246 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



it killed the bees for me in nearly 

 every instance. When I provide 

 ventilation I always have healthy 

 •colonies. 



This difference in the conditions of 

 the brood-chambers was that one 

 -came out dry and clean, while the 

 other was damp and mouldy. In 

 one case the bees had the diarrhcea 

 and died, while the other remained 

 an example of industry and neat- 

 ness. Both had honey and pollen. 



In the consideration of the above 

 conditions, the promulgators of the 

 " pollen theory" insist that when the 

 bees have diarrhcea it is because they 

 consume pollen, and when they do 

 not have diarrhoea they do not con- 

 sume pollen. That is their whole 

 argument in a "nut shell." We find 

 by experiment, that while pollen ac- 

 companies all of the colonies, only 

 those that have proper ventilation 

 remain healthy. 



Our authority says the bees con- 

 sume pollen (nitrogen) to maintain 

 temperature, temperature that is be- 

 ing taken away by the ventilation. 

 Yet the fact stares us in the face that 

 ventilation (which means a dry 

 brood-chamber) is life, and no ven- 

 tilation is death to the bees. 



This shows that ventilation and 

 the pollen theory cannot live to- 

 gether, nor the bees live upon natu- 

 ral stores without ventilation, so I 

 have concluded to save the bees and 

 let the pollen theory do the dying. 



I think it is quite admissible that a 

 colony without pollen and having 

 sugar syrup for stores is more apt to 

 winter well, and the reason for it 

 comes about in this wise : 



Every thorough apiarist knows 

 that the warm air, that is continually 

 escaping from a cluster of bees, 

 sooner or later meets air of a lower 

 temperature and immediately con- 

 denses to vapor which rests upon 

 the hive or combs below, at the side, 

 or directly above the cluster of bees. 

 If the condensation takes place 

 above the cluster, it will soon run 



down among the bees, or, if it is at 

 the side, it may be close enough for 

 their displeasure. 



Now, where the colonies have nat- 

 ural stores, their expectation is to 

 maintain a clean and dry brood-nest 

 in order that it may be a fit place for 

 the rearing of brood ; and when this 

 water comes into close proximity to 

 it they remove it by taking it into 

 their stomachs, where it is retained 

 with the expectations of a flight. As 

 time wears away and the chance for 

 a flight does not occur, the water 

 with what else the stomach may con- 

 tain passes on as a watery, souring, 

 and half-digested mess into the intes- 

 tines. When they have no pollen 

 and exclusive sugar stores, they have 

 no cares, and if they were deluged 

 with water none of it would be 

 sipped from the combs. 



This is the extent to which pollen 

 is the cause of diarrhoea. It is 

 claimed that the excreta of the di- 

 arrhoetic bees is replete with pollen 

 and solid matter, and that the dis- 

 ease is due to the accumulation of 

 fcecal matter. 



A thorough understanding of the 

 disease verifies that it is due to the 

 nature of the accumulations, as the 

 bees that soil their hives the most 

 contain the least solid matter and are 

 seldom the most distended. Bees 

 that consume food containing much 

 refuse substance may accumulate 

 much fascal matter in a compara- 

 tively dry state of a solid nature, and 

 the disorder bear the description of 

 constipation. But bees of this kind 

 with abdomens ever so distended do 

 not evacuate until they fly in the 

 open air. If the distention is more 

 than they are able to bear they die 

 outright. When the bees are badly 

 afflicted with diarrhoea they do not 

 even wait until there is an accumu- 

 lation, but begin early to befoul the 

 hive and combs. I believe the re- 

 pletion of the excreta with pollen 

 and other matter was not held up as 

 a constituent for the defence of the 



