrown off into the air bj' the respi- 

 ratory oi-gauG and the excretory organs of the skin 

 rise at first; but becoming chilled, they fall to the 

 bottom. Moisture is far from being the only thing 

 added to air by an animal living in it. The same 

 principles apply to a bee-hive. Bees can not go 

 into that hibernating condition assumed by many 

 other insects, wherein they can endure the most 

 extreme cold of winter in a state of comijlete tor- 

 por, requiring no food to nourish them or sustain 

 animal heat. The inmates of the bee-hive must at 

 all times maintain a certain temperature, and they 

 must consume food in order to do this. If the 

 whole of a colony of bees should be chilled into that 

 benumbed and torpid condition which the outside 

 bees of the cluster fall into during cold weather, it 

 is very probable that they Avould never revive un- 

 less they were warmed up very soon by a change in 

 the weather. 



The interior of the hive, and particularly the in- 

 terior of the cluster, is much warmer than the out- 

 side temperature. This heat must be maintained 

 by the consumption of honej*. The colder the hive, 

 the more honey must be consumed, and the more 

 tlie vital forces of the bees are wasted in digesting 

 this honey. Economj- of heat is economy of vital 

 force. Small hives, closely sealed above, are most 

 economical of heat; therefore, other conditions be- 

 ing equal, they arc best adapted to the outdoor win- 

 tering of bees. J. A. Grken. 



Dayton, 111., April 8, 1886. 



FLORIDA. 



not a liAND DIS,\GBEEABLV COLD ]N WINTER OR 

 EXTREMELY HOT IN SUMMER. 



T HAVE often felt a desire to express some of my 

 |IP heart-felt gratitude for the many bits of good 

 ^[ counsel coming from you through Gleanings, 

 "'' which comes to me very regularly, and is read 

 with untiring interest and pleasiu'C. I always 

 feci editied and strengthened after reading your 

 lectures, and my heart and mind run out to my 

 neighbors who take Gleanings, and I feel so glad 

 that they ha\e the bonoflt, too, of so good a lesson, 

 besides the many good practical ideas that come to 

 me through it from yourself, Ernest, and other 

 good bee-men and bee-women. This is a great or- 

 gan, and is calculated to do a great deal of good. T 

 am glad to say I have never seen any thing in 

 Gleanings, except .Jay C. Ell's letter, taken from 

 the Charlottesville C/ironic/e, which contained any 

 thing disparaging to P'lorida; and I was sori-y to see 

 such an envious, exaggerated statement in as pure 

 a work as I have always felt Gleanings to be; aiid 

 as dearly as I love the editor of it, I can't help but 

 feel a little disappointed to see such an unjust and 

 exaggerated statement; and it seems that Mr. 

 Griffin showed some Levite spirit too in the matter. 

 Mr. E. is what the many respectable, well-to-do 

 Northern settlers here term one of the black sheep, 

 which is very natural and common, as there are some 



